Freshness Burger, Tokyo

I'm a little behind with blogging because I've had my hands a little full with baby. In the span of 5 days, I'd had to take him to three different medical facilities - the public health centre for his vaccination and check up, who then referred us to the pediatric department at the hospital for the poor little guy's rashes, then earlier this week, he developed an ear infection and I had to bring him to the children's clinic. It's not all bad though because his body is now almost completely clear from the rashes.

So, burgers. I honestly can't remember the last time I ate a burger from a fast food restaurant. It must have been at least four or five years ago, most probably a chicken burger from Hungry Jack's. Since I went on a health and fitness kick a few years ago (responsible for my weight loss of almost 15 kgs from my highest to lowest weight!), my tastebuds actually developed a dislike for processed and junk food. In fact, it's been so long since I ate a fast food burger that I needed Rob's help with this review. I'd still eat a gourmet burger or sandwich where I know they use real meat, but not the processed junk they use at a fast food place. And really, how appetising can limp lettuce and soggy tomatoes present themselves? But when you read stuff like this on a rather high profile foodie blogger, it kinda makes you want to try Freshness Burger burgers yourself especially if it's available only in the country you're currently residing in. Wait, I stand corrected - the franchise is also available in South Korea and Hong Kong.

So how does Freshness Burger stand out from amongst the vast array of typical fast food restaurant like MacDonald's and Burger King (known as Hungry Jack's in Australia)? Apparently all food is prepared on premise using fresh, not frozen, ingredients. Even the buns are baked on the premises. I think their burgers are a touch more expensive than burgers from a typical fast food place (technically, they're around the same price, but Freshness Burger burgers are smaller hence making them more expensive), but I can't confirm that since I don't eat at fast food places nowadays. And since the burgers are made as they're ordered, there is a longer waiting period for your order.

We were served our burgers at our table:


I ordered the Teriyaki Chicken Burger (320yen) and it fell upon Rob to get the Classic Burger (480 yen). We went in to this particular branch near Ginza around 1pm on a Sunday, and although the restaurant was hardly packed, we waited at least 15 minutes for our burgers. I didn't mind too much if a longer waiting period is the trade off for freshly made burgers.

Teriyaki Chicken Burger:


Classic Burger:


Verdict? I must admit I was a little disappointed that the chicken patty was battered and deep fried, and even the patty had the texture of processed meat, but I enjoyed the crisp and fresh vegetables, and the bun was deliciously soft except for the parts that were toasted crisp. It was a nice change not having the ubiquitous nutritionally-void iceberg lettuce which gave this burger a slightly "gourmet burger" feel. The beef patty in the Classic Burger was a little on the dry side, but I didn't mind it too much. The raw onion ring was a bit too thick which detracted the tastebuds away from the beef patty in a pretty strong way. But like the chicken burger, I appreciated the crisp fresh vegetables and the soft bun used.

Overall, the burgers were better than the standard run-of-the-mill fast food burgers, but I wouldn't put these on the same level as gourmet burgers. It was worth satisfying our curiousity though.