We reviewed Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom convenience store food you’ll probably never get to try
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Critics have already determined that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a hit. With scores of 10/10 across the board, it’s probably fair to say that the game has largely lived up to the high expectations placed on it. But outside of the game itself, there are more Tears of the Kingdom-branded products that have yet to receive the same depth of critical questioning: the collaborative convenience store food items.
In Japan, it is quite common for the three major convenience store chains (FamilyMart, Lawson, and Seven-Eleven) to produce small themed food selections to coincide with the release of certain major video games or movies. Just in the last year, both splatoon 3 and Pokemon themed items can be found in Seven-Eleven stores across the country. With the release of Tears of the Kingdom, Lawson’s Convenience Store has gifted us with no less than five unique food items that are loosely themed around the game.
In an effort to provide truly comprehensive critical coverage of Tears of the Kingdom, we did what no other outlet was brave enough to do: we took it upon ourselves to hunt down these delights. From here, we provide a review of each of the available items, taking into account the taste, presentation, and lore accuracy of each dish.
Mushroom foccacia ‘Hearty Truffle’
Trying to embody the health-renewing splendor of the “hearty truffle” item found in the game, this Focaccia mushroom certainly packs a strong, perhaps even “mild” flavor. The bread component is light and fluffy, and topped with small, moist, flavorful mushrooms.
The bread is a decent size for the cost, and if you’re a fan of the humble mushroom, this would certainly be a good choice for a quick lunchtime meal. Link himself is unable to create Focaccia in-game, but there’s a simplicity to this dish that’s a bit reminiscent of the kind of thing he might throw together in a pinch. Mushrooms and bread – nothing amazing, but a combination that really can’t go wrong.
7.5/10
Beast Meat Curry Bread
Currypan is a staple of convenience store Japanese cuisine. Combining the deliciously sweet and spicy flavor of Japanese-style curry with a soft doughnut-like exterior, curry bread is a fairly basic (but very enjoyable) treat.
This Tears of the Kingdom-themed curry bread does little to set itself apart from the crowd of similar products. It has the same basic flavor and texture as its contemporaries, with a soft, sweet bread covering that contains a delicious curry sauce and small pieces of meat inside. This was a delicious curry bread, but in the competitive world of curry breads it was slightly above average. As with Tears of Kingdom, if you still don’t like the formula the predecessors laid out (…for curry bread), this won’t change your mind.
6/10
‘Goron Spice Power’ dry curry onigiri
Onigiri is also another commonly found item at the convenience store, but adding curry flavor to the mix is a rare thing. Common onigiri flavors include salmon, tuna, seaweed, and plum, but the curry isn’t one that comes up very often, so it’s exciting.
This particular onigiri boldly claims to be seasoned with Goron Spice Powder. In truth, it is a mild flavor and given its fiery nature, I would expect Goron Spice Powder to have more intensity. There’s a bit of a kick to it, but the onigiri rice mostly tastes like curry rice that you might find elsewhere.
Having said all of that, this onigiri has great synergy and blends together quite well. There are large chunks of well-seasoned beef and carrot that were effectively distributed throughout the rice, and the curry flavor gives it a more exciting flavor than most onigiri. As all Onigiri is a portable meal, so it’s perfect to take with you on long missions.
8/10
Clam soup with milk and salmon
This Salmon Milk Clam Chowder is, visually, the least appealing item of the bunch. The soup had bits of salmon floating around and had a fairly natural, if understated, soup flavor that helped lift a somewhat muddy texture.
This particular item didn’t do much for me, but it’s hard to describe as “bad.” It seemed pretty average for clam chowder, but since Link can create clam chowder, this might be one of the more game-accurate items in the set, so credit where it’s due.
5/10
‘Hot Pepper’ Chicken
Adorned with the images of Spicy Peppers that can be found in Tears of the Kingdom, this new flavor of ‘Karaage-kun’ (Lawson’s signature fried chicken product) could easily be a revamped version of a previous collaboration flavor, but that’s okay, because it’s delicious.
The chicken itself, which comes in a distinctly red hue, has an excellent balance of textures, with tender meat and crispy batter. Like the onigiri, it is mild in flavor, but not overpowering. The chicken was not dry, but not too wet either and it went well with a variety of sauces. Overall, it’s a delicious addition to the collaboration menu, and like Tears of the Kingdom, it could be considered a highlight of the series.
9/10
As expected with a video game related food release, these Tears of the Kingdom items varied wildly in quality. It’s a silly novelty with an incredibly loose theme, but with cooking still such an integral mechanic in Tears of the Kingdom, this collaboration certainly makes at least a little more sense than it usually does.
Collaboration items like this come and go quite frequently in Japan, and it’s easy to become cynical about the corporate motivations behind such releases, especially when it doesn’t require much effort. In the wake of a game as carefully crafted as Tears of the Kingdom, it’s nice to see fast food tie-ins at least thought through.
Very few 10/10 video games are blessed with releasing simultaneously with an 8/10 onigiri, and perhaps that’s reason enough for this to exist.
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