So when we came across this vending machine at the Mount Fuji lookout that sold dumpling soup, American hot dogs, Takoyaki balls, stir-fried Soba noodles, deep fried rice balls and french fries, out came the spare change!

Out of all 6 items, I’m not really sure why we picked the most ordinary food item on the menu – French fries (Or potato fries – whatever you call them) – but hey, it was novelty enough buying anything from that machine! It was interesting to see how this apparently simple technology worked.

So in went Naomi’s 380yen (around $4.50) – Or rather, a large bill (yes, it returns your change). It took just one press of a button on the item of your choice, and a 3 minute wait for the fries to be heated up before we heard a tumbling sound followed by the appearance of a fancy box of french fries in the opening of the machine:

It was hot alright, and when we opened the box my sunglasses fogged up from the steam! The fries were well, fries. They looked and tasted like the real thing and even had the ‘burnt edges’ taste. The only thing I didn’t like was that the fries were soggy. Looks like the Japanese still need to work on their crisping technology! Some ketchup would have gone down well though.

I was loitering outside the restaurant for a few moments before this giant poster advertising their Tamago Double Mac caught my eye:

I examined this for a few seconds and decided to give it a shot since I like egg in my burgers. I proceeded to the counter for my order. Of course, me no habla Japanese so naturally ordering from their picture menu involved lots of pointing. The poor girl at the counter just nodded her head vigorously while she took my order.

Hmmm… when I got it on my table I just stared blankly at this dubious, paper-wrapped parcel, half-expecting it to pounce at my face, its hot oozing cheese blinding me permanently in one eye and the beef patties causing greased-force trauma to my forehead. It was a decently sized burger, somewhere between a double-quarter pounder and a big mac. After I managed to get rid of the horrific visions of a burger-induced injury out of my mind I unwrapped it:

First of all, the burger was upside down. And secondly, why does the advertising always look better than the real thing? I poked and prodded the burger to make sure it was dead and wouldn’t pounce on me. After a few seconds I realised that the burger was indeed lifeless (probably from overcooking), I took a bite. Contrary to the unappetizing photo, the Tamago actually tasted good. The patties had a strong seasoning, and the mayo was a tangy seafood-flavoured Kewpie mayo which tasted like lobster and the egg just made my day. Usually, a meal at McDonalds is always followed by grease-induced nausea but for some reason unknown the feeling never eventuated. Yes, the Tamago Double Mac has my heart-foundation tick of approval!