Paint It Black with Burger King Japan's Kuro Burger!!

It is fall in Japan.  The leaves are slowly changing color.  The nights are getting longer and cooler.  Also, this is the time in which Burger King Japan unleashes their kuro (黒 black) burger onto the masses.  This is the second year in which this style of burger has been offered to the masses.  Last year's burger looked like this.
 
 It was called the "kuro ninja".  It showcased a ham-like bacon with grill marks on it, a crisp hash brown patty, and a beef patty.  It was a unique burger to say the least. 

This year, Burger King Japan decided to release two new black burgers onto the market.  The Kuro Pearl is  your regular sized cheeseburger that Burger King offers, while, the Kuro Diamond is the black version of the Whopper. 

The burger's bun is made with bamboo charcoal, while, the black cheese is made with black pepper and squid ink.  The sauce is also black.   The sauce is a garlicky onion mix.

Recently, these kuro burgers have been appearing in the Western media like Britain's The Independent and The Daily Mail (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2763334/Even-cheese-black-Would-eat-Burger-King-s-Kuro-creation-squid-ink-bamboo-charcoal.html).  Also, they are various videos on YouTube showcasing the burger.

Dining Dojo decided to try out the burger to see if the burger could live up to its to hype.  So, I went to my local Burger King that is near my house (BTW...the only in Nagoya).  When I arrived at the Burger King, I noticed their big sign advertising the kuro burger. 

 There were a number of patrons at the Burger King.  Most people were eating from the regular menu, while, a select few foreigners were trying the black burger.  I found that rather intriguing.  Maybe, they also wanted to decide what was the hype with this burger.

I ordered the Kuro Diamond, the Whopper version of a black burger.  Now, Burger King is offering the burger for 680 yen with a free Coke Zero.  If you wanted to have a fries on the side, they would cost you an extra 280 yen.  Then, I took my seat and then waited for my burger to arrive.

 The Kuro Diamond arrived at my table.  I took some pictures of the meal for Dining Dojo.  Then, I sank my teeth into the burger.  The burger tasted exactly like a Whopper with some pepper garlicky sauce thrown in the mix.  You can hardly notice the taste of the bamboo charcoal and squid ink that they used to make the burger black.  To me, it tasted exactly like a Whopper. 

Visually speaking, it is somewhat disturbing and maybe off putting for those people who like a classic hamburger or cheeseburger with the sesame bun.  However with this burger, do not let the look of the burger to fool you.  It is a decent burger that was built for a marketing campaign. 

These burgers are nothing special in my opinion.  I wish that the Burger King Japan would bring back the Kuro Ninja.  At least, that burger was unique in its look and taste.  The new Kuro Pearl and Kuro Diamond offerings are just a cheeseburger and a Whopper cheeseburger with a black paint job.