Red will soon be the new black at Burger King Japan, as the quick service restaurant chain will debut Aka Samurai Chicken and Beef Burgers on July 3. Offered for only a limited time through mid-August, the products will feature red buns and red cheese (each colored naturally with tomato powder) accented with red sauce made from miso paste, chili and red pepper.
Available at 90 Burger King outlets nationwide, the fried chicken sandwiches will come with lettuce and sell for ¥540 (about US $4.40). The beef burger, complete with sliced onion, will go for ¥6.90.
The Aka (the word means red in Japanese) rollout will be followed up on August 21 with the introduction of a new rendition of the Kuro Shogun Burger. Priced at ¥690, the latest version will feature fried eggplant, a beef patty, black cheese and black sauce inside a black bun. Bamboo charcoal is reportedly added to the cheese to darken its color, while squid ink makes the sauce darker.
Tokyo-headquartered Burger King Japan, which first unveiled limited-time black burgers to its menu in 2012, enjoyed continued success with the concept in 2013 and 2014. Last year’s Kuro Pearl Burger (kuro means black in Japanese) and Kuro Diamond Burger (a deluxe option with tomato, lettuce and onions) outsold other new products and helped to “paint” the bottom line black.
