You know how some fast food franchises try to add something new to their menu but, for one reason or another, usually because they never become the hit they thought it would be, they just drop it. McDonald’s had the Arch Deluxe. Taco Bell discontinued their ginormous XXL Chalupa. And, apparently, Burger King tried enhancing their classic Whopper burgers by adding some crazy things to it, like pepperoni and bacon, before. It’s hard for me to really do research on a detailed timeline for this as the only records I could see of the Pepperoni Bacon Whopper in Western locations only date back to 2015 and 2017. It seemed like a thing in places like the United States and Canada before seemingly dropping off the face off the planet.

Well, it seems like Burger King’s Pepperoni Bacon Whopper fell into some wormhole and got transported over here in the Philippines because it’s been a staple in the country for quite a number years now. It’s been a while since I’ve had it and I decided to revisit it for Burger Month because I only found out that it’s not a regular menu item all over the world. Maybe my thoughts on this monstrous meat mount may reawaken some memories you might have of having one those many years ago.

This week, my schedule was too packed with stuff to go to an actual Burger King location so I just ordered the Pepperoni Bacon Whopper online. I know I really should go to the actual restaurant to really capture the ambiance and all that jazz. But this is a Burger King and most of us has been to one. And if you haven’t been to one, just go to something like your local McDonald’s or Wendy’s and you’ll get a pretty good approximation of what a Burger King feels like in the Philippines.

Anyway, Pepperoni Bacon Whopper doesn’t look like anything special on the surface. Burger King didn’t put out any special wrapper for it as they just use the “regular” Whopper wrapping paper and mark it with a “PB” so that it doesn’t get mixed up with the other “normal” or “alternative” Whoppers they have here in the Philippines. I honestly understand the lack of effort as it wouldn’t make sense to go through ordering and printing several different kinds of wrapping papers for a burger that not many people would be ordering.

Why do I say that? Well, for a couple of reasons. First, the Pepperoni Bacon Whopper already sounds a little bit like overkill. I mean, adding bacon? Fine. Adding pepperoni as well as bacon? That’s preposterous! The second reason would be the Pepperoni Bacon Whopper’s price point. It comes in at a whopping (pun intended) PHP 299! That’s doesn’t even include fries and a drink! Just the burger! It’s basically a $5 burger! For comparison’s sake, last week’s McDonald’s Big Mac only costs 189 PHP. Burger King’s Pepperoni Bacon Whopper is 1/3 more expensive than the Big Mac! And it doesn’t even come in a fancy clamshell box!

Then again, so what if it’s expensive and is only wrapped in brown paper? If the Pepperoni Bacon Whopper tastes good, then it should be worth every penny, right? But before we do dig in, let’s delve a little deeper into this bad boy. I opened it up to check in the insides and, well, I do think a more apt name would be the Burger King Bacon Pepperoni Whopper because, while it does have a ton of bacon, it really needs more pepperoni.

Honestly, I was stunned with the amount of bacon this Whopper had! It had two whole layers of bacon on the top shingled together! I was really pleased with this. What I wasn’t so pleased with was how frugal Burger King was with the amount of pepperoni it had! As the first item of its name, I was expecting it to have a good layer of the circular deli meat covering the burger patty, at the least. Instead, what I got was four pepperoni slices split into two layers. Believe me, I counted! I couldn’t bother to count the bacon because there was a lot. But the pepperoni? Four. Just… four.

I will admit I was surprised to see any kind of vegetable on the Pepperoni Bacon Whopper. I half expected it just to be what the name suggests. Credit goes to Burger King for actually still keeping the traditional Whopper accompaniments of lettuce, onions and tomatoes. Oh, and there’s also mayo and catsup on it. I guess it’s not a Whopper without those as well.

Now that we’re all done with the niceties, it’s time to dig into the Pepperoni Bacon Whopper. I will say, I actually like my first few bites into it. The burger patty wasn’t all that juicy but, then again, whenever was there a fast food burger patty that actually had any juiciness in them? It still tasted pretty good as it does have that fast food quality that you tend to crave now and again. However, the bacon simply smokes (pun intended again) the burger patty as it almost overwhelms everything in the Pepperoni Bacon Whopper. Maybe I was lucky but, if this is the norm and you like bacon, this Burger King item seems to be an easy choice, right? Still, I do wish the bacon was crispy as there wasn’t any real texture contrast to the burger patty nor the miniscule amount of pepperoni on this burger.

However, the only real issue is you do get tired of the same-y taste of overwhelming bacon flavor with each bite. And, as it’s a Whopper, you’re going to have to eat a lot of the same thing before you’re done with it. That’s really no problem if you’re really hungry. But, if you’re just looking for something like a quick lunch, then the same-y flavor profile, despite it being good, starts to wane by the halfway mark. I do think if there was something like a pickle or two to break up the monotony, it would perk up the taste buds for the next bite.

So, is the Pepperoni Bacon Whopper something Western region Burger King’s should bring back? I think so but mostly for the novelty of it all. Heck, make it an event and bring it back every May, which is Burger Month. I do like the idea of adding pepperoni to a burger and, while mine only had less than what you would find on a slice of pizza, I bet it would be amazing if there was a lot of it. However, after some time, people would probably get sick of it because too much of a good thing is still bad. So, if Burger King does try to bring the Pepperoni Bacon Whopper back, maybe add a pickle, too?

Have you ever tried Burger King’s Pepperoni Bacon Burger? What was your experience like? Let me know in the comments section below!