The Samurai Pork Burger - Eating at McDonalds in Thailand

For most, it’s the differences from back home that make travelling so exciting.  And while the discovery of an ‘alternative’ McDonalds menu item may not be the greatest of cultural differences, such small discoveries can still be fun.  And at the very least, offerings such as the ‘Samurai Pork Burger’, give the less gastronomically adventurous travelers among us the chance to tell the folks back home how much they enjoyed the local Thai cuisine - without, arguably, telling too big a fib.

The Samurai Pork Burger is a burger common only to (at time of writing) Thailand.  And is a burger made up of a pork patty, salad, and teriyaki sauce (A Japanese sauce made of soy sauce, sake or sherry, sugar, ginger, and seasonings).  Priced at around 50 baht (if I remember correctly), the Samurai Pork Burger is a must try for McDonalds lovers abroad -and makes for an interesting alternative to the usual selection of cheese-laden beef.  

Taking their name from the ‘Samurai’ (a powerful military caste in feudal Japan), the Samurai Pork burger are also available from time-to-time in Malaysia.  Though as a seasonal promotional item, rather than as a permanent menu fixture, as in Thailand.  And a similar burger is also offered to customers in China, though there it goes by the name of ‘Shogun Burger’.

Other Thailand specific items served up by McDonalds in the Land of Smiles include: Jasmine rice patties, the Caribbean shrimp burger, and a salad shaker based on som tam papaya salad.

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