Japanese convenience store chain hops on the boosted-volume-for-the-same-price train for a limited time.
While more under the radar than other convenience store chains in Japan, Ministop has always been near the top of our list in large part thanks to its tasty prepared food options. A special promotion is also currently underway at locations across the country–the “50-percent volume-up campaign,” which is an occasional occurrence at other chains as well.
▼ Whoah…in this economy?!
From November 4 through 24, 20 popular food items have upped their size while retaining their usual price. Not every item on the list has increased its volume by a whole 50 percent, but regardless, each one is now a better value than it was.
The items have been released in waves, and for this final stretch from November 14 through 20, the star member of the lineup is the hotdog (double wiener) for 215 yen (US$1.39). Ministop is somewhat famous for the hotdog’s cousin, the pizza dog, so this one is likely to win hearts as well.
We were curious to see what else was currently on the shelves for the promotion so we headed over to our local Ministop branch. Here’s what we found.
Butter melon bread (149 yen)
30-percent volume increase
Ham and cheese bread (127 yen)
30-percent volume increase
Want-to-eat-it-every day curry bread (108 yen)
30-percent volume increase
Tuna and egg sandwich (278 yen)
Extra layer of egg sandwich
Three kinds of mixed sandwiches (321 yen)
Extra layer of tuna sandwich
Sauce yakisoba (399 yen)
50-percent volume increase
Double cream puff (108 yen)
30-percent volume increase
Some of the campaign items were out of stock, but it didn’t appear to be a situation where the campaign would have to end early or anything because the shelves were truly wiped clean, as has been the case at similar promotions at other convenience stores.
We elected to bring home three of the volume-up items to try them out.
▼ Something looks a little big bit off about these sizes from usual.
First, the ham and cheese bread was clearly heavier with its increased volume. It spilled out of our hand.
The double puff pastry was even more shocking in that we couldn’t believe the feeling of satisfaction we got for only 108 yen. Since many convenience store sweets these days cost double or even triple that, it felt like we were privy to a truly miraculous gift.
Finally, it was time for the moment we were all waiting for–the unveiling of the 1.5-times-bigger-than-normal sauce yakisoba! A store worker had humorously told us that they never expected the portion size to be that big.
We’d definitely recommend it for any serious carb-loading you need to do in the next week. It was delicious and put us into a slight noodle coma.
There’s only a week left of the 50-percent volume-up campaign at Ministop, so now’s the perfect time to swing by and eat to your heart’s content. For more convenience store fun, see the upcoming Black Friday fried-food discounts at 7-Eleven Japan.
Top image: Ministop
Insert images: Ministop, SoraNews24
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