Oh My Goodness! Giant burger at The Daily Grind, Bangsar

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Lyrical Lemongrass

“I’m not telling you, ‘Never eat a hamburger.’ Just eat the good ones with real beef, you know, like the ones from that mom-and-pop diner down the street, … And it’s so good that when you take a bite out of that burger, you just know somewhere in the world a vegan is crying.”
– Homer Simpson

Craving for pleasure in a 9-inch package?

Déjà vu.

But not quite.

A 6 kilogram wonder – 2 kilos of freshly ground juicy beef patty, 1 kilo of cheese, 1 kilo of pickles, tomatoes and greens, and 2 kilos of multigrain bun that tries to make this healthy.

And the true test of a good burger? Lift it up, hold it between your fingers as the juices drip down your wrist, and take a big chomp through the entire cross section. Then lick up the spillages.

Talking at this point is not advisable.

***********

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of The Daily Grind. When the owners invited me over to try this monstrosity of a burger, I went for a medical check-up first before agreeing. Eating a burger this size is like preparing for war. You have to be prepared.

*grin*

Nah. It’s meant to be shared – lah. For us Malaysians, communal dining is nothing new. If we can sup over rice and curry and ko lou yoke, we can certainly sup over a giant burger. What an amazing bonding opportunity.

This burger can easily feed 10 to 12 persons. The price? RM360++. Please order 48 hours ahead because something this size needs tender loving care and planning. I’m still talking about burgers, of course.

The Daily Grind
Bangsar Village
Kuala Lumpur

Om Burger and the FriedChillies Annual Foodsters’ Award 2009

Posted on April 13, 2009 by Lyrical Lemongrass

How did we end up beside a longkang, one fine Saturday night, relatively well dressed, and chomping on sloppy burgers?

Answer #1:

A business card.

Who in their right mind puts a picture of a delicious burger on their namecard without being answerable to repercussions? (In this case, being obliged to accompany some newbies on the search for the Holy Grail.)

Answer #2:

An awards ceremony.

How can I not be influenced at a dinner organised by one of my favourite food sites culminating with the announcement of the top makan places (mostly street food/kopitiam style food) in the Klang Valley? Check out the winners (lifted from the FriedChillies website…thanks, Adly!):

For Best Roti Canai :Raju Restaurant
No. 27, Jalan Cantik, Petaling Jaya
N 03.10159 E101.65385

For Best Assam Laksa : O & S Laksa
39, Jalan 20/14, Paramount Gardens Petaling Jaya
N 3.10783 E101.62499

For Best Banana Leaf Rice : Kanna Curry House
No. 29 Jalan 17/45, Petaling Jaya
N 3.11974 E101.62978

For Best Chicken Rice :Hainanese Chicken Rice
73, Jln. SS22/23, Damansara Jaya, Petaling Jaya
N 3.12595 E101.61618

For Best Crabs : Fatty Crab
No 2, Jln SS 24/13 , Taman Megah, Petaling Jaya
N 3.11482 E101.61254

For Best Char Koay Teow : Aunty Gemok
Restoran Jamal Mohamed No. 24, Jalan SS5A/9 Petaling Jaya
N 3.09526 E101.60546

For Best Satay : Satay Samuri Taman Melawati
Jalan Melati Utama 4, Melati Utama, Setapak
N 3.13505 E101.62370

For Best Nasi Lemak : Village Park
5, Jalan SS21/37, Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya
N 3.13774 E101.62318

For Best Street Burger : Burger OM
In Front of 7-11, Off Lorong Kolam Air Lama, Ampang
N 3.16063 E101.78560

For Best Kopitiam : Yut Kee Coffeeshop
35, Jalan Dang Wangi, Kuala Lumpur
N 3.15705 E101.70001

Those numbers at the bottom are not phone numbers ar. (Note: I’m still trying to figure out my GPS unit which didn’t come with instructions arrrghhhh.)

So there we were, enjoying our dinner at Pannaz Restaurant (Damansara Perdana), which was a pretty nice dinner too (the lamb that everyone else ordered was juicy and tender and served with a wedge of lemon and a mint salad) when the videos came on, and I was confronted face to face with a picture of a hugeass, SLOPPY burger that made me yearn for one in my hand (even though I was pretty satisfied with the meal at Pannaz (a robust mushroom soup, a grilled red snapper and a dessert combo consisting of a bread and butter stack (as opposed to a pudding), a chocolate cake and ice cream).

Thankfully, FriedChillies came with their resident Burger Dude aka Creative Director aka My HSS who, upon hearing of our proposed Burger Crawl, didn’t need much persuasion in leading the expedition.

And that’s how we ended up at midnight, at a longkang in front of a 7-11 in a location at co-ordinates N 3.16063 E101.78560 in Ampang. Presenting, the winner for the Best Street Burger, Burger OM:

Timing is crucial. Coordination is crucial. The egg is broken onto the pan, and within seconds, a slice of cheese is added, the burger patty is thrown in and the entire bundle is wrapped up. Shredded cabbage, lots of mayonnaise and chilli sauce form a bed on which the patty rests, and voila, a sloppy all-Malaysian burger is created. Origination of meat – unknown, but I’m willing to overlook that. So what makes this burger special? The secret lies in the egg, the yolk still a little runny which adds to the overall slush that oozes out of the burger. Oh, we suspect there’s ganja too.

In conclusion (coz I’ve been going off-topic quite a bit today):

1. Congratulations to FriedChillies for a successful AFA 2009. They’ve done a great job in promoting Malaysian food, and their enthusiasm in making Malaysian food recognisable worldwide is just so infectious. I want to jump up and say hallelujah, come on over and try our street food. And now, you have a list to depend on, so book that plane ticket and visit Malaysia!

2. Burger OM is deserving of its win. Checked, and authenticated.

3. Why is there always a burger stall in front of a 7-11? Or why is there always a 7-11 behind a burger stall?

4. Why does my GPS unit not listen to my instructions? Should I give it a few smacks?

5. Hello, NomadGourmand and Chefspiration whom I met for the first time at the Awards. Hello, Adly, Honey and Riz from FriedChillies whom I was meeting again after some months of absence. Hello, Nic, Ciki, Boo_licious, Splashie Boy and Kenny Mah whom I see more often than I see my husband.

6. Hello, Bald Eagle. I MISS YOU. I know you’re reading this across the miles.

The Daily Grind, Bangsar Village – burgers extraordinaire

Posted on December 24, 2007 by Lyrical Lemongrass

‘Delicious!’ I exclaimed, as I savoured the moist chicken patty in my mouth. I found out later that it was because they had used the whole chicken and not just chicken breast to make the patty. The thin sesame sprinkled buns were toasted to a slight crisp and liberally buttered. The pickles contrasted well with the burger. I was told that they made their own pickles. ‘Smoked salmon on chicken?’ I questioned. ‘What an unlikely combination!’ I was getting more and more mystified by the second. But this non-believer was soon shown the light. The cheesy sauce wrapped up all the flavours and made my burger encounter an out-of-body experience.

And that’s the thing. We’re talking burgers here. A meat patty sandwiched between two buns. As a teenager, it was a treat to eat a burger simply because mum and dad never let me near a burger joint. In university, it was a staple as far as fast food was concerned. From McDonald’s to Ramly and everything in between. I soon tired of it. I met my husband, a highly adventurous foodie, and we roamed the streets of KL in search of that elusive sashimi. The burger in its greasy shroud was soon a distant memory. It almost became a dirty word to me, and I’m not talking about those deliciously dirty words that I freely exclaim while driving along the Fed on my way to work.

She had a classic cheese burger. It was a thick juicy patty made of ground beef (yes, they freshly grind all their meat), homemade ketchup and their very own mustard mix. I half expected to see cows and chickens roam the hardwood floors, and I suspected that if I looked beyond the carpark of the concrete jungle of Bangsar, I might even catch a glimpse of their vegetable patch. A milkmaid and a shepherd would spell the beginning of my insanity. I digress. Two thick slices of cheddar cheese completed the experience.

I glanced at the tomato ketchup and chilli sauce bottles. ‘They’re all homemade,’ she said. No kidding. In my mind’s eye, I saw vines holding plump shiny tomatoes in that imaginary vegetable patch. The chilli sauce was wonderful, with a heady mix of ground chillies and mustard and other secret ingredients. The accompanying fries were merely a vehicle for me to savour the addictive sauce.

The man ordered a Down on the Farm burger. I glanced over my shoulder as I thought I heard a Moo. Only for those with a hearty appetite, this muscle flexing thick beef burger, barbeque basted and smokey grilled stacked with thick sliced onion rings was oozing masculinity. A corn cake made with whole corn kernels, crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside, made the man go limp with delight.

Avocadoes are a constant love interest, so my second experience at The Daily Grind was an affair with a chicken burger covered with creamy avocado sauce and topped with hot salsa. The play between sweet and savoury and spicy ensured that the burger was a winner. Again, I was bowled over by the smoothness of the chicken patty, and I couldn’t get enough of the buttery buns, my carb addiction.

If you pace yourself well, you’ll have enough room for dessert, and one dessert that is worth trying is the peanut butter and roasted banana pie. I’ll let the picture do the talking.

I never did quite explain why my sudden interest in burgers at a time when I crave foie gras more than hearty meat patties. (Incidentally, The Daily Grind is currently having a Christmas special consisting of a prawn cocktail, a Foie Gras *gasp* burger and a sherry trifle for just over RM60.) It took an hour long discussion with the husband to figure it out. ‘You’re enjoying it because you’re viewing it as a dining experience’, he looked at me sagely. ‘You’re eating with a fork and knife, cutting small pieces and savouring each mouthful like you’re enjoying a good steak.’ He was right, you know. How else could I explain why I was paying between RM23 and RM36 for a burger? Once dissected, it made sense to pay that amount. I was paying for an experience. Sometimes, revelations such as these can be quantified, and the question is, how much would you pay to see fireworks on your plate?

The Daily Grind
Bangsar Village
Kuala Lumpur.

Open daily until 12 midnight.

Open on Christmas day.

A Whiff of Lemongrass

NOT a food blog

Category Archives: Food Type: Burgers

Oh My Goodness! Giant burger at The Daily Grind, Bangsar

Om Burger and the FriedChillies Annual Foodsters’ Award 2009

The Daily Grind, Bangsar Village – burgers extraordinaire