3 weeks back, I finally made the trip to visit an old friend (and ran out of my own excuses since I moved to this new place which is theoretically decently closeby)
I've been keeping track and 'liking' his posts, but it was hard then without proper transportation means and self-induced fear of that gray area of PJ.
Mike.
An old 'war-horse' comrade as what we bunch were called in that organization years past.
He that was ever meticulous in his work and well-oiled in his knowledge and adaptability. He, that could be diligently coaching his trainees in a serious manner on a busy opening week and bellowed out in a comical country drawl of "I ain't got no uh-nions" the next second.
It was a good night of memories, I guess I last met him about 5-6 years ago?
Much to my embarrassment, he has been on this venture for the past 2 and half years.
Being my maiden visit, I decided to go simple and try either his best-seller or most definitely his recommendation. I'll leave the add-ons and the others for the next visit.
So, he chose for me his Kangkung Sambal Belachan Burger, and I chose Beef (over a choice of his home-grounded chicken breast, local topside, or Aussie lamb ...shoulder)
Kangkung Sambal Belachan Burger
The name itself raised eyebrows as it could very well borderline edible and not, but trusting Mike's take on his endeavours, this is going to be interesting.
The name is a handful, and please don't ever have the gall to aptly-rename it to McKangkung (which was what happened on his radio interviewer, much to his chagrin)
In between takes of him juggling his charbroiler with slabs of patties and tiny pans filled with dancing onions and mushrooms and what-nots, all whilst he swayed to the beat of some now-retro pop hit from the 90's. His playlist also includes the super-awesome Awesome Mix Vol. 1 from Guardians of the Galaxy too.
People of differing styles walked past his stall, and some stayed to ask more of his specialty (and some just plainly mistook him selling burger Ramly's) and he took time in between to answer and introduce his home-made patties and sauces, his technique and recommendation; all in all with his banter and persona behind his brand.
The burger came wrapped up neatly, and on a paper plate, it was sauce-dipped nicely and not dripping (which IMHO is the finest point, I want to get down and dirty to enjoy a good burger but not getting my fingers smothered before I taste, you-know-what-I-mean?)
Shreds of fresh kangkung laced with crunchy red onions (uhn-nions!) serves as a bed for the perfectly-grilled sweet slice of pineapple, the firm patty sitting in its tangy and well-grounded sambal belachan coat, topped with a fine sesame seeded bun.*
A first well-timed chomp gave me an awesome burst of flavors; the zesty pairing of the intense spicy sambal belachan and sweet pineapple, with the crunch of the kangkung and mild aftertaste of the beef, basically invites for another bite.
By the third, I started to bite smaller to prolong the sensation. This great combination and pairing of flavors, the next instant I realized there were sweat beading somewhere. Spicy, certainly, which eliminates a handful of people to try this gem. But if you are feeling adventurous, this is a must-try!
Great stuff, and I can't wait to try his other creations, and add-ons.
Mike's Burger Grill Celup is at the playground along Jalan 14/48, PJ, across from the KK Mart in between those popular 2 corner-lot fried Hokkien Mee shops.
Mike operates a 6 day-week from 6pm til 12am (last calls about 30 mins prior, since he has to burn-out his charbroiler and other closing/cleaning procedures)
Do call up ahead if you are running a burger-fever close to midnight or you're planning to order for a feast.
He is pretty active in some scenes in promoting the brand, so do check his web assets for his latest info / whereabouts.
He also offers a simple yet good customer feedback and loyalty program, in which he will explain it all upon your first purchase.
And if you have the time to kill, you can offer to play a few rounds of UNO with him, when he waits for his orders etc.
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| Didn't take any pics, so have to take one of his |
*A note on the local sesame-seeded bun, I know a certain bunch of newly-minted self-stlyed burger aficiannados that swore on gourmet burgers need to be with either:
a) a self-baked 'ass-hol-ic' named bread produce that most of everyone can't pronounce, or
b) a specifically sourced healthy/grained/ bread produce that's unconventional traditionally to pair on a burger
I've got to draw my borderline of contempt: I get it, but hey, a burger doesn't necessarily need to be outdone by it's bun. I feel a bun complements the burger and it's other components in the making, and there are those obscenely-priced gourmet burgers that scored highly on my list, however with the mushrooming-phase of these other half-fancy attempts, it isn't necessarily so.
I don't want shitty meat on a fancy-assed bun. I'll look for your recommendations when I decided to have one