“New York-style” tsukimi mochi burgers to appear at Wendy’s Japan this fall

A fusion of Japanese and American influences is converging to kick off moon-viewing burger season .

Japan is understandably fond of its indigenous culinary culture.

However, it’s also a nation with an unabashed enthusiasm for adopting tasty foods that originated overseas, so it’s not uncommon for hamburger chains in Japan to lean into the American-ness of their menu items.

For example, later this month Wendy’s Japan is introducing a new hamburger meant to evoke thoughts of New York, while still having two elements that are very Japanese .

Coming soon is the New York Tsukimi Mocchi Burger , the latest addition to Japan’s tsukimi burger genre.

Tsukimi is the Japanese word for “moon-viewing,” but in certain culinary circles it’s also used to refer to adding an egg to a dish .

The term started with people noticed that, if cracked into a bowl of noodles, the contents of an egg would spread out and resemble a full moon.

Eventually Japanese burger chains began offering deluxe sandwiches with toppings including a fried egg in the fall, the traditional season for moon-viewing parties in Japan, and calling them tsukimi burgers.

Wendy’s Japan gets even more Japanese with their take on the sandwich by including a slab of mochi too, chosen to incorporate Japanese folktales about rabbits who live on the moon and pound lunar rice cakes on its surface .

But since tsukimi burgers are all about a little burger-based enjoyable extravagance, this year Wendy’s will be giving their a little something extra.

In addition to the fried egg and grilled mochi, Wendy’s says the new New York Tsukimi Mocchi Burger’s toppings consist of a rich and refreshingly tangy “American-style sauce,” crisp bacon, and cheese, for a unique tsukimi burger that represents “a fusion of American and Japanese” flavors .

Of course, you could argue that one of the defining characteristics of American cuisine is large portion sizes, and there’s also a New York Tsukimi Mocchi Burger Double , which doubles up the patties, bacon, cheese, and sauce.

Or maybe fried food is the standard-bearer for American chow? In that case, Wendy’s New York Mocchi Spicy Chicken Filet Burger fits the bill by swapping in a fried chicken cutlet for the patty.

And finally, there’s a Jr.