Who makes the best burger in KL

Posted by GH at 01:28

Burger Mania

The concept of a burger sounds rather simple; a big, juicy beef patty sandwiched between toasted bread topped with cheese and ketchup. However, burger connoisseurs will disagree vehemently on this simplistic view. For them, relishing every bite of a burger is fulfilling, as all the flavours and textures come together, even if it’s weird combinations like fried oysters or peanut butter.[more...]

Before the burger became hip, it was generally regarded as a quick cheap meal at the nearest fast food joint. The greasiness of cheap burgers was also a perfect foil and fuel for late nights and all-nighters. Then around 2007, KL-lites’ appetites woke up to gourmet burgers when The Daily Grind opened its doors in trendy Bangsar. What a revolution! Burgers became luxurious meals with thick juicy patties made from freshly ground meat and topped with wholesome, handmade tomato and chilli sauce. But some balked at the hefty prices that set them back by RM30 per burger – gourmet meant the wallet felt the pinch.

Enter myBurgerLab in July 2012. Opened by a trio of self-confessed burger geeks, it filled KL-lites’ voracious demand for high quality burgers at pocket-friendly prices. The long queues for their burgers with their distincive charcoal black buns are a testament to their success. With a mantra of prepping their fare from fresh sauces and daily baked buns, together with innovative toppings only upon order, it became the darling of the burger world. Social media pushed them up the ladder, as fans bought into their wholesome philosophy. Even new flavours must get the nod from regular customers via an intense Burger Battle, before they are rolled out. Once you go black, there’s literally no turning back.

Fuelled by myBurgerLab’s success story, an explosion of burger joints jumped on the burger bandwagon such as Burger Junkyard, The Grind Burger Bar, Crayon Burger and Burgertory. Each burger joint sported a unique identity with a story for their customers. For example, Burgertory banks on the obsession for anything porcine. The 10 varieties of pork burgers available – probably the largest selection in town – have toppings like the heart-stopping crunchy pork lard and bacon. It’s still work-in-progress though, as the buns don’t quite hit the right spot despite sporting a well-seasoned patty with that all-important juicy X-factor. Subang Jaya, where Burgertory and Crayon Burger are located, also boasts a vast college student population, which sees a guaranteed burger aficionado crowd. Rumours abound of another burger joint opening soon to tap into this market

Even the humble street burger is facing a revolution. Last year’s newcomer Burger Bakar Kaw Kaw burst into the scene proclaiming to build a hefty 180-gram patty fashioned from pure red meat. It is a far cry from Ramly’s mystery meat patties rumoured to contain fillers, rather than the real deal. Their monstrous grilled burger stacks layered with cheese and beef bacon, stacked up to 10 or even 20 tiers, made it the media darling and crowd favourite. Reality bites back though as the patties taste dry and unappetising unless drowned in ketchup, chilli sauce and mayonnaise, since it is pre-cooked to cater to the crowds.

You are better off instead at Volks Burger, housed in a uber cool Volkswagen Combi Van that shouts retro. The home-ground beef patty is smashed down and cooked on a hot grill only upon order. The plus point is their well-seasoned beef patties topped with melted mozzarella, cheddar cheese and crispy beef bacon, which is tasty enough to be eaten au naturel.

Naysayers reckon this burger phenomenon will fizzle like the doughnut fad. Judging from the continual long queues in myBurgerLab and more new places popping up such as KGB aka Killer Gourmet Burger in Bangsar, city dwellers are still lapping it up so it’s definitely here to stay.

myBurgerLabFresh ingredients and innovative flavour pairings make their burgers (RM14.50 to RM18), paired with free-flow soft drinks, well worth the wait. Bite down on The Hulk with sunny side-up egg, fried avocado, Swiss cheese, green salsa and konbu mayonnaise. New items include the unpronounceable Cthulhu with rock hard oysters for an umami lift.

Burgertory
Pork rules here with 10 choices. The small selection of beef and vegetarian seems to be more an afterthought. Prices range from RM12 to RM24 for double patties. Soft drinks are free-flow and you can order French fries, onion rings and mozzarella sticks on the side. Check out the cool wood and steel interiors, all built from scratch by the owner and his team

Volks Burger
Its compact menu offers beef and chicken options, topped with chicken ham, beef bacon and cheese. Hefty eaters can chomp on their Volks Legendary Burger with double of everything. Prices range from RM8.90 to RM23.90 for 180-gram beef patties or 120-gram chicken patties.