A Hamburger Today
Japanese Hamburger Cakes
Typically, I like eating burgers that include meat, a bun and some condiments. There are several exceptions though, and most of them involve sugar.
Treehugger.com has unearthed some delicious-looking desserts based on fast food items. We'll skip past the fries made of custard deep-fried in starch powder and focus on their burger options.
"The Mamido burger, for instance, which sells for ¥390 ($3.25 at ¥120 to the dollar), is a highlight of the menu. The "bun" is actually a sponge cake, the "patty" inside is chocolate cream, and the "pickles" are kiwis. The deep-fried fish burger, meanwhile, priced at ¥440 ($3.70), features a banana shaped like a fish fillet in sponge cake. It is topped with "tartar sauce," which is actually fresh cream. And the gratin burger, also at ¥440, is a sandwich with a cream cheese and fruit filling.
I just need to find some burger-ish appetizers and I could have an meal that consists solely of hamburgers. Any good recipes?
What's equally interesting is the reason these were created:
Trends in Japan usually show up here a couple of months or years later; here is one to watch. It appears that men do not like to be seen eating elaborate cakes in public, so a confectioner set up what looks like a typical fast food outlet to sell what look like hamburgers and fries, but that are in fact cake.
I especially liked the thoughts from one of the comments: "Too embarassed to be seen eating cakes in public, but have no problem reading hentai on the subway. Go figure."
Update (2/9/06): Shots of the Mamido Burger in the wild! Thank you flickr user chipple.