Tuesday, January 10, 2012

The Strange Side of Burgers

A typical burger consists of two buns, a patty, mayo, mustard, ketchup, lettuce, cheese, tomato, pickled cucumbers, and onions. Of course, burger recipes vary; a common mantra is that the simpler the makeup, the cheaper. But what if the buns were replaced with something else? We now look at the strangest burger recipes ever sold in the Philippines.

McDonald's McRice Burgers
The infamous McRice burgers were introduced to the Philippine fast food market in 2006. Instead of buns, two rice cakes topped with sesame seeds were substituted. The inside of the McRice consists of red cabbage, lettuce, patty and mayo. The burgers were sold in both beef and chicken varieties. The McRice was heavily hyped on both TV, print, and billboard advertisements, but it turns out to be a marketing disaster for the 'Golden Arches'. Very few people liked the taste of the products and preferred a more traditional burger recipe. Worse, a McRice and fries combination would never work well together. They pulled the product off the market after only a few months. The McRice burger was also sold in Singapore. 

KFC Double Down
The Double Down made its way to the Philippine market in late 2010. Fried chicken fillet was used instead of buns, while the inside of it consists of bacon, dressing and cheese, hence the inverse. Again this product was heavily hyped on TV, in print ads, and in billboard signage. On the first day of sales, the product was sold out within hours, so in order to meet customer demands, they started selling the Double Down as a made to order product. Initial reception was positive, until early in the year concerns regarding calorie and fat content forced the restaurant to temporarily discontinue the product. In October 2011, the Double Down was brought back, but instead of the original recipe chicken fillet, the spicy, crunchy 'Zinger' version is used. The product is currently sold in select branches in the Philippines. The Double Down is also sold in Canada, New Zealand and Australia. 

Jollibee Hash Brown Burger
In November 2011 Jollibee started offering the hash brown burger, where instead of buns, two hash browns were used. Inside it contains a patty, cheese and ketchup. The Jollibee hash brown burger is made as a way to fuse the traditional menu of burgers and fries into one; the hash browns, like fries, are made from potatoes. The product was also made for customers to enjoy the hash brown beyond the traditional breakfast fare. So far, it has received a positive response from customers.

The three burgers, whether you like it or not, are great alternatives for traditional, typical burger recipes. So what's next for the burger? Only time will tell.

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