Family Mart releases new rice balls with Bongo, Japan’s most famous onigiri restaurant

Shohei Ohtani is the ambassador for this new collaboration, and we’ve received the inside track on whether or not it’s price spending cash on.

Bongo in Otsuka, Tokyo, is sometimes called Japan’s most well-known rice ball restaurant, and now it’s set to change into much more well-known, because of a brand new tie-up with Japanese comfort retailer chain Household Mart.

▼ Bongo is so common it has strains exterior day by day and fills up inside minutes of opening.

Even world-famous baseball participant Shohei Ohtani is a fan, appearing as ambassador for the brand new collaboration and consuming his manner by 19 rice balls whereas filming the tie-up business, which he stars in.

The brand new rice balls are set to hit Household Mart cabinets from 4 March, however we have been invited to a press occasion for an early tasting, with our reporter P.Okay. Sanjun attending.

▼ The president of Household Mart, giving an entertaining speech on the upcoming marketing campaign.

When Ohtani’s involvement was revealed, it created a flurry of pleasure amongst the attending media, and that pleasure peaked once more after they received to attempt the rice balls.

▼ Priced at 198 yen (US$1.32) every, there are two varieties coming our manner — the Floor Meat & Egg Yolk and the Greens, Spicy Roe Mayonnaise.

When P.Okay. put his mouth to them, he thought they have been scrumptious, however he couldn’t fairly work out which particular half Bongo had lent its hand to of their creation.

▼ Was it the seaweed, the rice or the filling?

Admittedly, P.Okay. is one thing of an novice in terms of comfort retailer rice balls as he solely eats them often. One one who’s rather more of an skilled, however who was off on one other task and couldn’t attend the press occasion, is P.Okay.’s pal and colleague Seiji Nakazawa. So P.Okay. tucked one of many Greens, Spicy Roe Mayonnaise rice balls into his pocket and took it again to the workplace to get an skilled opinion on the brand new Household Mart rice ball.

▼ Seiji took a chew and instantly grinned from ear-to-ear, giving it his full approval.

“Wait, what?!” Seiji exclaimed in between mouthfuls. “That is actually scrumptious. It’s uncommon to discover a comfort retailer rice ball with such a beneficiant filling. I as soon as had a rice ball with lots of fillings at 7-Eleven earlier than, however this one is much more packed.”

Seiji went on to reward the fluffiness of the rice, saying it was arduous to imagine that this was a comfort retailer rice ball, and when he discovered the advisable retail worth was 198 yen, he did one other double-take, telling us he thought it will be within the 250-yen vary.

His enthusiasm for the rice ball gave P.Okay. much more appreciation for them, and he and Seiji made a pact to go and check out them once more after they’re launched. They may even discover the time to drag up a stool at Bongo to share tasting notes on the freshly made rice balls that draw all of the crowds.

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