Monogatari Corporation, a leading Japanese restaurant chain operator, officially opened its first Japanese-style beef burger restaurant, Niku Niku Oh! Kome, in Hong Kong on Thursday, according to the Invest Hong Kong.

The new restaurant, located in Sha Tin, offers a menu featuring freshly handmade wagyu hamburgers seared on hot plates or served on rice with egg yolk.

The beef patties are made from a blend of premium Kyushu black wagyu and US beef, while the rice served is the renowned "Niji no Kirameki" variety from the Tohoku region of Japan, said Senior Executive Officer of Monogatari Corporation Makoto Hori.

"Hong Kong people love Japanese food and culture, and meat and rice are staples in our diet," he said. "As Japanese-style beef hamburger steak becomes more popular in the region, we want to seize the opportunity to further expand our overseas business via Hong Kong."

The new restaurant features an open kitchen and around 40 bar seats, allowing customers to watch the chefs prepare the mouthwatering wagyu burgers.

The company has already opened 16 restaurants on Chinese mainland since November 2022, and the food has been well received by local customers, said Hori.

"As an international city, Hong Kong is close to the Mainland and offers us an excellent platform to raise our brand awareness in the Asia region," he added.

Welcoming the opening of Niku Niku Oh! Kome in the city, InvestHK Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion Jimmy Chiang said, “It offers customers in Hong Kong more choices of Japanese-style beef hamburger steak. We wish the brand every success in Hong Kong and beyond.”

Established in 1949, Monogatari Corporation operates more than 700 restaurants in Japan and overseas, with 15 different restaurant brands including yakiniku, ramen, okonomiyaki, sushi and shabu-shabu.