GoKunming Forums

A good hamburger?

Geezer (1953 posts) • 0

@Randomist

You are, of course comletely correct, the best hamburger is the way you like it. But one needs to know what a basic hamburger is and how to construct one prior to enhancing it to taste. The trouble in Kunming is getting the basic unadulterated hamburger to start with.

Usually, at Metro and Walmart, there seems to be about 10% water in the ground meat. When cooking, sometimes one can detect the aroma of frying mutton. But it is the water that gets me. Clearly adding water is a revenue booster, I hope it is tap water.

I admit my 'best' burger is minimalist, but that's the way I like 'em. Adding a slice of tomato or onion does it for me. I am not into California style foofoo jobberdoos piled high with rabbit treats and/or sprouts. An In'nOut Double Double animal style with fries is a distant fantasy. Luckily, there is a Fat Burger in Beijing where I can score a real honest to God Bless America burger.

Occasionally, I will do 'Polish burgers,' after my Polish grandmother's recipe which means adding bread, onions, salt and pepper to the ground beef. I will sometimes add BBQ sauce but usually not.

Greg, at the Mekong Cafe in Jinghong, is the best Chef in town (not sure that is a compliment) but his idea of a hamburger with French characteristics leaves me hungry.

Anyway YOU like YOUR hamburger is fine. Trouble is, what ever they flip in Kunming sucks. You gotta DIY.

zhubajie (57 posts) • 0

Why not try Xi'an rou jia mou? I've bought it near Cai Da (Finance & Econ. U.) and SW Forestry College? More like a sloppy joe than a standard US burger, but still good.

Otherwise, none of you seem to like White Castles? Small meat patties cooked atop onions?

GoK Moderator (5096 posts) • 0

@geezer

Water in the mince is often an indicator that the beef has been previously frozen. It is not added water, just the freezing separating the water in the blood etc, which when thawed is water.

What it does mean is that it is not such a good idea to re-freeze your newly formed pattie.

Geezer (1953 posts) • 0

@tigertiger

You are right about the water and re-freezing. But there just too much water in the ground meat. Water in the meat also means a lot of hot splattering when the water hits the hot fat.

In Beijing, I bought beef and had it ground. It was weighed and priced before being ground. To my surprise, I could see water being poured into the grinder to mix with the meat. Despite my complaining they continued to add water each time. I finally brought a Chinese friend to explain I did not want water in my meat. The butcher explained that was the correct way to make ground beef. Yuck.

After that they stopped adding water but always had a good laugh at the strange laowai and his waterless hamburg.

I also use the ground beef for meat loaf, fry it with chili, onions, garlic, coriander, mushrooms, cabbage, curry, greens or what ever and in spaghetti sauce. I found a Muslim guy to grind the beef for me, no water, lean less worry about refreezing.

DIY is the way to go.

pickley (17 posts) • 0

Yeah all the burgers on wenlinjie taste like shit, what the hell kind of meat do they use? It like falls apart.

Dazzer (2813 posts) • 0

@geezer
I always prefer to buy meat from Muslim vendors, I also prefer Muslim restaurants. I think the food hygiene is much better. I have never been sick or had a bad belly from eating in a Muslim restaurant. I also have a suspicion that a Muslim is unlikely to tamper with food, it may even be against the religious code.

I am not a Muslim, btw.

Danmairen (510 posts) • 0

Wicker Basket in the north has some decent burgers and if you add the salad bar you can pretty much stuff it with anything you want (bar cheese). I haven't tried hamburgers many other places around KM so maybe I shouldn't hand out advice, but if McD scores a 3/10 I'd put the Wicker Basket's bacon-cheese burger at a solid 8/10.

Yuanyangren (297 posts) • 0

McD in China tastes the same as everywhere else in the world, in my opinion. For me, it's good enough. Similarly, Prague cafe etc. also make acceptable burgers, but that's according to my taste. As many of you have suggested, DIY is the way to go. I know finding ground beef isn't a problem in Kunming, but where do you find hamburger buns? Maybe I haven't looked hard enough, but I couldn't seem to find any last time I checked Walmart and Carrefour, or even Paul's shop near Wenlie Jie.

Related forum threads

Login to post