My first ever taste of a “Japanese burger” was at the old Sango! in Mile Long Building, Makati in the early 2000s when it was still run by its original Japanese owner. I was working in the area at the time and it became one of my go-to destinations for a quick lunch. The owner would be at the counter taking orders, ringing the cash register, and handing off burgers together with his signature tiny origami bird. If the store wasn’t too busy, he’d even run to the door to usher customers out, complete with a smile and a bow. That was my first impression of a fast food burger joint, Japanese style—clean and bright interiors, an appetizing menu, and that exceedingly polite, cheerful brand of Japanese hospitality.

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It was those memories that has gotten me excited for the coming of MOS Burger to the Philippines. While Sango! expanded to several branches after it was sold by its Japanese owner, sadly it didn’t flourish. Perhaps it was a bit ahead of its time. Since then, the burger segment has not only expanded but also allowed for a lot more innovation beyond the basic bun-lettuce-tomato-patty formula. And with all things Japanese at peak favorability among Filipinos, it really is about time for a big Japanese brand to take a bite out of the domestic burger market.

Established in 1972, MOS Burger pioneered the idea of a Japanese-style burger, transforming this all-American fast food icon into something wholly Japanese in taste, style, and spirit. MOS Burger is Japan’s #2 burger chain (in terms of sales share) with more than 1,300 outlets in Japan, and 300-plus branches outside the country.

MOS Burger will open its first-ever Philippine branch on February 26, 2020 (as of this printing) at Robinsons Galleria, followed by another branch at Robinsons Manila and the MOS Burger Café at Robinsons Magnolia. Other planned outlets will open later at SM Megamall and O Square Greenhills. MOS Burger was brought to the Philippines by Tokyo Coffee Holdings’ Hubert Young, the entrepreneur behind the successful UCC Café group, in a joint venture with the Japanese-based MOS Food Services Inc. Young has long wanted to bring MOS Burger to the country ever since he first tasted the burgers in Japan in the 1990s.

While waiting for the first branch to open, MOS Burger Philippines decided to give burger-loving Filipinos a preview of what to expect with a two-day pop-up on January 15 and 16 in Robinsons Galleria, offering only 300 burgers to be served each day. The temporary kiosk sits right in front of the soon-to-open branch located at the 2nd level, near the ADB Avenue entrance to the mall.

While the MOS Burger menu is extensive in offering all sorts of variants to the burger, two of its bestsellers, the Cheeseburger and Yakiniku Rice Burger, happen to be great examples of the distinctly Japanese, and specifically MOS Burger, approach to the American burger.

The MOS Cheeseburger has soft, almost milky buns, sandwiching a hefty tobikiri patty made of a blend of pork and beef, generously slathered with a special sauce, and topped with a quite pristine looking tomato slice. The attention to detail is obvious, from the jumbo size of the patty, the freshness of the tomato, and even the temperature of the components.

The Yakiniku Rice Burger is truly an only-in-Japan innovation that substitutes bread for two rice buns, grilled to keep them in shape. Instead of a beef patty, there’s soy-seasoned beef yakiniku brimming with onions that give it that rice topping-like feel, especially when the sauce permeates the rice buns for a bit of a messy finish.

For those curious to try a MOS Burger for the first time, or for those who are already fans of the burger chain in Japan, there’s still time to catch the second day pop-up on January 16, with the kiosk serving burgers from 12 noon to 4 pm only, or until supplies last, with queuing starting at 10 am.

Photos by Chris Clemente