Go-Ji-Ra @ My Burger Lab – All hail the kings!

14, Jalan 21/22, SeaPark, 46300, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

I’ve not done a post on My Burger Lab till now because, honestly, what’s left to say that’s not already been said by other, better food bloggers?

We’ve visited a bunch of times but I never felt like I had anything significant to add. Their legendary service is great as always. Despite the opening of a new outlet in OUG, the queues are still as long. And we’re sure many a fan has felt Lady Fartsalot’s frustration on our most recent visit when the burger she wanted had sold out by the time she got to the head of the line. Okay, they now have additional seating upstairs but that’s hardly big enough news to merit a post.

What IS big enough was the monstrous Go-Ji-Ra burger I just had.

This thing is staggeringly huge. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was what caused Godzilla’s widely talked-about weight gain.

This must be one of those posts I’ve heard about that ‘writes itself’. Having had the Go-Ji-Ra, I suddenly noticed a jumble of words jostling around in my head demanding to get written down. Or typed out, as it were.

The words in my head insist that I tell you about how the King of Burgers and the King of Monsters have finally come together in a glorious explosion of flesh and flavour.

There were three (THREE!) satisfyingly thick and meaty beef patties that literally fall apart in the mouth. I had previously expressed mild dissatisfaction that My Burger Lab burgers had a rather small meat-to-other-ingredients ratio. This burger demolishes that complaint as completely as Godzilla demolishes buildings.

Damn near knocked me over as well, as the massive amount of meat almost put me in a food coma.

The mustard-grilled patties had an appetising sour zing, as well as a refreshing kick from wasabi. Absolutely delicious, and certainly enough to satisfy even the biggest of meat cravings.

I would have enjoyed the Go-Ji-Ra even more if not for the subtle aroma of the blue cheese that was added to it. But that’s completely my own fault for not knowing how to appreciate blue cheese, and nothing to do with My Burger Lab.

And because I don’t foresee another My Burger Lab post in the near future, I’m taking this opportunity to also publish all the burger pictures we’ve taken during our previous visits there.

Can't remember which burger this is. Cthulhu, probably.

Nope, this one doesn't ring a bell either.

This appears to be a chicken one that Lady Fartsalot had. Maybe she remembers... nope, no luck there.

A quick note to wrap up before I go off to collapse under the weight of all this meat inside me. I don’t know whether the Go-Ji-Ra is a permanent item on the menu. Maybe, like Godzilla, it will disappear back into the sea once it’s caused sufficient destruction to enough digestive systems. If you’re interested, you might want to go try it soon, just in case.

And if you’re not a big eater, for goodness’ sake bring back-up.

Old picture of shop interior. It's less packed now with extra seating upstairs, but only by a tiny bit. It seems that at My Burger Lab, with greater seating capacity come greater numbers of hungry fans.

Bite-sized review

It’s the My Burger Lab everyone knows and loves. This post is about how meaty and delicious the massive new Go-Ji-Ra burger is. Don’t know how long it will stay on the menu, so go check it out quick. And bring someone to help you eat it.

Stats

Price: About RM30 and worth every single sen.

Johnny Rockets – Worst. Burger. Ever.

Hello all. We take a break from my ramblings about Bangkok food to have a big rant.

The first, most important, and most distressing thing about Johnny Rockets is that the headline was not an exaggeration. Not one bit. The piece of crap I ate there really was the worst burger I have ever had in my life.

But I’m getting a little ahead of myself. Let’s backtrack a little.

I’ve seen the lot in The Curve under renovation for quite a while, and was rather looking forward to trying out what looked to be a real-deal, all-American burger joint.

In November, they finally opened and all the signs were highly auspicious. There were dancing waiters and cute uniforms and cheerful-looking décor that made the place look every bit like a classic American deli. Plus, the queues were massively long. We tried going there for dinner one weekend in mid-November and had to pass because the waiting list was too long and we needed to go watch the God of Thunder kick some dark elf ass.

Then, a few days later, I happened to have a morning meeting near The Curve which ended around lunchtime. I decided I should have lunch there and even got a co-worker to go with me. I don’t know if he will ever forgive me.

Despite it being a weekday, we still had to wait 30 minutes for a table. And despite the huge team of cooks in the open kitchen, we had to wait almost 45 minutes for our food.

The plateful of what can only very loosely be termed ‘food’ that finally landed in front of me was nothing short of vile.

The burger patty looked and tasted like it had spent a week being incinerated on the surface of the sun. Grossly overcooked, it was a disgusting hunk of dry, tough, rubbery meat utterly devoid of any flavour, save for the taste of copious amounts of pepper. And, inexplicably for a busy, packed restaurant, it was also cold.

The bun is a whole other nightmare. Its inner surfaces were two thick, hard, greasy crusts that looked like someone had slathered butter on them, toasted them for too long and left them to go stale for a couple of weeks before serving them to me. Again, how do you achieve this in a busy restaurant?

They managed to totally f*ck up the sides as well. The fries were soggy, limp, overly starchy abominations that no amount of ketchup or chilli sauce could save.

And with the coleslaw, the food quality went from horrific to borderline criminal. It was about half a handful of completely wilted purple lettuce that appeared to have been discarded vegetable trimmings salvaged from the dumpster behind a third-rate restaurant, crudely shredded and scattered unceremoniously on the plate with barely a few drops of disgusting-looking dressing coated in congealed oil.

And for this they had the gall to charge almost RM30!

The worst beef burger I’ve had at McDonald’s is 50 times better than this. Even the crappy McRib is better than this. Heck, a piece of old tyre rubber slapped between two sheets of cardboard and sauced with used engine oil would probably taste better than this unmitigated piece of utter crap that has no business calling itself ‘edible’, much less a burger.

We had to get back to work and didn’t have time to demand replacements that very likely would have taken another 45 minutes to arrive. So we just choked down the least disgusting bits on our plate and left, never intending to return.

Dammit, I wanted to like Johnny Rockets, I really did. Now all I want is to see its hordes of curious first-time customers shrink to nothing, and for the restaurant to die a well-deserved death – the sooner the better – so that the space it currently occupies can be filled with a shop that’s not a total affront to its entire industry.

Dai Ban Noodles – And suddenly, a burger

No. 87G, Jalan SS21/1A, Damansara Utama, 47400, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

I don’t interact often with the service personnel at government agencies or government-related corporations, and I’m ashamed to say that I still expect slow, surly, somewhat incompetent service from them.

This, of course, is no longer true. And I am reminded of this fact yet again when we had to visit TMPoint at Uptown to settle some broadband-related stuff. The staff were friendly, efficient and knowledgeable. The fact that I’m still surprised to receive good service here is a flaw I have to work hard to correct.

Once we were done at TMPoint (in record time, I might add) we found another pleasant surprise just a few doors away.

From outside, Dai Ban Noodles looked like yet another Chinese pan mee shop serving up pan mee that, at best, is a poor substitute for the legendary Kin Kin Chilli Pan Mee. But then I noticed a banner that says they also serve the ‘Best Pork Burger in Town’. Really? At a pan mee shop? Well, I just had to take a closer look.

If not for the banner, we probably wouldn’t have given this place a second glance.

Once inside, my perception of the place started to change. First off, the drawings on the wall were really cool. Certainly not something you’d expect to find at a typical Cina-fied shop.

I am convinced the person who painted this had some serious art training.

  

I also like their reusable order sheet.

Saves cost, eco-friendly and did you notice? They have a ‘less ice’ option for their drinks. More places should do this.

So I’ve gotten some pretty good vibes up till this point. But is the food actually any good?

The crunchy prawn rolls arrived first. They were chock-full of big pieces of fresh, firm, springy prawn meat. A very good start to the meal indeed. Interestingly, it had a slightly porky taste – I’m guessing they added some pork meat paste for a little surf and turf. I also really liked the dipping sauce that came with it because it packed some serious heat.

If you have low heat tolerance, the mayo on the rolls may help a little.

The pan mee with pork chop came next. The thin noodles were nice and firm and didn’t have that typical pan mee doughyness that I don’t much care for. The pork chop was tender and juicy, with a good mixture of lean meat and fat. The fat did not melt in the mouth but rather reminded me of the fat you get on grilled steak; you chew and it squirts flavourful oil all around your mouth. Not very healthy but certainly delicious.

One of the best pan mee I’ve had. Lady Fartsalot may accuse me of blasphemy, but I’d choose this over Kin Kin.

Finally, the pork burger arrives with the name of the shop written in chilli sauce. Good penmanship; perhaps the person who painted the walls also makes the burgers. Anyway, the burger had nice and soft charcoal buns that have good flavour on their own. The pork patty was thick and juicy and well-seasoned. There was some crunch from the cucumbers, a little extra kick from raw onions and a nice bite from the mustard. Overall, very nice textures and flavours. I don’t know if it’s the best pork burger in town, but it’s certainly pretty damn good. And it’s served at a pan mee shop!

Side note: This wasn’t very easy to eat as it had huge amounts of sauce which made everything slip and slide around a lot.

And by the way, the potato wedges that came with the burger deserve special mention. I loved them: crunchy exterior and soft, creamy interior – probably the best wedges I’ve had. And it’s worth noting that they remained crunchy even though we took a long time to photograph them due to lighting difficulties.

We never expected it when we looked at the shop exterior, but Dai Ban Noodles has been a very good find. Everything we ordered had been good. If you put a gun to my head and demanded negative feedback, I guess I would say that the (very hot) chilli for the pan mee could use an extra touch of lime juice.

And maybe that our ais kosong tasted a little ‘watery’.

But all in all, we were very happy with this place and are excited to go back and try other items on their menu. Especially the pumpkin pork rib porridge which was not available at the time.

Do give this new place (we surmised this from the red cloth still hanging over their main entrance) a try. Maybe we’ll see you there!

Snack-sized review

Pan mee shop that serves pan mee, and a surprisingly excellent pork burger. We also tried the prawn rolls, which were great. A great addition to the many good restaurants in Uptown area.

Stats

Hours: Didn’t ask, but should be 10 to 10.

Price: Depends what you order. As a gauge, pork chop pan mee is RM9.90. Pork burger costs a little more at RM15.90.