And here it is! My ma-hussively delayed review of the Waggoners burger in Welwyn. Mahussive might not be a completely legitimate word, but its more than appropriate for the subject of this review. Also, even though this review appears to have been posted around September, I didn’t get round to writing this up for a month – my iPhone photographer let me down.
Byron, Gloucester Road
A long ride round the slightly grim Piccadilly line is nicely broken up by stopping for lunch (assuming you aren’t being extorted £1.60+ per ride…). And where better than Byron, a chain of restaurants throughout London that claim “proper hamburgers”, through the use of high quality ingredients.
The Bull – Cottered, Herts
My first post from the UK, and where better than a pub? Well for a start, it’s technically not in London, and I actually came with no intention of burgering… but it was difficult to turn down the offer of a hand made patty.
Burger Bench and Bar
On my way to catch a film (Salt – not worth it) at the Orchard Cineleisure I happened by the Burger Bench and Bar, another outlet of sorts from wildrocket who also run the reasonably rated Relish. B3 as they call themselves, aims at a market closer to fast food however.
Café Oliv
Can you have a burger first love? If so, then Café Oliv might be mine. Except it was smaller off shoot branch of Café Oliv. So a kind of first sibling love child. Hmm. Anyway, out to East Coast I go.
Guardian’s Perfect Burger
An interesting article in the Guardian newspaper has looked into the making of the ideal hamburger. I haven’t had a chance to try it yet, but it sounds tasty enough. Guinness for burgers…who would have imagined…
1 tbsp oil or butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
1kg roughly minced chuck steak (or any non-lean mince)
100ml stout
2 tbsp brown breadcrumbs
2 tsp chopped herbs (parsley or thyme work well)
1 tsp salt
Black pepper
Garnishes, sauces and rolls, as desired
You can check the full article at Here
I’ll update once I’ve given it a go.
Relish
After the huge “failure” that was last weeks burger quest, I finally managed to make it to Relish, a restaurant dedicated to making proper hamburgers. I found tucked away on the second floor of Cluny Court and probably wouldn’t have found it if I wasn’t looking, but hey, I had made it.
Botak Jones
I mentioned my burger finding quests to a few people and a name that came back to me was Botak Jones, literally Bald/Crewcut Jones. Intrigued, I had a little web browse and found them to purveyors of Western food, primarily of the huge burger variety. A burger named the Massive Sunrise seemed particularly interesting.
Swiss Grill
Swiss Grill
Today I left home with the aim to visit the highly regarded Relish on Bukit Timah Road. I arrived to find whole building had no power, and no shops open, meaning no burgers today. Not a great start, but no fear, I had a back up plan to visit the nearby and equally well regarded Sunshine Cafe. Rain not withstanding, I walked the length of Farrar Road, only to be met by guard at the condo entrance - “Sunshine cafe? Closed down, already.” Wonderful. This lead me to my second visit to the excellent Swiss Grill.
The Hand Burger
An interesting price of cutlery...
And so after all my planning and research as to where real burgers are brought to life in Singapore, my first victim was found while on a chance walk through a shopping mall. As you do in Singapore. The real eye catcher was that it seemed to serve proper burgers for an $8.80 set meal, which puts it somewhere in line with the dreaded McD…There was also a man making and baking the buns in the window.