Beware Of Burger King False Advertising

[scott_cos]

Every once in awhile I have a "burger attack" when I really crave a good cheeseburger. Unfortunately, I live in Laksi, far from the burger havens of downtown Bangkok - thus I am left with McDonald's and Burger King.

Burger King used to do it for me but recently I have been having problems with their product quality. I contacted the Minor Group, Thai franchisee of the Burger King brand and have talked with Nakarintr Thamhatai, General Manager, Burger Thailand Limited.

Thanks to a “slip-of-the-tongue” by an area manager following up on a problem of a double whooper with cheese delivered to me with moist bottom bun, I learned, and Khun Nakarintr confirmed and said it was operational procedure for ALL Burger King burgers to first be flame broiled and then left to sit (fat congeal) and when ready to use again, thrown into the microwave. The same holds true for their bread products (buns) – they are microwaved before sandwich is made.

I wrote Khun Nakarintr “You know, it is funny, I was just in the CNBC web site this evening where I watched a short interview with Peter Tan, president Asia Pacific for Burger King. Mr. Tan said “We see ourselves as a premium product.” “We’re selling on quality not on quantity!”

I feel totally cheated. I am disappointed in the Minor Group for this indiscretion in operational procedure AND actions which damage the company brand.

I also told your company local manger I now feel I was cheated in getting “flame broiled” burgers which were flame broiled, left to sit and then microwaved – totally an inferior product.”

I am presently checking with Burger King USA to see if this is their operational procedure as well – if so, they are libel for class action suit as they advertise “flame broiled” not flame broiled and microwaved. I am pretty sure the USA does not “nuke” its burger product.

I urge all readers to begin to boycott Burger King. To pay premium prices for an inferior food product feeds into corporate exploitation of the consumer.

I must say that Nakarintr seemed interested in dealing with the problem and my concern but he is powerless to change country policies for food handling.

[patpattaya]

I've always thought this was the norm! Burger King in the UK do this also.

Methinks you need too build a bridge (and get over it)

[LtLOS]

Nothing new here, yes, been done for years. If you've ever been in any resto kitchen you will find that many items are held and reheated. If you think that this means the food is not good or fresh then you better just start making all your own. Take a look back at some other posts by EuroG on this site, his business is providing pre cooked products to restos. It's done all the time, prep and hold!

[Jingthing]

Burger King a premium product? Premium to what? Dog food?

[PeaceBlondie]

I used to get around it by ordering a non-standard item like "no mustard, double cheeseburger." If they have to make it from scratch, it's not exactly fast food anymore, but more likely to be fresh. Still, it might be a reheated burger and a reheated bum.

[Ulysses G.]

Burger King in the US uses MUCH better beef and tastes like it is flame broiled. In Thailand, the beef is of the lowest possible quality and no flame broiled taste that I can find.

Still, they might be the best burgers around!

[Jingthing]

I guess it depends on where you go. I am not big on burgers, maybe one or two a year, max. Though I do like gourmet style ten dollar burgers made with quality beef you can get in the US. The other day was curious enough to try the Burger King near the Royal Garden Pattaya. It was vile! It was disgusting! It tasted nothing like what I remembered US Burger King's taste like. Why does the franchise allow their name to be dragged in the mud here? I would imagine the local McD's is better because it would be hard to be worse. Premium food, indeed.

[britmaveric]

Chicken Sandwich isn't bad at BK.

[Ulysses G.]

I guess it depends on where you go. I am not big on burgers, maybe one or two a year, max. Though I do like gourmet style ten dollar burgers made with quality beef you can get in the US. The other day was curious enough to try the Burger King near the Royal Garden Pattaya. It was vile! It was disgusting! It tasted nothing like what I remembered US Burger King's taste like. Why does the franchise allow their name to be dragged in the mud here? I would imagine the local McD's is better because it would be hard to be worse. Premium food, indeed.

I did like the BK Broiler chicken sandwich that wasn't fried. I think that they got rid of it though.

McDonalds set meals are like half the price of BK. They use the same crap beef, but put a sauce on it that makes a Big Mac taste much better than a Whopper. IMHO.

[scott_cos]

I've always thought this was the norm! Burger King in the UK do this also.

Methinks you need too build a bridge (and get over it)

Sorry, this is NOT the norm. Take a look at the BK corporate web page. In the USA they advertise flame broiled burgers. Burgers are made on the spot - not microwaved warmed. If they were microwaved, advertisements (we have a truth in advertising law in the USA - even though many companies do not follow it - they end up in court) would have to say as such (in fine print of course).

Yeah, bridge I build is away from Burger King. Probably better for my health anyway. there are some great burgers to be had from some of the British Pubs (yeah, thats a kick isn't it) in town but as I said, I lie away from town center.

Too many times people with mais pen rais attitudes turn into sheep .......

And yes, the BK chicken sandwhich is not bad - if they stop nuking the bread - turning it into a pastey mess.

[scott_cos]

I've always thought this was the norm! Burger King in the UK do this also.

Methinks you need too build a bridge (and get over it)

Sorry, this is NOT the norm. Take a look at the BK corporate web page. In the USA they advertise flame broiled burgers. Burgers are made on the spot - not microwaved warmed. If they were microwaved, advertisements (we have a truth in advertising law in the USA - even though many companies do not follow it - they end up in court) would have to say as such (in fine print of course).

Yeah, bridge I build is away from Burger King. Probably better for my health anyway. there are some great burgers to be had from some of the British Pubs (yeah, thats a kick isn't it) in town but as I said, I lie away from town center.

Too many times people with mais pen rais attitudes turn into sheep .......

And yes, the BK chicken sandwhich is not bad - if they stop nuking the bread - turning it into a pastey mess.

PS Forgot to mention, if enough people CARE about receiving quality product and services for their money and vote with their pocketbook (ie BOYCOTT bad product and services) with media attention, companies will get the message and change. Consumers do have power even though in locales like Thailand, you have to often fight for the right.....

[JohnBKKK]

Hi,

must admit to be surprised by this post about a BK not being freshly made ... now to their defence (of the service NOT the product) imagine a BK at its rush hour freshly flame grilling burgers ... how many Thai staff would go up in flames themselves or suffering severe burns during the rush ?? besides some burgers being served rare and others cremated .. Customers in such places want quick, cheap service and not pay the price of staff that actually is traned as BBQ Chefs - yes there is such a thing - those work in high priced and high end BBQ places in Eurpe and the US!

Now to the product in defense of real burgers and the idea of pre-cooking - there are certain dishes that even improve with pre cooking, like most stews which would also take way too long to make for every customer on order. Or alternative you would end up with a German Pork Knuckle fresh from the deep fryer with tuff meat and a crust so thick and hard that you coulnd cut it, never mind eat it. Most places here actually serve it that way. We supply knuckles braised in a vacuum in herbs and beer for 2 1/2 hours, than vacuum packed and all they have to do is to put it under the salamander for the skin to crisp up. The meat is

'fall off the bone soft ' and has great flavor and the skin is only 2mm thick and crispy.

We supply a number of dishes that are pre-cooked to customers, but I would only make those, where I know that they will not suffer during the process and most will even improove. BBQ burgers, lamb or beef is one of those items.

As far as BK and relatives are concerned, when its cr... to start with, no re-heating will improove or hurt the product in any way. That they microwave the bun is of course a joke since it will turn soggy and discusting.

Now the burgers themselves are well done and re-heating does no real harm if the original cooking and herbage was correct.

We are putting pre-BBQ beef burgers into Villa 33 today which have been made over real charcoal and have the full flavor of prime beef and BBQ. Now here is the difference, those have been vacuum packed imediately after the BBQ'ing, retaining all flavors and instead of nuking the poor burger, we recommend that you place ours still inside the unopened vacuum bag into water that has been boiling and the heat source been switched off - leave for 8 minutes remove and serve in a bun that has crisped slightly over a toaster or in the oven. Place a slice of cheese onto the burger straight away after it comes out of the bag so it will melt.

They are real juicy burgers with the right flavor and bite - they are not thin patties or so called UFO's but have 200G and thickness/body to them.

with culinary regards

John

[egg]

Burger King a premium product? Premium to what? Dog food?

,,,,it still tastes OK , once every 6 months ,,,,,,,,,,,, it is cooked the same the world over ,,, same as Aus ,,,,,,,,,,,, ,, if you are worried about how food is cooked ,, you would eat very little Thai food ,,,

cheers

egg

[onethailand]

I used to get around it by ordering a non-standard item like "no mustard, double cheeseburger." If they have to make it from scratch, it's not exactly fast food anymore, but more likely to be fresh. Still, it might be a reheated burger and a reheated bum.

For me it was usually "Hold the pickles" But here, the burger is still built up and microwaved, just without the pickles, so it makes little difference.

Here, and in most other Asian countries that I've gone to a BK, the microwave is always used. Not the way I would prefer it but generally it's still acceptable, unless they've nuked all the juice out of the burgers in which case they're not very good at all.

One other pet peeve is getting a cold apple pie - so I always order two, knowing that they never have two in stock. Then I make sure they make two fresh ones and keep the stale one for themselves - last time they tried to pull a fast one on me, they got a right bollocking with other customers watching.

Edited February 10, 2008 by onethailand

[scott_cos]

Hi,

must admit to be surprised by this post about a BK not being freshly made ... now to their defence (of the service NOT the product) imagine a BK at its rush hour freshly flame grilling burgers ... how many Thai staff would go up in flames themselves or suffering severe burns during the rush ?? besides some burgers being served rare and others cremated .. Customers in such places want quick, cheap service and not pay the price of staff that actually is traned as BBQ Chefs - yes there is such a thing - those work in high priced and high end BBQ places in Eurpe and the US!

Now to the product in defense of real burgers and the idea of pre-cooking - there are certain dishes that even improve with pre cooking, like most stews which would also take way too long to make for every customer on order. Or alternative you would end up with a German Pork Knuckle fresh from the deep fryer with tuff meat and a crust so thick and hard that you coulnd cut it, never mind eat it. Most places here actually serve it that way. We supply knuckles braised in a vacuum in herbs and beer for 2 1/2 hours, than vacuum packed and all they have to do is to put it under the salamander for the skin to crisp up. The meat is

'fall off the bone soft ' and has great flavor and the skin is only 2mm thick and crispy.

We supply a number of dishes that are pre-cooked to customers, but I would only make those, where I know that they will not suffer during the process and most will even improove. BBQ burgers, lamb or beef is one of those items.

As far as BK and relatives are concerned, when its cr... to start with, no re-heating will improove or hurt the product in any way. That they microwave the bun is of course a joke since it will turn soggy and discusting.

Now the burgers themselves are well done and re-heating does no real harm if the original cooking and herbage was correct.

We are putting pre-BBQ beef burgers into Villa 33 today which have been made over real charcoal and have the full flavor of prime beef and BBQ. Now here is the difference, those have been vacuum packed imediately after the BBQ'ing, retaining all flavors and instead of nuking the poor burger, we recommend that you place ours still inside the unopened vacuum bag into water that has been boiling and the heat source been switched off - leave for 8 minutes remove and serve in a bun that has crisped slightly over a toaster or in the oven. Place a slice of cheese onto the burger straight away after it comes out of the bag so it will melt.

They are real juicy burgers with the right flavor and bite - they are not thin patties or so called UFO's but have 200G and thickness/body to them.

with culinary regards

John

John,

In the States, BK has hig-tech flame broiler that in seconds turns out burgers ready to eat. Granted this is Thailand and not USA but fact that they promo their burgers as high quality premium brand and flame broiled (unlike McD) smacks me of deceiving the consumer.

Your burgers sound great and would like to get some. Any chance Villa will ship them out to their chaengwattana store? If I call them and ask for them would that help?

Scott

[Ulysses G.]

In the States, BK has hig-tech flame broiler that in seconds turns out burgers ready to eat. Granted this is Thailand and not USA but fact that they promo their burgers as high quality premium brand and flame broiled (unlike McD) smacks me of deceiving the consumer.

The Burger King beef used in America is MILES ahead of that used in Thailand.

The beef here is like the crummy thin little patties you get at a little stand at an amusement park or State Fair in the U.S. - the worst beef possible.

McDonald uses the cheaper beef everywhere, but they cover it with sauces that taste pretty good and their set meals are almost HALF the price of Burger King. Mc Donalds truly tastes the same everywhere you go, which is what many of us are looking for, but Burger King tastes like crap outside of the U.S.

[JohnBKKK]

Hi Scott,

sure, I think if you'd call them and ask for some product to be made available for pick up at chaengwattana they would oblidge. US beef is great and if you can get prime without the antibiotics I would rank it up there with Angus beef. Not that the antibiotics cause any flavor problems .. its just the fact that they will eventually cause a lot of the stuff not to work when you might really need it.

In the US you'll find many independant or small chain burger places that offer excellent freshly flame grilled burgers - one place I went, you even choose your beef as a piece before they ground it befor you and of course, I had it medium rare - even BK is ok there not great, but ok but we are not there and here BK .. well .. to put it mildly is not to be compared to their US counterpart.

By the way, I had one of my own burgers today covered with Dejon mustard and some grilled slices of Canadian Bacon and raw onions, as sauce I used plain Ketchup - it was fantastic -the bun could have been a big bigger though - a delicious mess

[scott_cos]

Hi Scott,

sure, I think if you'd call them and ask for some product to be made available for pick up at chaengwattana they would oblidge. US beef is great and if you can get prime without the antibiotics I would rank it up there with Angus beef. Not that the antibiotics cause any flavor problems .. its just the fact that they will eventually cause a lot of the stuff not to work when you might really need it.

In the US you'll find many independant or small chain burger places that offer excellent freshly flame grilled burgers - one place I went, you even choose your beef as a piece before they ground it befor you and of course, I had it medium rare - even BK is ok there not great, but ok but we are not there and here BK .. well .. to put it mildly is not to be compared to their US counterpart.

By the way, I had one of my own burgers today covered with Dejon mustard and some grilled slices of Canadian Bacon and raw onions, as sauce I used plain Ketchup - it was fantastic -the bun could have been a big bigger though - a delicious mess

sadist ! You are welcome to prepare that at my house anytime.

[PadThaiGuy]

Burger King taking crap food to another level?

Microwaved, fried, barbecued, boiled... processed, frozen, shipped, "cooked" by teenagers on automated equipment....it's all really garbage food served at these fast food joints.

Just a place to fill your gut. No?

[bendix]

I really think the OP needs to either get a job or a hobby. Is this really such a burning issue? It reminds me of another esteemed member who has dedicated his life to saving us all from the dreaded gem scam.

[ashacat]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Burger King.

[scott_cos]

I really think the OP needs to either get a job or a hobby. Is this really such a burning issue? It reminds me of another esteemed member who has dedicated his life to saving us all from the dreaded gem scam.

As I said earlier, those with a mais pen rais attitude are sheep in a pasture.

This is an issue for me. I am not forcing it on you or any other posters - if you wish to boycott - it is appreciated so there is leverage to correcting what I (and apparently others) see as somewhat of a wrong.

Slams at members that "care" are not called for. If you don't like what is being "blogged" (so to say) then ignore it (us)!

In the mantime I am making way with the Thailand BK people - waiting to speak with the Asian franchise manager Lyndsay Aitken out of Australia. Changes that come about in operational procedures in Thailand will benefit all (that like fast food burgers anyway).

But in the end, what Thailand really needs is a good consumer protection law

[Cuban]

Chicken Sandwich isn't bad at BK.

Chicken Sandwich isn't Chicken either at BK.

I think you could sum up everything in Thailand as similar to the west but soggier and padded out with rice.

[scott_cos]

Well, it seems I am wrong about one thing - in fact BK DOES microwave its burger AND bottom bun in the USA as well as out here in Asia (and around the world where it is standard operational procedure). They stopped using long ago "flame broiled" in their advertising as in fact they are not 100% flame broiled.

But, non-the-less, in discussion with Lyndsay Aitken, head of BK Asian franchising (out of New Zealand) today, he did in-fact admit that there may be a problem with product quality at Thai BKs if the bottom bun is soggy. He also mentioned the company had requested (at one point) that french fries not be delivered because of a lot of complaints - but alas, the Thai franchiser chooses to deliver them.

Part of the reason that this happens is not enough Thai consumers care (to be fair Mr. Aitken said “all Asian consumers don’t care”).

I offered to meet him when he is next in Thailand and buy him a whopper to show him what a mess of a sandwhich it is.

[junkofdavid2]

I really think the OP needs to either get a job or a hobby. Is this really such a burning issue? It reminds me of another esteemed member who has dedicated his life to saving us all from the dreaded gem scam.

AGREE!

Reminds me too about yet another esteemed member who seems to have bizarrely dedicated his life to defending the Thailand utopia down to his last drop of blood!

[Jingthing]

I tried it in Thailand. Once. I won't darken their greasy door again. Problem solved. If only the Pattaya taxi mafia could be crushed that easily!

Edited February 11, 2008 by Jingthing

[bendix]

Well, i've changed my mind. I think the OP should be applauded for taking this important cause on.

Obama has changing the nature of American politics. Al Gore has global warming. Bono has African poverty. Numerous charitable agencies have alleviating poverty in Thailand. Jingthing has decided to focus on the Pattaya taxi mafia. Who are we to say that soggy buns at BurgerKing don't deserve out attention too?

In the interests of helping the cause, I went to Burger King Silom today. Whopper with bacon and cheese. Delicious, although because it was the first burger I've had in months i felt a bit bloated after and - to be honest - Mrs Bendix's tom kah gai didnt go down so well tonight as it usually does.

But it's a small price to pay, I guess, when others are prepared to go so much further.

I think I'll go again tomorrow, to see if things have improved.

Watch this space.

[scott_cos]

yawn!