The Impulsive Buy » Asian

NEWS: Mashed Potato Burger From McDonald’s China Could Be A Knockoff of Another Country’s Burger

Marvo — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:24:34 +0000

There are companies in China that make cheap knockoffs of things like iPads, designer sunglasses, Nike shoes, and BMW automobiles. Copyright laws in China are…well, let’s just say copyright in China is copyallright. At first, I didn’t think the new McDonald’s China Mashed Potato Beef Burger sounded like a knockoff of another country’s burger, but after doing some research, it might just be.

Here in the United States Burger King had a burger topped with mashed potatoes and Burger King Taiwan had a burger called the Mashed Potato Beef Burger. Okay, so perhaps it’s not a knockoff of another country’s burger, but it is a knockoff of another company’s burger.

The McDonald’s China Mashed Potato Beef Burger is made up of two 100 percent beef patties, bacon, lettuce, some kind of sauce, and a layer of mashed potatoes. I’m lovin’ it…and I’m hatin’ it at the same time because we can’t get it here in the United States. If you happen to find yourself in China to buy a cheap iPad knockoff, a Mashed Potato Beef Burger will cost you 19.5 yuan (about three US dollars).

Commercial below:

THE WEEK IN REVIEWS – 4/9/2011

Marvo — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Here are a few product reviews posted this week from other blogs we follow.

With this Peter Rabbit Gummy Candy, I can finally make a video version of the new dark Peter Rabbit story I wrote called, The Tale of Peter Rabbit Getting His Limbs Bitten Off One At A Time. (via Candyblog)

Hey, Twix! Now that you’ve got Twix Coconut out of the way, how about bringing back Cookies-n-Creme Twix from the 1990s? Come on, man. Retro is in. (via Rodzilla Reviews)

Innovative Candy Concepts may call their product Too Tarts Melted Ice Cream Spray Candy, but I’m going to call it Something To Give My Future Children To Spray Into The Eyes Of Strangers Who Come Too Close To Them. (via Clearance Cuisine)

As a kid, and after being told you are what you eat, I thought eating Hello Panda would turn me into a panda, so I ate a lot of them. It didn’t turn me into a panda, but it did make me as round as one. (via Food Junk)

I’m no cardiologist, but I believe dipping a sub sandwich filled with chicken, bacon and spicy mayo into cheese is perfectly fine. (via Junk Food Betty)

Image via flickr user Robobobobo / CC BY SA 2.0

THE WEEK IN REVIEWS – 1/30/2010

Marvo — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 10:00:47 +0000

Here are a few product reviews posted this week from other blogs we like.

A chocolate bar with panko inside sounds awesome. But a chocolate bar coated with panko and then deep fried sounds awesomer. (via Candyblog)

Yes! School lunch reviews! If I had a blog in the 1980s, I think I would’ve started my own school lunch review blog. (via Fed Up With School Lunch)

It is bar week at I Ate A Pie. (via I Ate A Pie)

(Insert random Japanese Kit Kat review here) (via Jen Ken’s Kit Kat Blog)

China Cola isn’t made in China, but if it were, you’d probably be able to find it at Walmart, just like many products made in China. (via The Soda Jerks)

Panko photo via Flickr user fotoosvanrobin / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

THE WEEK IN REVIEWS – 10/24/2009

Marvo — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 10:00:30 +0000

Here are a few product reviews posted this week from other blogs we like.

I don’t trust eggs with microwaves, much like I don’t trust leprechauns with pots of gold. (via Freezer Burns)

You know what would go great with microwaved eggs? Fake bacon. If Dr. Seuss were alive, I think he would’ve written a book about the combo. (via The Skinny Plate)

Oh, the memories. I remember when Hot Mango used to be my stage name. (via Jim’s Chocolate Mission)

It’s Weird Japanese Kit Kat Review Week on the internets: Roasted Sweet Potato, Miso and Ginger Ale Lemon. (via Jen Ken’s Kit Kat Blog and Japanese Snack Reviews)

These shipping labels will come in handy when I want to reuse Amazon.com boxes for shipping my old porn…I mean…shipping new porn to people. (via Office Supply Geek)

Microwave oven photo via Flickr user wallslide/ / CC BY 2.0

THE WEEK IN REVIEWS – 10/17/2009

Marvo — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 10:00:18 +0000

Here are a few product reviews posted this week from other blogs we like.

If there’s one thing small beer companies know how to do better than the big beer companies, it’s give their beers names that sound unappetizing and not refreshing. (via TBQ)

If it seems like I link to a lot of Japanese Kit Kat reviews, I do. I’m just fascinated with Nestle Japan’s ability to churn out new flavors, like the Blueberry Cheesecake Kit Kat, at the rate they do. It’s like they have Kit Kat fertility drugs or something. (via Jen Ken’s Kit Kat Blog)

I’m poor and hungry, so I have no standards. I would totally wrap my lips around a cheap microwaveable burrito. Heck, I’d take two of them in my mouth, if I could. (via Frozen Food Journal)

If I want a Milky Way shake I’ll just stick ice cream, some whole milk and ~~one~~ ~~two~~ ~~an entire bag of Fun Sized~~ three Milky Way bars in a blender. (via Chocolate Thunder)

This truly looks like a wiener in a blanket. (via Japanese Snack Reviews)

Cute moose/duck photo via Flickr user dotpolka / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

THE WEEK IN REVIEWS – 10/3/2009

Marvo — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 10:00:07 +0000

Here are a few product reviews posted this week from other blogs we like.

It’s only the beginning of October and there’s already turkey and stuffing flavored potato chips, but at least it’s not as bad as Target already putting out Christmas decorations for purchase. (via Foodstuff Finds)

Super! Now I can create an almost all-encompassing interracial gummy bear orgy. (via ZOMG Candy)

The Mini Chill Relaxation Shot seems like it takes the essence of couch potatoes and lazy people and bottles it. (via We Rate Stuff and Gigi Reviews)

Zombieland looks like the real life version of (insert here one of the hundreds of zombie video games available). (via Pajiba)

Domino’s has new variations of their oven-baked sandwiches. I wish they would focus a little more attention towards their crappy pizzas. (via Grub Grade)

Photo via Flickr user allthingschill / CC BY-SA 2.0

THE WEEK IN REVIEWS – 9/19/2009

Marvo — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 10:00:29 +0000

Here are a few product reviews posted this week from other blogs we like.

Vegetable Juice Kit Kat? Oh, Japan! Is there anything you won’t turn into a flavor of Kit Kat? (via Jen Ken’s Kit Kat Blog)

Oh Neutrogena, you and Clearasil made my high school years a little less pimply, although my slightly clearer skin couldn’t move me up the popularity totem pole. (via Review Spew)

I believe I am required by Asian pride to post Pajiba reviews of movies with an Asian cast. (via Pajiba)

If only scientists could come up with a way to turn candy corn into ethanol, then we wouldn’t have to eat it. (via Candy Blog)

But if they can’t turn it into ethanol, I hope they’re able to turn it into generic Fritos corn chips, because I’ll eat that. (via Cheap Eats)

Dear Hardee’s: Your Big Mac-competing Big Hardee is large and artery clogging, but I think you’re the only fast food chain with the cojones to sell a burger that uses beef patties as buns. Please make this happen. Thank you. (via Would I Buy It Again)

REVIEW: Pepsi Shiso

Marvo — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:53:32 +0000

When I opened and smelled the Japanese Pepsi Shiso for the first time, I truly wondered whether or not a Japanese game show was going to break out around me called, “Nomimasu Ka?”, which in English means, “Will you drink it?”

(Note: My Japanese is EXTREMELY POOR. I have retained very little from my two years of Japanese language in college. So my Japanese above may not be correct.)

Every summer, Pepsi releases a limited edition flavor in Japan that can be described somewhere along the spectrum of unusual on one end and fucking weird on the other. In previous years, there’s been a Pepsi Blue Hawaii and a Pepsi Ice Cucumber, both of which landed on the unusual side of the spectrum.

The Pepsi Shiso is more on the fucking weird side.

I guess I find this bathroom cleaner-colored beverage very odd because I’m not familiar with shiso. But thanks to the information clusterfuck known as Wikipedia, I now know shiso is perilla in English, it is an herb in the mint family, and in Japan it is used in salads, spaghetti, meat and fish dishes, and occasionally used as a pizza topping.

Much like the other limited edition Pepsi from Japan I’ve tried, its initial flavor was a little off-putting, but the more I drank the better it seemed to taste, albeit still weird. Unfortunately, there isn’t any real shiso in this bottle filled with a liquid that’s colored like the radioactive rod that gets stuck in Homer Simpsons’ shirt during The Simpsons opening. Since I’ve never tasted shiso, I can’t tell you if this soda’s artificial flavor comes close to it, but I can tell you it tastes like sweetened grass. I also thought there was a cinnamon gum flavor as well, but mostly grass.

If I want drink something that makes my mouth feel like there’s a party going on in it, I’ll drink a rum and Coke or a Hawaiian Punch, but if I want to drink a beverage that makes my mouth feel like there’s photosynthesis going on in it, I’ll definitely drink a Pepsi Shiso.

(Note: Orchid64, who purchased the bottles of Pepsi Shiso for me, reviewed them and so did Mike.)

Item: Pepsi Shiso
Price: 147 yen
Size: 490 ml
Purchased at: Received from Orchid64
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: A little cinnamon gum flavor. It taste a little better the more you drink. It feels like photosynthesis is going on in my mouth. Interesting. Wikipedia.
Cons: Unusual taste. Sweet grassy flavor. Available only in Japan (although if you check eBay, you might be able to pick some up). Doesn’t contain actual shiso. Bathroom cleaner colored. Radioactive rod colored. My knowledge of the Japanese language despite two years of it in college.

REVIEW: Green Tea Coke Plus With Catechin

Marvo — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:13:39 +0000

It’s hard to imagine why it’s taken so long for the Japanese makers of Coke to come up with the Green Tea Coke Plus with Catechin. After all, the Japanese love green tea. They love it HARD. I think they love it just as much as smoking, manga, short schoolgirl skirts, posing for pictures and physically abusive game shows.

I’m also surprised the American makers of Coke didn’t come up with it sooner because, as they’ve proven time and time again, they’ll shoehorn almost anything into their cola. They’ll shoehorn it HARD. Some ingredients they’ve added to Coke or Diet Coke include: coffee, vanilla, black cherry, lime, lemon, Splenda, cherry and zeros.

Although it doesn’t specifically say on its label, the Green Tea Coke Plus with Catechin is really less like regular Coke and more like either Diet Coke or Coke Zero since it contains artificial sweeteners and no calories. Despite its name, it doesn’t contain vitamins like the U.S. version of Diet Coke Plus. The “plus” in this soda’s name is either for the catechins the green tea provides or it’s being marketed to sumo wrestlers.

Catechins are antioxidants and are mostly found in teas, but also in some chocolates. Studies have shown that catechins prevent plaque from building up on artery walls, some forms of cancer and aging. In my personal studies with catechins and green tea, it seems to turn me into a pompous ass by making me extend my pinky outward when drinking tea.

The Green Tea Coke Plus’ smell and initial flavor reminds me of the American version of Coke Zero, but not as prominent, which doesn’t surprise me because Coke from Japan tends to have a slightly muted flavor compared with their American counterparts. The green tea flavor doesn’t kick in until a few moments later, but when it does, it’s subtle and without any of the bitterness that green tea is known for.

Being someone who enjoys Coke Zero, I enjoyed the flavor of the Green Tea Coke Plus with Catechin, although I wish it had a little bit more green tea flavor. As for the catechins, I think you’d be better off drinking cups of regular green tea because there’s probably not a significant amount of catechins in each bottle of Green Tea Coke Plus, unlike green tea itself.

But overall, I like it HARD.

(Note: Orchid64, who purchased and sent the Green Tea Coke Plus for me, also reviewed it, along with Mike’s Blender. Also, below is a stupid experiment I did with the second bottle of Green Tea Coke Plus I had. It’s stupid because I totally wasted a good bottle of soda that’s hard for me to obtain. Enjoy my wastefulness.)

Item: Green Tea Coke Plus With Catechin
Price: 147 yen
Size: 500 ml
Purchased at: Received from Orchid64
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: I like it HARD. Tastes like Coke Zero. No calories. Easy to drink. I guess some catechins are better than no catechins. Green tea. Short schoolgirl skirts on women 18 years old or older. Japanese game shows.
Cons: Only available in Japan. Not enough green tea flavor for me. Not sure how much catechins it provides, but it’s probably not much. Wasting a perfectly good bottle of soda with a stupid dated Mentos experiment.

THE WEEK IN REVIEWS – 6/13/2009

Marvo — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 10:00:18 +0000

Here are a few product reviews posted this week from other blogs wrapped in an HTML shell and served with immature writing.

Doritos with a dried ramen noodle-esque flavor packet? Sounds like something to snort. (via We Rate Stuff)

Looks like I’m going to have to break out the Birkenstocks if I decide to enjoy an organic chocolate hemp shake. (via I Ate A Pie)

I’m surprised a green tea Coke didn’t happen sooner in Japan, but I guess the Japanese have been too busy making marshmallow-looking cars and erecting Gundam statues. (via Japanese Snack Reviews)

Which would you prefer? Cheese crackers made by elves or those made by some dude named Lance? (via Second Rate Snacks)

World of Warcraft sucking hours of your life? You can suck back on a World of Warcraft Mountain Dew. (via BevReview)

THE WEEK IN REVIEWS – 6/6/2009

Marvo — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 10:00:10 +0000

Here are a few product reviews posted this week from other blogs wrapped in an HTML shell and served with immature writing.

Reviewing a cardboard box may seem silly, but TIB once reviewed a plastic shopping bag. (via Everyview)

These Dunkin Donuts breakfast wraps are adorable! (via Grub Grade)

Just like I pick up Playboy for the articles, I buy Snapple for the factoid under the bottle cap. (via Cheaplander)

Land-O-Lakes Butter with Olive Oil. I wonder if you can take the O’s in olive oil and give the Land-O-Lakes mascot boobs, just like you can with her knees. (via Yum Yucky)

BOOBS!!! Nope. False alarm. Just citrus fruits. (via Japanese Snack Reviews)

REVIEW: Nestle Soy Sauce Kit Kat

Marvo — Wed, 27 May 2009 10:00:22 +0000

DISGRACE!

I demand the limited edition Japanese Soy Sauce Kit Kat commit seppuku right now, because it’s nothing like what I expected.

What did I expect?

I thought the whole Soy Sauce Kit Kat was going to come in the color of death, much like actual soy sauce. I’m not talking about just black or the color of eyeliner around Pete Wentz’s eyes, I’m talking about a black so dark that it’s only found in black holes and in the chest cavity of those who kill kittens and puppies for pleasure.

I wanted it to be so black that if I were to touch it, I would either wither and turn into a pile of dust or my fingers would end up in an alternate universe where dinosaurs still roam the lands and Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt have their own reality show called Survivor: Heidi and Spencer Trapped on an Island Forever With Hungry Dinosaurs.

Instead it has a white chocolate exterior and a tan wafer interior.

While the Soy Sauce Kit Kat didn’t come in a color that was blacker than the void where Simon Cowell’s heart is supposed to be, I thought it was going to have a strong salty soy sauce flavor that’s so real that I would want to melt each Kit Kat finger down to liquid form and dip my spicy tuna roll or salmon nigirizushi into it. But the Soy Sauce Kit Kat doesn’t have a hint of soy sauce flavor, instead it has a strong maple syrup scent and taste.

WTF, Japan!

I expected, nay, I wanted to be disgusted by this flavor of Kit Kat. I also wanted to brag about how I was man enough to consume a salty, black Kit Kat that made my saliva glands close shut by getting a t-shirt that said, “I Survived a Soy Sauce Kit Kat.” But no, Nestle, the makers of Kit Kat in Japan had to rain on my parade and sic Godzilla on my floral floats and marching bands.

Now I’m stuck with a box of delicious tasting, crispy, maple syrup-flavored, white chocolate Kit Kat, which is the complete opposite of what I wanted. The only thing that kind of disgusted me was the unusually long length of time the maple syrup flavor lingered in my mouth, but it didn’t make me gag like a salty soy sauce flavored candy would’ve.

What are those crazy bastards in Japan going to do to mess with my taste buds next time? A Natto (fermented soybeans) Kit Kat that tastes like cotton candy? A Seaweed Kit Kat with a caramel flavor?

DISGRACE!

(Note: The AV Club reviewed these last year.)

Item: Nestle Soy Sauce Kit Kat
Price: FREE
Size: 12-pack
Purchased at: Received from parents
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Nice maple syrup flavor. Crispy. Heidi and Spencer being eaten by dinosaurs. The variety of Kit Kat flavors in Japan. Being able to say I ate something disgusting.
Cons: Doesn’t have a hint of soy sauce flavor. Doesn’t come in the color of death. Fingers are smaller than regular sized Kit Kat. Hard to find outside of Japan. The maple syrup flavor lingered in my mouth longer than I wanted it to. Limited edition. Having your parade attacked by Godzilla.

NEWS: New Wanchai Ferry Frozen Meals Make The Freezer Aisle Look A Little More Ethnically Diverse

Marvo — Tue, 19 May 2009 22:00:49 +0000

I <3 Panda Express, but I don’t like the fact that their restaurants close at the unreasonable time of before 10:00 P.M. What if a pregnant woman is craving orange chicken in the middle of the night? What if someone wants some sweet and sour pork after some sweet and sour porking? What if a stoner desires mushroom chicken after smoking some weed and noshing on some shrooms? Thankfully, Wanchai Ferry is here to save us all with their new frozen meals.

I reviewed and enjoyed the Wanchai Ferry Cashew Chicken Chinese Dry Dinner Kit, so I’m looking forward to trying these complete frozen meals that serve two people.

The Wanchai Ferry Frozen Meals come in five flavors: Sweet & Spicy Shrimp, Orange Chicken, Sweet & Sour Chicken, Spicy Garlic Chicken and Shrimp Lomein. Each bag contains the meat, vegetables and starch for a complete meal. Also, according to the image above, they take about 14 minutes to heat up, but I’m not sure if they’re microwaveable, and they contain no MSG.

Encourage Freezer Burns or Heat Eat Review to review them.

THE WEEK IN REVIEWS – 3/14/2009

Marvo — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 10:00:09 +0000

Here are a few product reviews posted this week from other blogs wrapped in an HTML shell and served with immature writing.

I have a crush on the Chocolate Crush Pocky…AAAAAAAAGH!!! Someone shoot me before I turn into Gene Shalit! (via The Japanese Crush Pocky)

Sadly, I will never have the opportunity to wrap my sexy lips around the Dunkin Donuts Breakfast Sandwich. Instead I’m stuck with replacing the muffin on my Sausage and Egg McMuffin with Eggo Waffles. (via Grub Grade)

When did energy drinks become gangsta? Is it the new malt liquor? Is it appropriate to “pour one for my homies”? (via Taurine Rules)

It doesn’t matter which chocolate covered raisin is better, you will probably choke on both of them in the theater when you see Doctor Manhattan’s blue schlong in the Watchmen. (via Second Rate Snacks)

Maybe I’m impatient, but I believe anything that takes 20 minutes to heat up in the microwave defeats the purpose of it being microwaveable. (via Freezer Burns)

THE WEEK IN REVIEWS – 3/7/2009

Marvo — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 10:00:02 +0000

Here are a few product reviews posted this week from other blogs wrapped in an HTML shell and served with immature writing.

I don’t care what other people might say. Watching a grown man attempt to consume frozen doggie woggy and kitty cat treats and gag repeatedly on a video is entertainment in my book. (via Freezer Burns)

Powdered peanut butter sounds like it’s the ashes of dead peanuts and all you do is add water to make it reconstitute. Holy crap! Zombie peanut butter! Where’s Milla Jovovich? (via Yummy Diet Food)

My own recipe for Cinnabon cereal is much better than this crunchy Cinnabon cereal. Just get a big mixing bowl, dump a baker’s dozen of Cinnabon Minibons in it, add milk and enjoy with a ladle. (via The Skinny Plate)

Bah! Soy sauce potato chips aren’t black. I lower my head in disappointment and my face reddens with shame. (via Japanese Snack Reviews)

A rubber ducky-shaped candy that doesn’t float upright? That’s going to upset Ernie and you don’t want to see Ernie get angry because when he does he starts to explain alphabetically how he’s going to beat you down. A is for ass kicking. B is for bitch slap. C is for crack down. D is for decking your grill. (via Candy Blog)

(Image from iStockphoto)