I always think that Japanese people are very passionate about food. In Tokyo you can enjoy any kinds of cuisine from around the world, and that is also the case with food at home: we often eat Indian curry, Chinese spring rolls and Italian pasta. That is, I personally think, because we just love food and we just want to enjoy eating. Thus, while I would like my international friends to enjoy traditional Japanese food when they come to Japan, I also recommend they try something different as well. Yes, we eat Japanese food but there are some more.
I will go back to Japan next month and stay for 5-6 weeks, so I will write more on my recommendations and suggestions for those who travel to Japan. However, I just come across this article about the Black Burger at Burger King Japan this morning, and since it is a limited time menu I thought I can talk a little about fast food in Japan. I hope this helps a little for those who are coming to Japan especially this month!
Photograph by Burger King Japan at https://www.burgerkingjapan.co.jp/
Burger Kind Japan will launch their limited Black Burgers on the 19th September. This is their annual campaign taking place every September since 2012, where you can try black buns and cheese made from bamboo charcoal, black sauce of squid ink and beef with black peppers.
After all, these are burgers from fast food chains. So if you like fancy food, these are not something you might want to try. Plus, as the Guardian mentions, this is not a completely new idea in the food industry. However, I think this somehow reflects our passion for food to some extent, as we still do not expect black burgers anywhere.
Most of my international friends are very enthusiastic about trying Japanese foods, but there are some who are not a huge fun of raw fish and tofu. Also I know there are millions burger lovers and foodies who like to try something different. For those people this could be an option!
Another thing I would like to talk about is matcha green tea latte at Starbucks. Although I am honestly not a huge fun of fast food, I do like coffee at Starbucks. As you can see on my Spain trip blog, I always eat local food as much as I can and I try to stay away from Japanese food when I travel to other country. Nevertheless, I still often drop in at Starbucks when I miss what I am familiar with. I know their coffee taste the same anywhere, nothing new, but sometimes that comforts me, especially I travel alone.
However, since we are enthusiastic about food, more than 10 years ago Starbucks Japan developed the beverage featured our traditional drink: green tea. This is something, as far as I know, we can only find limited shops outside Japan, and so when I travel a foreign country, I mostly have to wait until I go back to Tokyo.
I think this matcha green tea latte is one of the best beverages at Starbucks. It is creamy and has a good flavour. It is nice to have hot in winter but matcha cream frappccino in summer is also super yummy, so you can enjoy anytime you come to Japan. It is always one of my recommendations when my international friends ask me what they should try in Japan, and once they try, they love it.
Usually we do not expect any local uniqueness at fast food stores. Having the standard is about fast food business and you are expected to go to local restaurants when you look for a local/traditional food. However, there are some examples of localisation of fast food, and I think it is nice that we can enjoy something unique at the place where you feel familiar with in a foreign country.
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