A kaiseki experience from fast food.
For two years, it was easier to enter North Korea through the DMZ than getting into Japan for a holiday. With weak totalitarian flair, the Japanese government posed restrictions on travellers that allowed only for group tours and no individual wandering. Finally, this bubble has burst and all the pent up Japanaholics will be paying whatever it takes to get their fix.
This is also massive news for the Japanese diaspora scattered around the world, and so too for the local businesses who have been without international travellers for over two years.
Photo 1. The Crispy Fish Burger (Pacific cod and cheddar cheese)
For a whole swag of reasons, Japan is visited and revisited by the world, with food being one of them. No doubt there’s a lot to unpack gastronomically across the archipelago, so let us take a dive into the realm of “foreign things that Japan interprets and spits out rather well”.
The burger chain MOS Burger is fairly ubiquitous in Japan and holds its own against the likes of the globally domineering Ronald McDonald and Colonel Sanders. Notably, their burgers are thoughtful in an idiosyncratic Japanese way. The ratio of bun to filling is always exceptionally well-configured, meaning that you don’t need 17 napkins to mop up your face and steering wheel after a feed.
Photo 2. The MOS Cheese (wagyu with wafuu sauce)
Despite being a fast food outlet, the burgers are assembled with the same care that you receive from kaiseki dining. When you’re used to 16 year olds bungling together your double cheeseburger and finding the hapless pickle dangling lifelessly out the side, the workmanship that MOS Burger funnels into their trade is striking. Eat bite is clean on the palette and so you aren't left feeling that you will need to repent after a meal there. Although it may not be on your list of quintessential experiences to tick-off in Japan, it’s definitely worth pursuing when you’re there.
Photo 3. Mos Burger in Southport, Queensland.
Unbeknownst to many here, MOS Burger is operating at a few locations in Queensland. Recently, Flip did some recon at their outpost in Southport, Gold Coast. The quality wasn’t the same as what you’d get in Japan but nonetheless an interesting development. Their wafuu sauces and overall philosophy have carried over, so that’s an exciting space to watch. More to come.
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