Sometimes Japanese portion sizes are small… and sometimes they look like this.
Wendy’s tends to be overlooked in Japan but right now it’s towering over the competition with a new burger called MEGA Wendy’s. The all-caps in the name is certainly warranted, because it’s the triple version of the Wendy’s Burger USA, with four additional beef patties and four slices of cheese, which means it has seven patties and an astonishing 2,614 kilocalories.
Our reporter Kouhey has taken on all kinds of big burger challenges over the years, but this one looked so formidable to him that he spent a long time wondering whether he should even take it on. However, after finding out that the new burger was released to commemorate a TV broadcast, he realised he may never get the chance to take on such a heavyweight again, so he shruggedd off his concerns and headed out to his nearest branch.
After arriving at the Iidabashi Ramla store, located in the Iidabashi Ramla commercial complex next to JR Iidabashi Station, he walked over to one of the self-service kiosks and blinked in surprised when he saw the burger on the menu, branded with a “New Product” tag and a tower-like silhouette.
▼ His eyes widened further when he saw the price – the burger, on its own, was a whopping 3,670 yen (US$23.36)!
This was the first time he’d seen a burger this expensive at a chain restaurant, and it was so much he had to check whether he had enough in his wallet to cover it. Fortunately, he did, so he ordered it as part of a drink set, bringing the total to 3,910 yen.
Looking at the stats, the MEGA Wendy’s is approximately 14 centimetres tall and weighs 900 grams in total. Loking back at his previous records, this was bigger than Burger KIng’s Crown The One Pounder which had four patties, and Big BBQ The One Pounder, which weighed in at 489 grams. Having consumed those in 2022 and 2024 respectively, Kouhey felt slightly out of practice for this new opponent, which was almost twice as heavy, with about 1.75 times as many patties.
A totally different weight class from the opponents he’s faced before.
After about five minutes of waiting, Kouhey’s number was called, and when he took the tray over to his table, he felt his muscles activate under the weight of the tray.
“What the heck is this?!” He thought to himself. “Is it an iron ball?”
▼ Face-to-face with the beast.
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Even while wrapped in its paper, it was already a massive round mass. Looking closely, he could see the words “CHICKEN” and “SPECIAL” printed on the paper, and it was so large that it couldn’t be wrapped in a single sheet, so several sheets had been used.
Picking it up, it was seriously heavy – so much so that you could probably use it for strength training.
Carefully unpeeling the wrap… the monster revealed itself.
▼ Meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat!!!
It was truly a wall of meat. Seven patties were stacked up, pushing the top bun upwards. When he lifted the top bun, he could see onions, ketchup and lettuce sitting on top, giving it the character of a burger, but with a mountain of meat beneath it.
Looking closely, Kouhey discovered a good amount of cheddar cheese between the patties, and when he pried between them slightly with his finger, the melted cheese stretched out in delectable strings from the heat.
Though all the components of a good burger were clearly present, Kouhey was surprised at how the buns seemed so miniscule – the top and bottom buns were completely overshadowed by the seven patties between them.
▼ Then there was the burger packaging, which was huge when he spread it out, giving you an idea of just how big the burger was.
At 14 centimetres tall, this is a seriously tall burger, and it was a tall order to eat it. As the battle between man and burger began, Kouhey, gripped the burger firmly and brought it up to his mouth…
▼ …but the thing was so huge that he could only eat the meat.
No matter how much he ate, every mouthful consisted of nothing but meat and cheese. Every now and then, a hint of bun or a skerrick of onion would timidly make its way into the mix, but it felt less like eating a hamburger and more like eating a lump of meat with cheese sandwiched in between.
About halfway through, he took breather and paused to check the cross-section.
▼ There was still a lot left.
As a seasoned big burger professional, Kouhey knew he was entering the “flavour-change zone”. THis is what he likes to call the stage where your palate gets so tired of the monotonous flavours that you need to add a little something extra to keep you going until the end, and to help with his, he added some habanero sauce, which he’d picked up from beside the register.
Drizzling it over the cross-section of the patties, he wondered what kind of difference the sauce would make to the flavour profile.
▼ Whoah. This was actually good.
The spiciness and acidity enlivened his palate, lifting it from all the meat and cheese that had been weighing it down. After the endless procession of meat, he finally had some relief, helping him through the second half, which came with a little ketchup. Still, the meat remained the star of the show, but there was no stopping Kouhey’s momentum now, so it didn’t take long for the tower, which had once seemed impossibly tall, to shrink down to a size that fit in the palm of his hand.
▼ A few more bites and finally, the end began to come into view.
▼ Then, the final bite.
▼ K.O.!
With his belly now full, Kouhey let a smile drift across his face as he revelled in the sense of accomplishment at having devoured the beast. Looking back at the timestamps on his photos, he found that it’d taken about 18 minutes between him receiving the tray and rolling up the burger wrap at the end. Although he had to stop repeatedly to take photos, he’d completed the task in good time, and he could confidently say this is the most amount of meat he’s ever eaten in a single sitting.
In the end, the MEGA Wendy’s was less a hamburger and more of a meat-eating challenge. If you feel ready to take on the challenge, be sure to stop by Wendy’s soon as it’s only a limited-time menu item, and come prepared with an empty stomach to take on the beast.
Images ©SoraNews24
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