Fresh Made Burgers: the End of McDonald's?

Here in Hong Kong, there are many burger joints which offer fresh made burgers: Monster Burger, BLT Burger, MOS Burger etc.  These joints offer a different kind of service than the traditional burger joints such as McDonald's or Burger King.  The moment when you order a burger, the shop will make it from scratch.  Therefore these burgers are fresher and hotter.

One good example of fresh burger joint is the famous MOS Burger from Japan.  It is the second largest fast food franchise in Japan with shops in many Asian countries.  At the time of this blog post, there are 15 MOS Burger joints around Hong Kong.

After you order a burger, and if you decide to eat inside the shop, you pick a seat and wait for your order.  After your burger meal is made, it will be delivered to you by a waiter or waitress.  The following picture shows a fish burger at MOS Burger:

The burger was really hot and it is the way I like it.  Of course, the service offered by MOS Burger comes with a price.  A fish burger meal is about HK$37 whereas a fillet-o-fish meal at McDonald's is about HK$24.  So customers are paying more than 50% premium for MOS Burger's service.

There are way more variety of burgers at MOS Burger than McDonald's.  At the same time, the number of seats is a lot smaller.  What customers get is a comfortable (that is, not crowded) place to enjoy an expensive burger meal with relatively good customer service.  The question is: are customers willing to pay this price?

The answer is an astounding yes.  Life is short.  Take your time and enjoy your food.