Mos Burger [Taiwan]

Three words: rice hamburger buns. This is a Japanese chain that I happened upon in Taiwan. I guess the best way to describe it is to call it the lovechild between American backyard barbecues and traditional Asian flavors. Unfortunately, I did not get to try their flagship burger—the octopus patty—but I did try several others (pictures below). Oh and their mascot is a big octopus. Pretty damn cute.


Taste:

An Asian burger. The burger I had was a combination of pork, seaweed, and strange Asian vegetables. Strange, unnamable, innumerable Asian vegetables. Bun aside, the burger tasted mostly of pork, and the aroma of seaweed. Those Asian vegetables had a light taste—just a bit of salt to add to the pork, and gave the burger a crunch with each bite.

So about that rice bun…remarkably straightforward taste—rice, but chewier. You can still feel each granule as the bun falls to pieces in your mouth, but the texture is definitely a bit firmer than the rice you eat out of the bowl. I think it’s a great balance between great rice and rice that can maintain the shape of a bun.

My sister tells me that the seafood patty tastes pretty much as advertised—like seafood and shrimp. I only had a bite, so my judgment is a bit lacking.

Reflections:

The burger I had was a little disappointing. The flavors just didn’t match to me. I preferred my sisters—hers was much simpler actually: just seafood, no strange vegetables to mix things up. Mos Burger is a thing to try again I think. Definitely that octopus burger…

Here are some of their other burgers: