Fast Food Watch: Burger King Joins List of Int'l Fast Food Chains Offering Plant-Based Burgers in Beijing

Beijing’s plant-based community woke up to welcome news yesterday morning as international fast food juggernaut, Burger King, announced via their official Weibo account that they would be adding a faux-meat version of their Whopper aptly called – if not entirely uninspired – the Plant-based Whopper, to menus at 325 restaurants in select cities across China. There's also plans for a nationwide rollout by spring 2021, making them the latest in a growing list of international chains on the mainland to offer a vegetarian burger option.

Here in the Beijinger’s offices, three members of our staff -- two meat-eaters and one vegetarian -- put the new burger to the test after picking them up at the chain's Taikoo Li location.

It was met with high praise across the board, with the Beijinger founder Michael Wester concluding that it had what he could only describe as an “umami-flavor,” and that unlike Beyond Meat that he tried last year in his native US, the patty does not “smell like cat food.”

Meanwhile, 13-year-old intern Eloise Wester said she would definitely opt for the burger again over its meat-based counterpart.

As for the vegetarian – who also happens to be yours truly – advancements in plant-based meat recipes and techniques have been growing ever more indistinguishable from real meat, and not always in a good way. To that end, the patty used on the Plant-based Whopper had a texture that doesn't lean into the coagulated ground beef of real meat burgers, and in my humble opinion, is much more enjoyable. Yet, it still preserves the rich and smokey, char-grilled flavor of a hamburger.

Alone, the burger costs RMB 26, however, there are additional meal deals that include a drink, fries, and somewhat inexplicably, chicken wings, for RMB 39, or two burgers, two drinks, fries, and chicken wings, for RMB 69. The appearance of said chicken wings would seem to suggest that Burger King isn’t as concerned with appealing to China’s plant-based eaters, but rather, omnivores who are looking to reduce their meat intake.

The Plant-based Whopper’s patty – which is reportedly made from soy, wheat, vegetable oil, herbs, and onion – is the brainchild of Holland-based company The Vegetarian Butcher, which was acquired by multi-national conglomerate and Burger King partner, Unilever, in 2019. The release of the burger in China’s market coincides with releases across Latin American and Caribbean markets as well.

READ: Fast Food Watch: Thank God McDonald’s Spam-and-Oreo Burger is a One Day Only Thing

Images: Observer Network, Burger King