McD's FOF lovers -- how is FOF compared with Burger King's Fish Sandwich?

[Tripeler]

At the Burger King locations in Japan, they have introduced their Fish Sandwich as a NEW product, though it has been available in the U.S. for several years. I recently tried one, and found it larger than McD's FOF, but not quite as tasty in terms of the fried fish patty.

There are many lovers of McD's FOF here and I want to ask if anyone likes the Burger King fish sandwich more than the FOF. What do you think? The FOF in Japan is 270 yen while the BK Fish is 310 yen.

[laststandchili]

I succumb to the occasional FOF urge. The last BK fish sandwich I tried a couple days ago was so incredibly salty as to be completey inedible. Pretty sure I gave up after about two bites, the second taken only to confirm the first.

[Clams047]

According to their published data, the BK fish sandwich weighs 30% more than a FOF (185 gm vs. 142 gm), but has 42% more sodium (840 vs. 590 mg), 58% more fat calories (30 vs. 19) and only 20% more protein (18 vs. 15 gm).

Besides being a much more enjoyable item, the FOF tends to have less fat & salt and better protein content. Not sure of the price difference vs. the weight difference.

[Kelli2006]

That was also my impression. The BK fish is very salty and it has too much shredded lettuce on it.

The last FOF that I had was not something that I will remember fondly. I cant put it down to just one factor but it wasn't very good.

[huiray]

I personally rank the BKFS below Wendy's (available during Lent) which in turn I rank below the FoF.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/725347#7164195
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/7253...

However, the product quality varies between locations/franchisees... Nevertheless, I agree with others that the lettuce etc with the BKFS makes it different from the FoF in a significant way.

[libgirl2]

I love the Wendy's fish sandwich even though I like the FOF, Wendy's sandwich is a cut above.

[huiray]

To each his or her own.

[James Cristinian]

Libgirl2, I also rank Wendy's one, followed by Filet-O-Fish, and the the King. At Burger King, I order it without lettuce. Now, the Filet-O-Fish, I get a double with no cheese, and I srape off most of the tartar sauce and chunk most of the bun on all. I'm all about the fish.

[huiray]

Have you and libgirl2 tried the product at different locations and at different times of Wendy's and MacDonald's? (I have) Location appears to matter with the product as delivered to your hand, notwithstanding its supposed "chain uniformity".

[James Cristinian]

Yes I have, and I still like Wendy's better

[libgirl2]

That is true, I usually only frequent the same locations.

[ipsedixit]

Well, you probably know my answer to this.

But I really think the FoF and the BKFS are really different animals (or fish, to be more precise). The former is like a White Castle slider; the latter like a Carl's Jr Famous Star.

The FoF is like one big overgrown fish stick so big that you need a hamburger bun and some tartar sauce to pick it up. The BMFS comes with lettuce (lettuce!) but no cheese so it's more akin to a traditional fish sandwich.

I'm going to sum it up this way: The BKFS sandwich tastes like a fast food fish sandwich while the FoF just tastes really damn good and unlike anything else you'll find - be it fast food or haute cuisine.

[Clams047]

The FOF reference to being an overgrown fish stick is probably valid, but while I really like FOF, I've never had a fish stick worthy of eating. Oddly, there is a big difference.

The few times I've tried the BK item, I've found it to have no flavor beyond the excessive grease. Whatever they use as a coating / perhaps filler really soaks up the cooking oil.

[Tripeler]

Ipsedixit,
Well, the Burger King fish sandwich in Japan has both cheese and some kind of tartar sauce. And, lettuce, of course.

I got the impression they had created it to compete with the McD FOF, but upon checking I found that BK has had the fish sandwich in the U.S. for quite a while. Still, I got the same impression as you had -- they certainly do taste different.

[ipsedixit]

Very few things come close to a FoF.

And I mean that in both a good and bad way -- depending on your perspective in life, or just which side of the bed you get up from.

It's one of the few things in life I think I could eat if I lost all my dentures ...

[cstr]

I remember when the BK fish sandiwch was called The Whaler, was pretty flavorless. I like the MacD's FOF cause it's like a whole piece of fish and the cheese and extra tartar sauce make it.

[Boston_Otter]

This is a perfect summary.

BK can brag that their fish sandwich is more 'real', but that doesn't make it better. It's frankly a large, tasteless brick of fish, and it's not worth seeking out.

The FoF at McDonalds might be 'fake' but something about the fish patty, the tartar sauce, and the steamed bun makes it a tiny masterpiece.