To many, fast food is often stamped as oily, greasy, and unappealing junk food. Over the summer, I encountered an exception: Wolfgang Puck Express. Anyone who has vowed never to go near KFC will find themselves in a different situation when dining at the Wolfgang Puck Express.

This Californian style chain restaurant, run by Wolfgang Puck, the official chef of the annual Academy Awards, is located in accessible areas such as Otemachi, Roppongi, Shibuya, Yokohama, and Akasaka. Wolfgang Puck Express boasts a simple, relaxed interior decorated with biscuit-colored pastels, boasting a retreat from the fancy, elaborate restaurants in Tokyo.

The menu offers appetizers such as mouthwatering baked goat cheese and crispy calamari, and entrees such as smooth fettuccine with a rich creamy sauce and peppery pesto chicken paillard.

But the best option may be requesting a custom-made “honey chicken burger” (as I like to call it). Wolfgang’s honey chicken burger is definitely one of the most flavourful and least oil-drenched burgers that you will come across. Constructed from a base of slightly toasted sesame bread, the burger is layered with caramelized onions, sun-dried tomatoes, lettuce, and herb chicken. The dressing, consisting of a creamy sesame honey sauce, provides a tang of sweetness to the burger. The final product combines sweet and salty, soft and crunchy.

Another wonder is Wolfgang Puck’s french fries that accompany the burger. Usually french fries are deeply saturated with grease, but Wolfgang’s fries are not as concentrated in oil. Instead, the french fries are tossed with fresh Italian herbs.

The appetisers are around 500 yen, while mains (such as the fettuccine, chicken, and burger) are around 1,000 yen.

If the price and the quality of the food isn’t enough to convince you, then the restaurant’s motto “Live, Love, Eat” should be!