Forget A Classic Big Mac – Order It Japan-Style For Way More Meat

We're great collectors of McDonald's hacks, but we don't know that we've ever seen a beefier custom McD's burger than a Big Mac with four burger patties, the likes of which is modeled after a Japanese menu item called the Bai Big Mac. The Bai Big Mac, as pictured on McDonald's Japanese site, rocks out with a quartet of beef slabs, two on top of the middle bun and two below it. Otherwise, it looks like a standard Big Mac that you might order in the States, with a schmear of Mac sauce and a melty slice of American cheese.

According to a Facebook page dedicated to Japanese travel, "bai" is the word for "double" and refers to a particular ordering style at Golden Arches locations in Japan. Anecdotally, after 5 P.M., you can order any sandwich "bai" style and receive double the meat. A bai cheeseburger has two patties, for instance. A Bai Big Mac doubles the normal two patties of a standard sandwich to a very hearty four. A Reddit post seems to back this claim up, showing an afternoon ordering time and a charge of either ¥100 or ¥200 to double up your protein. We're a big fan of the hack for a cheaper Big Mac, but now we're faced with a dilemma — save our coins or experience the biggest, meatiest Mac ever? Upgrading a Big Mac in North America to a bai-style handheld requires paying an a la carte charge for your two extra patties, the price of which may vary by location.

The Bai Big Mac may be a Japanese exclusive, but there have been times in McDonald's history where a four-patty Big Mac was available on the regular menu. In early 2024, the chain rolled out the Double Big Mac, which was just what it sounded like: a sandwich with four patties instead of two. The Double Big Mac was touted as a returning item, having appeared for the first time in 2020. Previously, in 2017, McDonald's had also debuted the Grand Mac, which had thicker patties and more sauce. While we long for the original 45-cent price of a Big Mac in the 1960s, we can't deny that the thought of a thicker or beefier burger sometimes makes us drool ... even if we have to pay more for the privilege.

Many Redditors are big fans of a Big Mac with more oomph. "It's kinda amazing how much an extra patty and sauce improves the Big Mac," one Redditor declared. On that same thread, another commenter had a suggestion to bump up the beef ratio even further: "This but sub quarter pounder patties for the two [patties] and it's better quality meat." One advantage of customizing your own Quad Mac (our personal nickname for this tower o' cow) is that you can add extra condiments. It's worth noting that the Bai Big Mac doesn't scale up the sauce and cheese with the extra patties, which may not please all carnivores (like this Instagram reviewer). When you order your bespoke burger, however, you can tweak the sauce, veggies, and cheese to your liking.