20.07.2010 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Idols + hamburgers = heaven
I was invited to a publicity event for Denny's "Hamburg Wanted!" campaign. The chain is serving 12 new kinds of hamburg steaks (see menu here), with standout examples like the Fire Demon Lord Hamburg Bowl, the Mix Mix Babinburg & Rice (inspired by Korean soul food), the Big Mountain (two patties and a deep-fried prawn, for those who like their meal in a pile and are tired of Gogo Curry), Beef Calby Yakiniku Negishio Hamburg, Avocado Hamburg 2010 (which looked like a salad), Avocado & Tororo Japanese-style Locomoco Bowl, and so on. Members of the press got to try an assortment of dishes, and they were generally creative and delicious (the idea of combining yakiniku and hamburg steak sounds crazy, but it was my favorite).
But it actually wasn't the free food that brought me down. My long-time acquaintances, Kyan Chiaki and Harada Marirun from the Nakano Fujoshi Sisters, were the idol hosts. The idea is a multi-media viral promotion, which is why they invited bloggers and famous Twitter and Ustream personalities. But that's just the beginning. This is a showdown between Kyan and Harada, where each gets points for finishing hamburg steaks over the next few months. Fans of Kyan and Harada are encouraged to go to Denny's and "challenge" the hamburg steaks, too. For every selection they complete, they are allotted points, which they can give to either Kyan or Harada by using a special Twitter account. Kyan promised those who sent their points to her could expect a personal reply and a picture of her. Harada said that she planned to do some sort of offline meeting with those who assisted her.
This is actually a pretty good use of social media (and Japan's infamous cult of personality) for a promotion, I think.
Further, the "Hamburg Wanted!" campaign stretches out to traditional TV programs, a game on the Mixi community site and special dramas featuring Kyan and Harada, which can be seen on the cell phone.
As an aside, Kyomoto Yuka, also of Nakano Fujoshi Sisters, is also participating, though she did not come to the event (someone held up and showed a giant poster picture of her, which made it kind of feel like a funeral or something) and apparently does not use Twitter. Each of the three girls is partnered with one of the comedic duo Carnelian or a guy named Party Uchiyama.
My only regret about the event, the beginning to a very ambitious multi-media campaign, is that they did not invite idol fans. Most people in the audience seemed like they didn't even know who Kyan and Harada were, which was a waste of star power. Even more so because both of them were wearing Denny's waitress uniforms, looked incredibly cute and were posing for pictures on demand. It's an idol fan's wet dream, and they would have got a lot of milage out of tapping that energy. As it was, only I volunteered to be spoon fed by Kyan. Seriously. I would have begged, but no one else even went for it. They let me take a picture of her holding the bite up, which I include here for those who want the virtual experience. Then they let me pose with both Kyan and Harada. Most fans buy several copies of CDs, go through lotteries and screenings, wait in line and get only a few moments perhaps shaking the hand of a favorite idol. What an opportunity, and no one went for it!
From now on, my personal heaven looks a lot like Denny's.
As an aside, Kyan's favorite selection on the new menu was Melty Cheese Fried Vegetable Hamburg, and Harada chose the Fire Demon Lord. Kyan said that the mixture of cheese and tomato was "godly" (kami desu), and Harada that rater than her mouth, her soul burned with the challenge of the Demon Lord. She said she needed to level up in order to defeat him and restore peace to the war-torn country of Japan. (Are we watching here or what?)
I am not sure how this works exactly, but if you eat a hamburg steak at Denny's and want to send your points to Kyan via Twitter, the address is #dennys_kyan. For Harada, send to #dennys_marirun, and for Kyomoto, #dennys_kyomo.
Tags: Idols Food 0 Comments
10.12.2008 · by Adrian A. Lozano
NEW GOGO Curry Electric Town Akiba location
Thursday December 4th was the eve of the opening of a new GOGO Curry on the Electric Town side of Akihabara. Oh what a treat to no longer have to walk to the other side of the station to get my Healthy pork cutlet. On my way home from work I stopped by and there was a sign on the door telling me to come back at 11:55 the following day. Their grand opening special was that the first 555 people would get curry at a special price of 55yen. That's a deal, a steal, the sale of the century... unless you are Eva. So I was sold and planned a GOGO Curry lunch with a few of my fellow co-workers. Come lunch time on December 5th we rush down to GOGO jumped behind the only person going in and was told .........................
"You need to get in line, it's behind you."
In the end we ended up settling for Burger King.
02.09.2008 · by Eva via AKS
Lucky Star Akiba Souvenir Snacks
In early August, edible memento enterpriser Daito launched a new series of souvenirs featuring characters from the anime Lucky Star. The three available varieties include: Lucky Star Strawberry Cakes; Lucky Star Chocolate Cornet Flavored Cookies, based on character Konata's favorite food; and Lucky Sen, a set which features round senbei (rice crackers) branded with illustrations of the four main characters and mini star shaped senbei in soy sauce, sugar, and green tea flavors. Each package retails for 630yen.
Published in Kadokawa Shoten's Comptiq, Lucky Star is a serialized manga which follows the everyday lives of four high school students, and features an otaku-styled female lead character. Currently, the series has been expanded into drama CDs, game software, televised animation series, and now souvenir snacks.
In addition to their Lucky Star line, Daito recently released the similarly veined "Boarding Student's Vinegared Konbu," a sour seaweed snack featuring artwork from female game designer Noboru Takatsuki, and "Akiba Style Vinegared Konbu," featuring a kitsune fox spirit clothed as a shrine maiden. Each retail for 210yen.
Tags: Akiba Lucky Star food 0 Comments
29.08.2008 · by Eva via AKS
Maid Cafe Offers Giant 1kg+ Burger
Situated along Choudori in Akihabara on the 6th floor of the Sumiyoshi Building, maid cafe and bar Maidreamin will be offering a limited quantity new menu item entitled "Big Bang Lovely Burger." They started offering the new item in early August.
Based on the concept image "Country of Dreams," Maidreamin specializes in foods with emoticon themes, such as the "Here Comes the Gigantic Maidreamin Om-rice ━━━━(゜∀゜)━━━━ !!" They also established a booth space featuring video games for two or more players.
Their most recent offering, the "Big Bang Lovely Burger," is just one of the items listed on the popular "Gigantic Menu," and is limited to only three orders per day. The dish features rice topped with a soft boiled egg, underneath a 500g, 30cm ground beef patty - about the size of a notebook computer - covered in demi-glace sauce. All together, the combined weight is said to exceed one kilogram.
"The other day, we had a guy come in and order it by himself," said the store manager. Noting that the dish comes not only with a drink of your choice, but also with a commemorative photo featuring all of the staff he says, "There are some people who order it just for the picture."
In other news, Maidreamin is scheduled to have new staff uniforms, starting September 10. Since the one they've used up until now isn't an original, but rather a generic pre-made costume, they say switch was planned from the beginning. The new costumes will be made of a dark colored fabric with pink accents, featuring short skirts and a figure flattering shape. In order for staff to give their uniform personal flare, a series of original appliqués are also in the making.
Hours of operation are weekdays 11:30am-10:00pm, weekends and holidays 10:30am-10:00pm. Bar hours start from 6pm.
Tags: maid cafe food 0 Comments
