[HK 27] : American arteries

As one of the many Americans living in Hong Kong, I felt the most patriotic way to celebrate July 4th was to find and eat the most American burger.  (Note: McDonald's was struck from the list from the get go.)  I asked a bunch of my friends and looked online from Openrice.com (the local restaurant rating site) to Chowhound to figure this out, and from the l-o-n-g threads, I gathered that this is quite the hot topic around here parts.  Looks like I'm not the only expat to need a quick fix of quality grilled meats that aren't chopstick-sized.

There were several debates about Triple-O especially (centered on, what percentage of the patty should be made of meat in order to be considered a burger?), but I ended up deciding on BLT Burger, owned by French chef Laurent Tourondel (the "LT" of "BLT").  This sounds far fancier than the place was in reality, although the prices were definitely out of the typical HK cost range.  (~$10+ USD for a cheeseburger and perhaps a topping.)

For once, a truthful menu in pointing out the perhaps un-Chinese-ness of the 5 Spice "Chinese" chicken salad. (lower L)

I went with a HK friend and ended up ordering the same quality meal: classic burger with Vermont chedder and sliced avocado (ah...the essential topping), sharing a side of sweet potato fries and "fat" cut potato fries.  The sweet potato fries were definitely the favorite of the table.

The patty itself was pretty juicy, although could have been more flavorful in itself.  The bun was nicely toasted, and I was thankful that the burger wasn't slathered in mayo, which is what usually happens with Western food in HK (and which is why I was quite particular in my burger research).  It was my friend's first time eating the very American cole slaw and pickles, and although I don't really like them myself, I encouraged her to try anyways at least once.

All in all, the burger was a pretty good eat and very much like one back at home.  Yum - just the thing for a good Independence Day :)  Now I don't have to be so jealous of my friends who indulged in authentic backyard barbeques, the thing to do in the summertime.

- - -
currently:

• feeling : tired...but why am I still awake?
• weather : hot, but then again, what's new?