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2009-06-27
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As fate would have it, right after the night of summitting two newish Burger Shops' reviews and I already began to kowtow to reality that all of us will be banished to eating Hongkong-nised burger buns with doughy or gritty meat patties without much delectability, I suddenly needed to visit this street again on a 2nd successive night. Having treaded right past 'The Big Bite' numerous times but deterred away somehow on each occasion, perhaps due to an apprehension within that accumulated from re
In English, there's a derogatory saying used occasionally in a slang match: " $#%$... you are just going to be a Burger Flipper all your life..!". Patronising to the receiver yet very precisely to the point, exposing 1stly the mental association in most cultures that making and flipping some burgers is not an honourable job but 2ndly, implying that any such person is probably intellectually challenged. Many of us whilst kids have done it at some stage in a McDonald's or a Carl's Junior or at a home BBQ. It also explains why so many self-proclaimed Burger Specialist Shops are proliferating everywhere with rigorous momentum like weeds in during spring only to subside then start again the next season. This phenomemon is perhaps surpassed only by the equally propagating Taiwanese Tapioca Drink and Icy Snowflake Dessert stores. These are usually very simple operations that don't cost much to set up compared to a full scale restaurant such as a Wolfgang Puck or a Dan Ryan's. From the very outset, most of these businesses were found around the 'lets-take-a-shortcut' and never too cliched but ever the most unimaginative 'lets-copy-the-others' formula.... So how much trust exactly can you afford to bestow upon these businesses' product? Do most of these small scale burger joint owners even have food training or a clue on how proper burgers should be cooked or taste like, compared to the trained cooks/chefs working in the larger restaurant kitchens? Or is it all just a unilateral proposition based on wishful thinking, sometimes delusionally so...
Without rubbing more salt on the wound, I think it is only right for me to declare: until I came upon this shop, some of my previous 'ok to favourable scores' for local burger shops were already deliberately given out loosely, in good faith, so as not to appear overly mean and uncompromising and sounding like I'm out to ruin someone's business via harsh criticising. From memory my lowest score given was a '3', but in my mind I had experimented and spent a lot of money on many low quality, overpriced burgers already, possible exceptions being the overall pretty good and affordable Burger Mix and also the slightly more professional just overly messy burgers from Shake'em Buns. Unfortunately all of these burgers failed on multiple points somehow and that's ironical, considering they are meant to be such simple food to master and hence the owners chose to open such a simple business in the first place, yet they still cannot deliver (same problem concurrently experienced in Tapioca Tea shops!). At best, some of them on a good day could match but not beat a 'very freshly made' Quarter Pounder from Maccas or a Triple O's burger. Don't forget that to be fair, these so-called gourmet burger shops are all 'freshly made', so don't compare them to a dried out McDonald's version as not all shops have implemented the 'Made to Order' equipment yet at this stage.
On this night, I ordered one of the most basic Cheese Burgers - the 1st item you always order during a real taste test?
CHEESE BURGER:
Before this was finally handed to me, my anticipation was already running abnormally higher than usual after the few minutes spent wandering around browing other menu items, the beer fridge and then their kitchen equipment, as I noticed apart from Burger Republic on Gough Street and the slightly artificial tasting Burger King, this was the only other burger place I've visited which cook their Meat patties on a real Flame-grill Broiler, which gives the patties the necessary char-grill taste! (All other shops I previously visited cooked the meat on a steel plate griddle just like McDonald's, which is about as boring or as bad as pan frying at home - literally where the term 'flipping burgers' originated from!) +1.
And when it arrived, I could not refrain myself from taking a 'Big Bite' aka the shop's name... Instantly I realised my previous bias about HK burgers now need to be thrown out the windscreen, because This Is Actually A Real Burger! For once...! Not only have I skipped the best until last, too late, due to my false preconceptions but this very good burger shop is located in my turf only a block (or 5 ) away!
My Burger had the following components:
1) Well toasted Damper Bun with a floury top. Not overly spongy soft like every other burger shop locally. Great and a 1st in Hong Kong.
2) Sliced Lettuce and Tomato with a mayo-like sauce, slightly wilted though with sauce turning unctuous under the heat.
3) The Flame-Grilled Pattie - the soul of the burger. This was amazingly juicy and oozy, the jus falling right back onto the paper tray below. It was thick but still manageably so and it was definitely seasoned by someone who had practised and learnt cooking before and not just another amateurish pattie formed and cooked by one of the zillion 'burger flippers', the major clue being that it carried traces of a mixture of spice enhancers in the background which is unique and often used in high-end burger joints overseas and I've so far never experienced locally. It had lots and lots of beef taste and aroma. It wasn't overly salty but perfectly seasoned and balanced. This was grilled perfectly as well by the quietly spoken lady, around medium to medium-well.
The meat also did not carry unwanted strange flavours or tendons or other unedible sinewy parts, it wasn't doughy and spongy or gritty in texture either.
4) Surprisingly given a bit of heat with the addition of Jalapeno peppers, it added to the experience but wasn't required.
5) Cheddar Cheese was melted to the right amount as well, it was ok. If you want a really cheesy taste experience, I suggest an alternative burger choice complete with 3 cheeses (from memory, Cheddar, Blue and Parmesan).
6) You can get some optional relishes and pickles added if you want, although the relish isn't a fruity one usually reserved for burgers but more for hotdogs.
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All in all, very happy to have a Gourmet Burger from a dedicated Burger Shop for once.
It wasn't very generously big however and I could have finished 2. But it made up for this with a rare showking of cooking professionality and a real burger's taste. No doubt this is in a league of its own by a great margin within the group of local Burger Specialist shops.
However I should say that there are destined to be great burgers of various stylistic approaches somewhere in certain restaurants, since restaurants are usually run by chefs or cooks rather than the 'Burger Flippers' and also in theory carry better kitchen equipment, meat and ingredients and most importantly proper knowledge about food. Next stop if I have time I'll give BLT, Robuchon, Anthony's Ranch, Pickled Pelican, Ruby Tuesdays, or perhaps the $1000 burger from Steakhouse @ Intercontinental, or any other places, etc, a try in the future! However I honestly believe the burger at The Big Bite might be close to the top of the As Good As It Will Get already and it will comparatively cheaper than the big named restaurants, especially if you use the OPENRICE $20 VOUCHER which I didn't even know existed until my post tonight.
See you all there.
张贴
