Photos: Plan Check Rolls Out Multi-Course Meal Inspired By Sanrio's Lazy Egg Cartoon

From the folks who brought you the first ever Hello Kitty food scavenger hunt last year, Sanrio and Plan Check are partnering up again. This time, Plan Check’s executive chef Ernesto Uchimura has created a three-course meal centered around Sanrio’s newest and arguably most popular character at the moment: Gudetama, the lazy egg. Gudetama doesn’t do much besides whine, sigh at how pointless its life is, and shout "I'm lazy," before going back to sleep. That’s understandable considering the egg realizes that its life purpose is to be eaten.

The cult-favorite character already has restaurants and cafes around the world, dedicating their entire menu to the lazy egg. And now, for a limited time, Plan Check can add themselves to that list. The Gudetama-inspired menu will only be available at the Fairfax, Sawtelle, and downtown L.A. Plan Check locations from October 30 to November 29.

The multi-course meal is inspired by the Gudetama anime. The first part of the meal features a crispy blanket egg, soy sauce egg, spicy pork belly sausage and miso aioli. That's followed by two beef sliders with fried quail eggs, with the meal ending on a sweet note: a chocolate custard pudding, apricot thumbprint cookie and orange-ginger egg cream soda. The meal costs $39 and comes with a limited edition Gudetama T-shirt:

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Each meal costs $39 and comes with this limited edition Gudetama and Plan Check T-shirt. (Photo by Kristie Hang/LAist)
I was invited on Thursday to try out the Gudetama dishes. Here are my thoughts on the items:

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(Photo by Kristie Hang/LAist)
The orange-ginger egg cream soda is delicious. The beverage has a slight egg-flavored taste to it, but for the most part it's like a milder version of orange creamsicle. There is a slight hint of ginger. Overall, this is a tasty beverage that I would order again.

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(Photo by Kristie Hang/LAist)
The crispy blanket egg, soy sauce egg, spicy pork belly sausage, and miso aioli served as the entrée of the multi-course meal. Appearance-wise, the dish looked like a fried meatball and did not seem to fit the Gudetama theme. It isn’t until you cut into said meatball, that you understand that each dish is a different stage of Gudetama’s life. Taste wise, the double egg and spicy pork belly sausage makes the dish taste very salty, however with that said, the egg is cooked very well and the yoke oozed out perfectly.

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(Photo by Kristie Hang/LAist)
My favorite dish of the Gudetama-inspired menu are the sliders. They are the most visually appealing and delicious dish hands down. The two beef sliders are topped with sunny side-up fried quail eggs, cheese two ways, bacon two ways, ketchup leather, and hot sauce. I wouldn’t expect less from Plan Check since they are known for their burgers. The sliders are very kawaii and perfectly embody the Gudetama theme. The egg is cooked to perfection. I also like that chef Uchimura decided to use quail eggs as it has a higher yolk-to-white ratio, which makes for a good canvas for Gudetama’s face. The quail egg also adds a slightly sweet and creamy addition to the sliders.

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(Photo by Kristie Hang/LAist)
The Gudetama chocolate custard pudding also goes well with the theme. The lazy egg design is a feast for the eyes. The pudding itself is good, but it has a bit too much cream on top for my liking. The pudding tastes much better when eaten with the apricot thumbprint cookie, which is in the shape of an over-easy Gudetama egg.

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(Photo by Kristie Hang/LAist)
The apricot thumbprint cookie is a sugar cookie with an apricot center that looks like an over-easy egg. It’s an homage to Gudetama, who frequently spends its time chilling in a pan. And just like how the pudding tastes best when paired with the cookie, the cookie tastes best when dipped in the pudding.

As for extras that come with the meal, a moving Gudetama will be dropping by all three Plan Check locations periodically to pay a visit to patrons. Each Plan Check location is also decorated with Gudetama décor to welcome guests.

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(Photo by Kristie Hang/LAist)

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(Photo by Kristie Hang/LAist)
The character is also set to make appearances throughout its month-long menu run. Considering how much it is to go to Disneyland now, this might be a cheaper round-about way to get that character brunch you or your kids want without spending an arm and a leg.

Plan Check is located at 1800 Sawtelle Boulevard in Sawtelle, (310) 444-1411, at 351 N. Fairfax Avenue in the Fairfax District, (323) 591-0094, and at 1111 Wilshire Boulevard in downtown L.A., (213) 403-1616.