Try the Evangelion burger from McDonald’s Japan
The latest collaboration between McDonald’s Japan and Evangelical Neon Genesis certainly attracted attention. From Interesting advertisement to the newly designed original McDonald’s themed store EVA Unit UNIT-M arrive transformerit hit the right note. The heart of this unusual combination lies Missionary burgers, three limited-time menu specials. Maybe you’ve seen their promotional images before, but what about the reality? And most importantly, how do they taste? There was only one thing: I had to try them.
To keep the doctor and my wife from getting sick also upset, I was thoroughly prepared for this potentially stomach-destroying endeavor. Okay, I just ate brunch and drank lots of water, but I told myself that was enough. After finishing work for the day, I got in the car and went to the nearest Makku. While considering the easy way out by driving through, I wanted to see some of the signs in the store. So I went in. I ordered all three burgers, then tested everything while I waited.
After taking a few photos, I picked up my order and drove back to my office. There are three in total Missionary burgers at McDonald’s, each with a specific characteristic assigned to them. Representing Shinji Ikari, we have the Double Teriyaki Cheeseburger. The mysterious Rei Ayanami adorns the wrapper for the Hash brown & Beef Burger with Garlic Mayo. Finally, the fiery Asuka Langley is paired with the Mexican Cheese Chicken Burger. I wouldn’t think too much about how to arrange those. Well, let’s dig in.
Mexican cheese chicken burger
This is what I want to try the most. McDonald’s Japan specialty burgers can sometimes be hit or miss, but they rarely miss when trying to go spicier. This isn’t a particularly fancy sandwich, but on paper it looks like it would be a hit. The regular chicken fillet is placed in a special softer-than-usual bun and topped with a slice of processed cheddar cheese, a few pickles, taco meat, and a sweet lime sauce. McDonald’s Japan gives a warning that this sandwich is spicy, so if you don’t like spicy food, be careful. This usually doesn’t make much sense, but when the wrapper is unwrapped, the burger takes on a certain spiciness.
The Mexican Cheese Chicken Burger kicked off the theme with these Missionary burgers. It’s quite messy to eat and the contents easily spill out. The first bite I ate was quite delicious. I took a bite of the delicious pickles and taco meat, and the result was a pleasantly spicy and tangy flavor. The sweet lemon sauce also has a delicious flavor. The chicken patties at McDonald’s Japan can be a bit bland, so mixing up these delicious ingredients really helps.
Sadly, the ingredients are not evenly distributed. Some bites had no pickles and very little taco meat, and when that happened, it really demonstrated how important those two elements are to this burger. My hands were in absolute condition when I finished this one, but that’s what soap and water is for. Overall, I prefer the Mexican Cheese Chicken Burger. It could have used a little more tsun in it tsundereBut overall it’s something I would order again. The best burger for the best character? I guess we’ll see as we go.
Score: Eight “ANTA BAKA” out of ten
Hash brown & beef burger with garlic mayo
The real gap between McDonald’s Missionary cross-marketing photo and the reality of this one, but we all know how that turns out. The HashBrown & Beef Burger with Garlic Mayo is the busiest in this group. You’ve got the same fancy bun we saw in the Mexican Cheese Chicken Burger, with a thicker than usual beef patty. From bottom to top, you’ll get some tangy steak sauce, a slice of processed cheese, crispy potato wedges, the aforementioned beef patty, and some garlic mayonnaise. Surprisingly, this is not the highest calorie sandwich of the three. That will be the next one.
The smell of garlic will hit you as soon as you open the wrapper. And that proved to be the case with the Hash brown & Beef Burger with Garlic Mayo in general. Biting into it, I found the garlic mayo overpowering all other flavors. The hash browns pretty much melted into the rest of the burger. Since this burger doesn’t have any crunchy veggies, I was hoping the hashbrown would add a little more texture to the burger. Unfortunately, it’s quite soft. The minced beef and beef also took turns trying to fall apart with each bite.
Finally, the Hash brown & Beef Burger with Garlic Mayo found the rest of the flavor lost in the rich flavors of the garlic sauce. I love garlic as much as the next person, but I can’t help but feel a little empty about this burger. As far as it seems to be going, it’s completely one-note. People who hate garlic cannot love or trust this sandwich. Rei, you’ve been robbed. Hopefully the last thing of Missionary Burgers can deliver this. Shinji, don’t disappoint us!
Score: Four “Subjects Living a Lie” out of ten
Double Teriyaki Cheeseburger
I’ll say outright that I wasn’t as excited about the Double Teriyaki Cheeseburger as I was about the other two. Not that I expected it to taste bad or anything like that. The reason is that this is essentially just a Teriyaki McBurger with an added piece of pork and a slice of processed cheese. On top of that, McDonald’s Japan has previously offered the Double Teriyaki Cheeseburger without Shinji’s endorsement. The only new thing here is the bread, which is also the special bread used by the other two people. Missionary burgers. The filling is two pork patties drizzled with sweet teriyaki sauce, a slice of the aforementioned processed cheese, some lettuce and a generous amount of tangy mayonnaise.
If you’ve never had a Teriyaki McBurger before, there are a few things to know. First, that is very tasty. The sweetness of the teriyaki sauce and the saltiness of the pork create a delicious combination, and the mayo adds to the unpleasantness of it all. The lettuce is just there to help you feel better, since it will most likely become completely mushy by the time you start eating it. Second, that is Actually chaotic. When you open the wrapper, it feels like there’s been an explosion. You’ll get your hands dirty eating it, so plan ahead. Third, because it was a saucy burger, the contents seemed to spill out of the bun. The more McDonald’s tries to cram it in, the more it wants to overflow. Indeed, the second pork patty and cheese slice in the Double Teriyaki Burger are hard to hold.
The Double Teriyaki Cheeseburger was delicious, but it was just a larger Teriyaki McBurger. The extra pork patty doesn’t affect the balance of the burger, and the cheese is always welcome. However, it feels like an opportunity was missed here. For such a large collaboration, the fact that one of the burgers was recycled, which wasn’t that exciting to begin with, was a bit of a disappointment. Surely the show’s main character deserves something a little cooler. Once again, it’s Shinji. Perhaps this is what he deserves. Reliable, a bit simple, and if everyone else can’t get the job done, this could be your hero.
Score: Seven “Eat your burgers, Patties!” out of ten
Closing thoughts on McDonald’s Missionary burgers
Overall, this wasn’t a bad batch of burgers. Sure, Hash & Beef Burger with Garlic Mayo looks like an oily garlic ball, but McDonald’s Japan has released a much worse product before. With that said, I feel like McDonald’s could do more to focus on this topic. Despite its name, Missionary The burgers feel like they could have been featured in any McDonalds campaign and it seems like little effort was made to match them. Missionary trademark. Even so, I will stop in and have the Mexican Cheese Chicken Burger one more time before it runs out. If you happen to visit McDonald’s Japan this month, that would be my suggestion. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to be on the treadmill for about six hours.
the Missionary crossover is currently available at McDonald’s stores in Japan.
