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What did Mark Zuckerberg eat at McDonald’s in Japan, and is it as great as he says it is?

Oona McGee Mar 1, 2024
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We order everything Zuckerberg did, to see if it really is worthy of a Michelin star.

It seems that everyone is influenced by posts on social media these days, but when it’s someone with millions of followers, like Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, a personal recommendation carries so much weight it’s enough to cause a firestorm.

So when Zuckerberg raved about McDonald’s in Japan on his social media accounts, everyone stopped what they were doing and zoomed in on the post, including our McDonald’s-loving reporter Seiji Nakazawa. And when the 39-year-old American billionaire claimed the food was so good it was worthy of a Michelin star, the post quickly went viral, with news headlines around the world reiterating his bold claims.

▼ “Japanese McDonald’s: 10/10. Give these guys a Michelin star.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mark Zuckerberg (@zuck)

Our reporter, however, was left scratching his head. Having eaten at McDonald’s in Japan all his life, he knows it’s good but was it really Michelin Star good? Figuring he may not have been paying close enough attention, Seiji decided to head out and purchase everything Zuckerberg did at McDonald’s to see if it really was as good as he said it was.

▼ Behold, the Zuckerberg Set.

Zuckerberg ordered the following menu items:

Egg and Double Beef Burger
Shrimp Filet-O Burger
Teriyaki Chicken Filet-O Burger

McFries (Medium Size)
Chicken McNuggets — 5 pieces (with mustard)

Edamame & Corn
Hitokuchi Churros — 4 pieces

Minute Maid Orange Juice
Coca Cola

In a reply to a question under his post about what the best item on the menu was, Zuckerberg rated his meal, albeit with his own interpretation of the names, as follows:

“Ebi Burger (so good 10/10), Double Burger with Egg (it’s a banger 10/10), Teriyaki McChicken (8/10), local McNuggets (great texture (10/10), Churros for dessert (8/10). Strong showing overall.”

According to this rating, Zuckerberg’s favourites were the Shrimp Filet-O Burger, the Egg and Double Beef Burger, and the Chicken McNuggets, which all earned a perfect 10/10. Out of everything on this nine-piece feast, there were a number of things Seiji hadn’t ever tried before — the only burger he’d tasted previously was the Teriyaki Chicken Filet-O — so he was keen to see if his review would align with someone from overseas trying them for the first time.

▼ So he started with the Egg and Double Beef Burger.

Upon first bite, the black pepper in the sauce sang out prominently, adding a good punch of spiciness to the meat patties. The sauce seemed to be the star of the show here, giving the whole burger a strong flavour compared to other burgers on the menu.

▼ Next, the Shrimp Filet-O Burger

The fried patty in this burger was stuffed with way more shrimp than expected, with Seiji describing it as “an amazing amount”. This gave it a wonderfully tender mouthfeel to contrast with the crunchy batter, and the aurora sauce added a great taste that complemented all the ingredients.

▼ This burger wins the award for best texture.

▼ Time to try the Teriyaki Chicken Filet-O Burger

When Seiji took a mouthful out of this burger, which Zuckerberg rated lower than the other burgers, he could understand the relatively poor review. Perhaps it was too ordinary, or maybe it was the lack of variety in the ingredients, but this was a bit of a ho-hum burger, which is only saved by its excellent salty sweet sauce.

Having tried the fries and nuggets numerous times, Seiji didn’t have much to say about them, other than they tasted as great as they always do. He’d never eaten the churros before, though, and after trying them he was surprised to find they were much crunchier than he’d expected, and had a very strong chocolate taste.

▼ The Edamame & Corn was another first for Seiji, and it was light and refreshing.

Reading through the many comments under Zuckerberg’s post raving about how good McDonald’s is in Japan, Seiji got a sense that compared to other countries, McDonald’s here gives more consideration to flavour and presentation. However, as a Japanese person, these types of meals are such an ordinary part of his everyday that Seiji couldn’t really understand why they would get so much love from people overseas.

In fact, the only real takeaway Seiji got from trying this selection of food was…

▼ …Zuckerberg sure eats a lot!

The total price for everything came to 3,090 yen (US$20.55), which is the most Seiji has ever spent at the chain. When it was all laid out in front of him, he felt like he was at a McDonald’s party.

Seiji’s idea of a good McDonald’s meal is far more humble by comparison, but hey, he’s a guy with arguably less refined tastes and a much thinner wallet. Zuckerberg, on the other hand, currently ranks fourth on the Forbes list of billionaires, so perhaps his palate is far more sensitive to the intricacies of fast food and Michelin star restaurants.

Either way, to Seiji, McDonald’s in Japan is just McDonald’s, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. He’s curious to know, though — what do you think? Do you rate McDonald’s as highly as Zuckerberg? If you do, let us know in the comments below and be sure to share your recommendations!

Related: Instagram/@zuck
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