When I was waiting for my STPM results, a looooooong time ago, I told my dad that I wanted a job. Like a real adult. So I went to the local McDonald’s and was hired as their resident artist. I drew and painted posters for their promotional activities, and in return, I was paid a salary and rewarded with a burger meal of my choice. I was excited then about getting free Filet-O-Fish and McChicken sandwiches as mum and dad would never have let me consume those at home. Thankfully, my stint as an artist was short as I began my quest to become a bean-counter.

Now that I am older, and wiser, my consumption of fast food has decreased tremendously. It hasn’t come to a halt yet, as I still like certain burgers like Burger King’s Whopper Jr. and KFC’s fried chicken (although even that seems to have deteriorated in quality). I have also, since, developed an appreciation for 100% beef burgers (instead of the unidentified meat patties that can be found in a lot of burger joints and supermarkets). My first experience was in the Philippines when I tried their famous Hotshots Flame-Grilled burger which I thought was absolutely wonderful.

So recently, I was checking out an awesome local site – Friedchillies.tv – which had featured the “Bestest Burger Stands in Malaysia” and I began salivating for a good Made-In-Malaysia burger. Not any factory-line burger at a fast food joint, but a made-to-order burger from Azim’s Burger Shack.

I broached the subject with Pretty Pui. She asked me if I was pregnant. I told her I just wanted to have a burger at Azim’s Burger Shack.

“Why Azim’s Burger Shack?”

“Because they serve burgers made of 100% NZ beef patties, of course”, I said knowledgeably.

“And….?”

“They’re good for ya.”

“I’d rather eat ginger wine chicken”, was Pretty Pui’s reply. I was still trying to convince her as I reached the crossroads near 1 Utama.

“Too late. We’re almost there.”

“We can turn around.”

“Did you know their burgers are made of 100% NZ beef?”

“And….?”

After the intellectually stimulating conversation, we finally arrived at Azim’s Burger Shack in Taman Tun. Azim’s forms part of a cluster of stalls at the Rasta food court. This wasn’t your run-of-the-mill food court. They had nice matching tables and chairs and green plants placed in strategic corners.

By this time, Pretty Pui had dispelled all ideas of ginger wine chicken as she gazed excitedly at the menu.

“I was told to eat the mushroom burger here”, I offered.

“Who told ya? Some blogger, I suppose?”

“Yep.”

“Who?”

“He calls himself the Connoisseur Extraordinaire.” Okay, I added the Extraordinaire part, but it sounded grander than just saying Connoisseur.

“Hmmm”, she dismissed me. “Well, I’m having the bratwurst and rosti.”

While waiting for our main course to arrive, we ordered a plate of boiled cockles from another stall. The cockles, sufficiently boiled so that it wasn’t overcooked and remained slightly bloody, were served with a concoction of chilli and peanut sauce. The chilli could have been hotter, but the sauce was, nevertheless, quite good.

The plate of bratwurst and rosti arrived just as we were finishing off the cockles. Rosti is made with grated potatoes and shaped into round patties. The rosti was delicious with the black pepper sauce and caramelized onions. There was nothing extraordinary about the bratwurst.

The mushroom burger, with its distinct layers of fried egg, cheddar cheese, sliced mushrooms, fried onions and 100% NZ beef burger patty, and sandwiched by a bun with a sprinkling of sesame seeds, looked quite inviting. The egg was extra; so was the bowl of mushroom sauce which I was advised to order. I ate the burger by dipping it into the mushroom sauce and taking tiny bites (I am, after all, a lady). The taste was heavenly; the 100% NZ beef burger patty was moist and juicy and full of flavour. Every bite that I took got me more and more orgasmic.

The coffee stall across the burger shack served coffee from all the states in Malaysia. Seeing the multitude of plastic and glass receptacles holding the coffee powder, I felt like a kid in a candy store, except that the “candy”, in this case, was the same dull colour. After much deliberation and a disgusting conversation in broken Malay (on my part, of course), I got myself a hot cup of Kopi Kelantan and a lime juice. The coffee had a slightly smoky flavour which was quite nice. The lime juice, made from limau nipis instead of limau kasturi (calamansi) was thick and sweet. Perfect climax.

Azim’s Burger Shack
Jalan Burhanudeen Helmi (Next to Balai Polis Tmn Tun)
Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, KL.

Opens from around 6.00pm to about midnight.

Note: Check out friedchillies.tv (created by friedchillies.com) which showcased its first episode in February 2007!