Category: Burger

COOH Alexandria

COOH Alexandria Review:

Alexandria, especially the area around The Grounds, has become some sort of hot spot for up-and-coming restaurants in Sydney. COOH Alexandria is situated just across the Grounds. They have a massive dining space with quite a lot of tables. It could get a bit too loud when the restaurant is full.

We went there for lunch. There were quite a lot of vegetarian options on the menu. One of my friends was looking for some kind of steak but the only beef on the menu was burger.

Chicken Burger – $16 / $20 with chips – Free range hormone free marinated chicken breast with free range nitrate free bacon, cheese, smashed avo, rocket & tzatziki served on an organic charcoal bun

There were quite a lot of fancy words in the menu for the chicken burger. The charcoal bun stole the spotlight for the burger.

Moroccan Lamb & Quinoa Salad – $26 – Chermoula marinated free range junne lamb rump served medium, sweet potato, coriander, currants, caramelised onion, cherry tomatoes & mint yoghurt

I have never seen a lamb dish that could look so healthy before. I admire how they could make it into something that looked quite delicate.

Grilled Salmon & Soba Noodle Salad – $28 – Grilled ora king salmon with soba noodles, pickled ginger, avocado, ponzu dressing, coriander & mint

I don’t know how to describe it, but this combination worked. I liked how the lightness of Japanese-style soba was paired up with the grilled salmon and a slice of avocado.

Seared Tuna Salad – $25 – Spice crusted tuna with spiralised salad, jalapeno salsa & avocado puree

Going along with COOH’s team of light and heavy dishes, the seared tuna salad did just that. On one side, you have a mixture of salad and on the other side you had avocado puree topped with seared tuna.

Desserts

Chocolate brownie & jasmine cream – $15 – Fudge macadamia brownie with jasmine infused ganache monte & plant-based peanut butter ice cream

I’m not a big fan of chocolate, but this one was a bit better than our second dish. They chose to pair the brownie with jasmine cream and peanut butter ice cream. The resulting dish was this semi sweet and savoury dessert.

Pineapple & coconut verrine – $15 – Almond cake, coconut-chia cream, poached pineapple & lime sorbet

Unfortunately the second dessert didn’t impress us like the first. It was super sweet.

The final verdict for COOH Alexandria

COOH Alexandria serves quite a balanced dish.

Do you think I should go?

I’ve been to the restaurant twice and both times the food wasn’t too bad. However, the service could probably be improved. In saying that, I couldn’t really blame them either as there was only a handful of them in that massive space.

Rating:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $20 – $28 main dish

Place: 7.5 / 10

Details:

90 – 96 Bourke Road, Alexandria 2015

+61 2 9002 1333

https://www.cooh.com.au/

May 6, 2019
Loaded by BL

Loaded by BL Review:

I’ve been attending a few short courses at Sydney Uni in the last couple of years before I realised there was quite an interesting burger joint just around the corner from where I was taking the classes. The restaurant is called Loaded by BL. BL is an acronym for Bar Luca, one of the well-known bars in CBD.

The interesting thing about Loaded by BL is that instead of many pictures of burgers, you will face a large blackboard with lots of texts. These are the different combinations you can have for their burgers.

Step 1: You start off with 10 different bases that you can get. It ranges from $4 – $8.
Step 2: You will then need to figure out whether you need extra meat from the 11 different things that you can choose from. The price range is $3 – $5.
Step 3: Add your cheese (from 10 different options). Some of the bases will include the cheese. In that case, your first one will be free. Otherwise, the cheese will cost between $2 to $4.
Step 4: This step is if you need optional extras or special configuration, like gluten-free bun. They have 29 different things ranging from 50c to $4.
Step 5: Get your sauce. There are 15 different of them. The first one is free, but if you need extra, it would be $1 each.

If the options above too challenging for you, they provide eight premade ones for you to choose from.

Cheeseburger – $8 – Beef pattie, choice of cheese, choice of sauce

Combo – $4 – add fries and drink

You can make any of your burgers a meal (that is adding fries and a can of drink) for an extra $4.

The Blame – $16 – Cheeseburger, poutine, maple bacon & maple aioli

Bar Luca calls this ‘Blame Canada’ with the overabundance serving of maple aioli and maple bacon. In Loaded by BL, the burger is simply known as ‘The Blame’. You will need to blame it once you step on the scale!

Tater Tots – $5 – with maple aioli

I was quite happy with the size of my tater tots. For $5 you get a big box of it with an extra sauce.

The final verdict for Loaded by BL

It is always fun building your own burger. Loaded by BL gives you that opportunity. Just be careful you don’t stack it up too high… or the bill will follow.

Do you think I should go?
It might be a bit confronting in your first foray into Build-Your-Own burger. However, once you get the hang of it, this place is pretty cool.

Rating for Loaded by BL:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $8 – $16

Place: 8.5 / 10

Details:

170 – 172 Missenden Road, Newtown 2042

+61 2 9565 5276

Loaded by BL

Aug 2, 2018
Gojima

Gojima Review:

Gojima is a Japanese ‘fast food’ burger joint located at The Star in Sydney. It was created by Chef Chase Kojima from Sokyo. The unique selling point for this restaurant is that they use rice instead of the usual burger bun!

Their menu is predominantly rice burger, made from Japanese sushi rice and nori… in other words: a gigantic sushi! The difference is that the rice would not fall apart like a normal sushi.

Gojima Stack – $16.90 – cheeseburger and Crispy Katsu Mushroom with tomato, pickles, onions, lettuce and special sauce

When I read the description, cheeseburger and crispy mushroom, I instantly knew I had to try it!

This burger is actually quite big and probably bigger than your usual portion for lunch.

Salmon Miso – 14.90 – Tasmanian Salmon, cheese, lettuce, cucumber, radish, pickles, scallions and Gojima Miso sauce

The second rice burger is more like a ‘normal’ sushi: salmon with miso sauce, except for the crunchy rice and cheese on it.

Size-wise, it is also quite a normal portion for lunch.

Small – 2 Pieces – $8.90 – Japanese-style Southern Fried Chicken

As part of the ‘side’ menu, Gojima offers Japanese fried chicken. You could easily have that for your main if you are not a big fan of sushi. Their chicken was super crunchy and pretty tasty.

Miso Soup – $3.90

Their miso soup was very good and pretty cheap for what they put in it!

Large Fries – $6.90 – Shoestring fries with Umami salt.
+ Japanese Mayo $0.9

If you want the complete experience, you should also order their shoestring fries and Japanese mayo.

Thick Shake – $7.90 – Strawberries & Cream

To close out a nice lunch, strawberries and cream milkshake is the obvious choice.

The final verdict for Gojima

Quite a lot of top chefs open up a burger joint these days with Gojima being one of them. However, their rice burger offering is very nice and exciting.

Do you think I should go?
If burgers and Japanese food are your things, then you must visit this restaurant!

Rating for Gojima:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $11.90 – $16.90 per burger

Place: 7.5 / 10

Details:

Level G, The Star, 80 Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont 2009

https://www.gojima.com/

May 22, 2018
Rashays Punchbowl

Rashays Punchbowl Review:

This week’s review comes from a restaurant that opens on Christmas Day, Rashays. It is a franchise restaurant and we went to the one in Punchbowl.

Their menu is quite interesting. It actually starts from desserts and drinks instead of appetisers. Being a franchise, you can rely on uniformity of its taste in their restaurants.

Loaded Fries – $15 – Hot crispy chips topped with premium slow-cooked beef, our signature RASHAYS creamy mushroom sauce & smokey BBQ sauce.

Loaded fries is part of the menu called ‘hot specials’. Hot specials is a slightly smaller version of the main course and priced under $20. I do not think the loaded fries is small at all. The chips is much more than what you get in your average pub steak.

I think it could very well be a main for some of us.

New York Steak – $33 – Darling Downs 300g MSA, 120-day grain-fed New York cut complimented with golden fried onion rings & RASHAYS dark mushroom sauce

There is only one type of steak on the menu in Rashays: New York Steak. You can then choose to have it with add-ons or not. On this occasion, we choose to have the steak with 4 onion rings for an extra $6.

Kids Steak & Chips – $15 – 180g New York steak served with chips & tomato sauce

It’s quite interesting to learn that the steak for the kids meal has the same size as the one in the ‘hot specials’ menu. However, instead of the mushroom sauce, you get a tub of tomato sauce instead.

The kids’ meal also comes with a soft drink or a plastic bottle of kids drink.

Iced Coffee Frappe – $7 – A shot of espresso & vanilla ice cream blended with ice & topped with whipped cream

This is so good. You have to order it. Period.

Churro Split – $6 – Creamy vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate syrup, crushed Oreo & cinnamon churros

Churro split is part of the kids menu as well. However, if you barely have enough space after the main, kids desserts are a decent option.

The Mega Breakfast – $25 – 180g MSA New York Steak, oven-baked eggs, toasted ciabatta bread, Mediterranean spiced beef chorizo, baby spinach, crunchy hash browns, haloumi & RASHAY tomato chilli jam

This is actually not from my visit to Rashays Punchbowl but from the Lidcombe branch. It deserved to be noted because of the great value for your money. You can easily share this with anyone and still have a decent breakfast.

The final verdict for Rashays Punchbowl

Rashays is a decent steakhouse with great value for money.

Do you think I should go?
Don’t come to Rashays if you are looking for the best steak in Sydney. It’s more about getting the same steak everywhere you go.

Rating for Rashays Punchbowl:

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $15-$49 main dish

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

The Broadway Plaza, 1-9 Broadway, Punchbowl 2196

13000 13000

Dec 29, 2017
Doughbox Diner

Doughbox Diner Review:

Halloween is usually one of the most celebrated holidays in the United States. Our visit to an American Restaurant, Doughbox Diner, on Halloween’s day was no different. They had a tombstone at the entrance and a few halloween-inspired dishes.

Burgers, crepes and lots of desserts dominated their menu. They also had a few hot dogs and starters.

As a starter, they gave out complimentary bowl of popcorn.

Buffalo Wings (10 pieces) – $18.99 – Fried Chicken Wings tossed in our Spicy Buffalo Sauce served with Celery Sticks and Ranch Dressing

The first dish to arrive on the day was buffalo wings. They warned us about how spicy the wings was with three chilis symbol right next to the list. However, it was not hotter than our usual chili sauce. The wings were nice and super saucy.

Onion Rings – $12.99 – Crispy Battered Rings served with our Zesty Dipping Sauce

Their onion rings were quite thin and super crispy. The dipping sauce really made it zesty!

Johnny B Goode – $17.99 – 2 Beef Patties, 3 Slices of Cheddar, House Relish, Red Onion, Lettuce, American Mustard, Sweet BBQ Sauce

Our original order was a burger called Sloppy Joe. However, they said it was not available on that day. We then focused our attention to Johnny B Goode (named after a song by Chuck Berry). It has all the hallmarks of something American with stacks of burgers and cheese. It is the second largest burger in the menu.

Avocado Bite – $14.99 – Chicken, Bacon, Mushrooms, Spring Onion, Fresh Tomato, Avocado & Sour Cream, Cheese

Avocado bite is part of their crepe cone range. They claimed their crepe cone to be highly addictive…. and we did not blame them. I used to eat a savoury crepe when I was a child with a lot less fillings in them. So, a massive cone with lots of fillings is like a dream come true!

We had to ask for a takeaway box as we were quite full and we knew the dessert would come next.

Scream Sundae – $12.99

The only halloween-themed item on the menu that we ordered on the day. The sundae came in a skull goblet with LOTS of halloween candies. It was not probably our best move, considering it’s only Tuesday!

The final verdict for Doughbox Diner

Doughbox diner was definitely a fun restaurant to visit. They had quite a reasonable price and we were super nourished!

Do you think I should go?
If you enjoy themed restaurant that will make you full and happy… Of course!

Rating for Doughbox Diner:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $15 – $22 burgers

Place: 7.5 / 10

Details:

137 Enmore Rd, Enmore 2042

+61 2 9565 1995

http://doughboxdiner.com.au/doughbox/

Nov 6, 2017
Lashings Brighton-Le-Sands

Lashings Brighton-Le-Sands Review:

I think this is only the second time that I have ever been to Brighton-Le-Sands in Sydney for dinner. There is really nothing uniquely Brighton-Le-Sands that I cannot get elsewhere. We went to a burger joint called Lashings Gourmet Takeaway. I quite admire their bravery in using the word ‘lashings’ as the name of their restaurants.

But for now… let’s talk about their food!

Caesar salad with turkey bacon – $7.50 – Small

One of the interesting things about lashings is they don’t use pork meat (and its derivatives). So instead of the usual bacon, you get turkey bacon in your caesar salad!

You can get the salad on its own, or part of the meal with your burger.

CAJUN – $11.50 – Marinated breast fillet + mayo + rocket + cajun relish + grilled capsicum

We actually ordered this but the little one decided to snatch it off us. He said it was so good that he did not want to share until he was full!

LASHINGS – $11.90 – beef pattie, tomato, beetroot, lettuce, tasty cheese, turkey bacon, grilled pineapple, egg + your choice of tomato or bbq sauce

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the one burger you have to choose in a restaurant called Lashings Gourmet Takeaway is the Lashings burger. Their burger is quite big for the price. This burger was also full of good stuff!

Chicken Wrap – $11.90 – Choose chicken burger to be made a wrap

Pretty much all of their burgers can be made into a wrap if you prefer.

Kids Pack – $9 – Chicken chippies + chips + Pop Top Juice

They have the usual options or a smaller burger for the kids menu.

Mozzarella sticks

I forgot to take picture of the price. However they have three options here: 6, 10, and 15 sticks. They are not that big and you can possibly finish 10 all by yourself.

The final verdict for Lashings Brighton-Le-Sands

They have a large variety of burgers. Their burgers are quite decent for the price they charge.

Do you think I should go?

If you are around the area and are in need of a quick lunch, you might want to consider them. However, I don’t think you would want to drive down from Hornsby to have a burger in Brighton-Le-Sands.

Rating for Lashings Brighton-Le-Sands:

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: ~ $12 per burger

Place: 6.5 / 10

Details:

2/376 Bay street, Brighton Le Sands 2216

+61 2 9567 7812

http://www.lashings.com.au/

Oct 10, 2017