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Burger King has introduced a new burger in Thailand that has created a lot of buzz.
The burger, called the “real cheeseburger,” has about 20 slices of American cheese inside the bun, but no meat. It was launched in Thai Burger King restaurants on Sunday at a lower price than usual. Many people in Thailand found out about it through social media, especially TikTok, where videos of people trying the burger went viral.
The new burger became so popular that one Burger King branch had to stop delivery orders to make sure they had enough stock for people who came to eat at the restaurant.
Some customers who tried the cheeseburger thought it had too much cheese. One person said she liked cheese but this burger was too much. She could only eat half of it.
Another customer found the cheeseburger to be too intense. She likes having a few slices of cheese in her burger but also thought this was too much.
Fast food restaurants around the world try to come up with unique menu items to attract attention on social media.
Restaurants also change their menus for local preferences. In Thailand, cheese is very popular among young customers so it’s common to find it on fast food menus. Burger King in Thailand also offers salmon katsu burgers.
Burger King in Thailand is owned by a company called Minor International, which is one of Asia’s biggest restaurant owners. They own other brands like Dairy Queen and Benihana.
Vocabulary
- Introduce – to start using for the first time; launch
- Buzz – Excitement or interest that spreads quickly among people
- Slice – a thin, flat piece of something; bread can be cut into slices
- Bun – a soft, round bread roll, often used for sandwiches and burgers
- Launch – start selling something; introduce a new product or service; to start using a new thing
- Thai – Relating to or from Thailand
- Social media – services like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.
- Especially – to show that something is greater or more important than other things; particularly; notably; specifically; for the most part
- Go viral – to quickly become very popular on the internet
- Branch – a part of a company or organization that is located in a different place; one office or shop of a big company with many offices or shops
- Delivery – the act or process of bringing goods, letters, etc., to a place or person; transport
- Make sure – To ensure or double-check that something is done correctly or as planned
- Stock – The supply of goods or items that a store or business has available to sell
- Intense – Very strong or severe; powerful
- Come up with – to think of or create something new
- Unique – One of a kind or different from everything else;
- Attract attention – To cause somebody to notice or become interested in someone or something; to be noticeable and interesting
- Local – related to or connected to a specific/particular place; existing in or belonging to the area that you are talking about.
- Preference – Something that you like or choose more than other options;
- Common – occurring or appearing frequently; something that happens often or is normal; usual
- Brand – the name of a company and its image; one product with a specific name made by one company, e.g., Sprite is one of Coca-Cola’s brands
Quiz
Discussion Questions
- What do you think of the “real cheeseburger”? Would you try it? Would you buy one?
- Do you think social media has a significant impact on the popularity of new food items introduced by fast food chains? Why or why not?
- How important do you think it is for fast food restaurants to adapt their menus to cater to local preferences? Can you provide any examples?
- What other kinds of unique menu items have you seen at fast food restaurants?
- English teachers looking for teaching ideas, check out my post on using easy news articles for lessons.
- English learners looking for study ideas, check out my post on using news stories for English practice.
