Is McDonald’s Japan’s new Tsukimi Moon-Viewing Burger any better than a regular Egg Cheeseburger?

Find out if the new release is nothing more than over-hyped marketing.

Back in the day, the Japanese tradition of “tsukimi” (“moon-viewing“) in early autumn used to be a relatively quiet affair, with people buying tsukimi dango (“moon-viewing dumplings“) to enjoy while gazing at the night sky. These days, the tradition has undergone a transformation, becoming synonymous with limited-edition offerings at fast food chains, which commonly feature egg as the star ingredient, due to the fact that “tsukimi” is shorthand for dishes containing egg in the culinary world, as the round egg yolk is said to resemble the moon.

▼ At this time of year, you’ll find chains serving up tsukimi burgers and even pizzas, like the one from Domino’s below.

The chain that started it all was McDonald’s, which released the country’s first Tsukimi Burger back in 1991, and since then it’s been maintaining its reputation as one of the most popular places to buy moon-viewing burgers, as well as new Tsukimi pies and McShakes. However, as the chain with the longest history of making Tsukimi Burgers, is McDonald’s now resting on its laurels?

That’s the question our reporter P.K. Sanjun had in his mind when he saw the burger return to the menu for the umpteenth time, because lately he’s been enjoying a different egg burger that’s on the menu year-round — the Egg Cheeseburger.

▼ Commonly shortened to “Eguchi“, this burger debuted in 2015 at the super cheap price of 200 yen (US$1.40), and though it’s now 240 yen, it’s still a great-value burger.

With the new Tsukimi Burger on the menu for 490 yen, it’s over twice as expensive as the Eguchi, but does this mean it’s worth the extra money?  P.K., who’s been wary of the fast food tsukimi craze for a while now, bought one of each to find out.

When it comes to taste, it’s difficult to definitively say which one is tastier because people have different tastes. So, to provide a more objective comparison between the two, P.K. decided to evaluate them based on pure content, starting with the weight.

▼ Weight of the Tsukimi Burger: 151 grams (5.3 ounces)

▼ Weight of the Eguchi: 166 grams (5.9 ounces)

Surprisingly, the Eguchi was slightly heavier, which already makes it better value in terms of weight. However, it was time to see how they stacked up next to each other in terms of actual ingredients, so he stripped them back to their core parts, with the Tsukimi Burger on the left and the Eguchi on the right.

▼ The buns of the Tsukimi Burger come with sesame seeds, while the Eguchi buns don’t. As for the sauce, the Tsukimi Burger contains a creamy tomato variety while the Eguchi uses ketchup.

In terms of buns and sauce, P.K. saw that the Tsukimi Burger contained pricier ingredients, with the addition of sesame seeds and a creamy sauce that likely cost more to develop. However, when it comes to patties, they were exactly the same. 

As for the fried egg, this too appeared to be the same. There may be a possibility that higher quality eggs are used for the Tsukimi Burger, but with no mention of it in any of the advertising for it, P.K. assumes the eggs are no different.

The only other big difference is the Tsukimi Burger contains bacon, while the Eguchi has cheese, pickles and onions. That makes it slightly hard to compare in terms of cost, but bacon is generally a more expensive ingredient, so this round goes to the Tsukimi Burger.

With the Tsukimi Burger winning two rounds out of five and tying for two, it’s not such a clear-cut win, especially when there’s 250 yen difference between the two burgers.

▼ For P.K., this result only highlights the fantastic cost-performance of his beloved Eguchi.

If sesame seeds, bacon, a creamy sauce, and the marketing story of tsukimi is worth 250 yen to you, then by all means, go ahead and try the new Tsukimi Burger. However, if you want to create your own moon-viewing story on the cheap, then the Eguchi will fulfil all your needs…plus give you more money to spend on the other tsukimi items in this year’s collection.

Photos © SoraNews24
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