Saturday, March 31, 2007

Azim's Burger Shack, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail

When I was waiting for my STPM results, a looooooong time ago, I told my dad that I wanted a job. Like a real adult. So I went to the local McDonald's and was hired as their resident artist. I drew and painted posters for their promotional activities, and in return, I was paid a salary and rewarded with a burger meal of my choice. I was excited then about getting free Filet-O-Fish and McChicken sandwiches as mum and dad would never have let me consume those at home. Thankfully, my stint as an artist was short as I began my quest to become a bean-counter.

Now that I am older, and wiser, my consumption of fast food has decreased tremendously. It hasn't come to a halt yet, as I still like certain burgers like Burger King's Whopper Jr. and KFC's fried chicken (although even that seems to have deteriorated in quality). I have also, since, developed an appreciation for 100% beef burgers (instead of the unidentified meat patties that can be found in a lot of burger joints and supermarkets). My first experience was in the Philippines when I tried their famous Hotshots Flame-Grilled burger which I thought was absolutely wonderful.

So recently, I was checking out an awesome local site - Friedchillies.tv - which had featured the "Bestest Burger Stands in Malaysia" and I began salivating for a good Made-In-Malaysia burger. Not any factory-line burger at a fast food joint, but a made-to-order burger from Azim's Burger Shack.

I broached the subject with Pretty Pui. She asked me if I was pregnant. I told her I just wanted to have a burger at Azim's Burger Shack.

"Why Azim's Burger Shack?"

"Because they serve burgers made of 100% NZ beef patties, of course", I said knowledgeably.

"And....?"

"They're good for ya."

"I'd rather eat ginger wine chicken", was Pretty Pui's reply. I was still trying to convince her as I reached the crossroads near 1 Utama.

"Too late. We're almost there."

"We can turn around."

"Did you know their burgers are made of 100% NZ beef?"

"And....?"

azim's burger shack at rasta
After the intellectually stimulating conversation, we finally arrived at Azim's Burger Shack in Taman Tun. Azim's forms part of a cluster of stalls at the Rasta food court. This wasn't your run-of-the-mill food court. They had nice matching tables and chairs and green plants placed in strategic corners.

kopi place at rasta
By this time, Pretty Pui had dispelled all ideas of ginger wine chicken as she gazed excitedly at the menu.

"I was told to eat the mushroom burger here", I offered.

"Who told ya? Some blogger, I suppose?"

"Yep."

"Who?"

"He calls himself the Connoisseur Extraordinaire." Okay, I added the Extraordinaire part, but it sounded grander than just saying Connoisseur.

"Hmmm", she dismissed me. "Well, I'm having the bratwurst and rosti."

cockles
While waiting for our main course to arrive, we ordered a plate of boiled cockles from another stall. The cockles, sufficiently boiled so that it wasn't overcooked and remained slightly bloody, were served with a concoction of chilli and peanut sauce. The chilli could have been hotter, but the sauce was, nevertheless, quite good.

brathwurst & rosti
The plate of bratwurst and rosti arrived just as we were finishing off the cockles. Rosti is made with grated potatoes and shaped into round patties. The rosti was delicious with the black pepper sauce and caramelized onions. There was nothing extraordinary about the bratwurst.

azim's mushroom burger with egg and cheese
The mushroom burger, with its distinct layers of fried egg, cheddar cheese, sliced mushrooms, fried onions and 100% NZ beef burger patty, and sandwiched by a bun with a sprinkling of sesame seeds, looked quite inviting. The egg was extra; so was the bowl of mushroom sauce which I was advised to order. I ate the burger by dipping it into the mushroom sauce and taking tiny bites (I am, after all, a lady). The taste was heavenly; the 100% NZ beef burger patty was moist and juicy and full of flavour. Every bite that I took got me more and more orgasmic.

kopi kelantan
The coffee stall across the burger shack served coffee from all the states in Malaysia. Seeing the multitude of plastic and glass receptacles holding the coffee powder, I felt like a kid in a candy store, except that the "candy", in this case, was the same dull colour. After much deliberation and a disgusting conversation in broken Malay (on my part, of course), I got myself a hot cup of Kopi Kelantan and a lime juice. The coffee had a slightly smoky flavour which was quite nice. The lime juice, made from limau nipis instead of limau kasturi (calamansi) was thick and sweet. Perfect climax.

lime juice

Azim's Burger Shack
Jalan Burhanudeen Helmi (Next to Balai Polis Tmn Tun)
Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, KL.

Opens from around 6.00pm to about midnight.

Note: Check out friedchillies.tv (created by friedchillies.com) which showcased its first episode in February 2007!

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

Burgers look great! Seldom see US burgers with a fried egg like that.

boo_licious said...

Aiyoh, now my tummy is rumbling. Heard good things abt Rasta from friends before but it sounds so good based on yr description. I've yet to watch the Fried Chillies tv episode probably becoz my net connection has been flucuating so badly.

Anonymous said...

Is this the place that is directly across 1U (if coming from 1U traffic lights, we go straight? Turn left is to go to Ikea).

Burger looks good, but I don't take beef. The kopi sounds like the one from Chawan, The Weld. They give little crackers too. Plastic containers with red lids?

Limau-ade.. sounds good for a hot day! This place not open for lunch ah?

Anonymous said...

The mushroom burger looks good...especially with the 100% NZ beef patty...yum yum

Rarebeet said...

That looks seriously delicious! Why do I read food blogs before lunch? Duhhh. I'm so hungry now....

Melting Wok said...

ll, those german sausage are called bratwurst or brathwurst har ? why they call it rosti, is it not hash browns ? btw, I'm all in for the 100% angus beef hehehe :)) hey ger, thx for linking me, ger, could u kindly my link to www.meltingwok.com, w/o the blogspot, thx ! :)

Anonymous said...

Ah.. craving for beef burger..

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

tigerfish: I'd have preferred it the old-fashioned way, where the patty is wrapped with egg. But I guess an egg is an egg is an egg, whichever way you present it.

boo_licious: too bad about your net connection. If you watch that friedchillies episode, sure want to go out immediately for a burger!

kat: yep, that's the place. Just head towards the Police Station. Yeah, the kopi is in plastic containers with red lids. As far as I know, they're not open in the afternoon.

malaysianfoodguide: I highly recommend the mushroom burger. :-)

paprika: trust me, u gotta try it! resistance is futile..? ;-)

Jackson: hahaha. Take a drive to Taman Tun. Not that far away one. :-P

melting wok: what would I do without u? TQ aar. Yah hor, the rosti does look like hash browns. Maybe it's in the preparation? Ur link has been amended. :-)

jason: for you, a bit too far away lor. U want me to fed-ex burger to u? In return, I want salt baked chicken. :-P

boo_licious said...

Bf decided to visit it this evening - burger was good, we both love the rosti (definitely better than marche's) and even the caesar salad was given the thumbs up. Tried the waffle next door and it was equally good. Coupled with the first goal Liverpool scored in the game just now, we thought it was a very good night. Definitely will revisit to try the satay and fried rice. (everyone was ordering it!)

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

Boo_licious: I was close by. Wuz at 1 Utama - Mardi Gras - where the Liverpool Supporters Club congregated and watched Liverpool thrash Arsenal! Next time I go to Azim's, shall try the caesar salad and waffles and satay and fried rice. Rasta's is such a find! :-)

Anonymous said...

Lyrical Lemongrass: Wah.. I think I need to do something to the box so the delivery person won't eat the chick inside :P

Xiu Long Bao said...

agree wiv u, our craving for fast food decrease when getting older :P Now i hardly step into McD or KFC.

Rasa Malaysia said...

Now you are cruel...luring me with the cockles! I looooove cockles, but I can't find them in the US. What to do what to do???

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

Jason: Ya la..the smell can be quite powerful huh? As potent as durian. lol.

Xiu Long Bao: hehe. yeah...with so many options other than fast food, it doesn't make sense to eat so much fast food, rite?

Rasa Malaysia: lol. U could make another trip here soon... :-D

L B said...

Oooooo!!! I know that place! I've parked outside it countless times, going to Jasima's.. even kena sammans before too! LOL.. Nice blog..

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

l b: lol..of courselah u kena saman...police station just next to this place! hehe. Do try this place the next time you go there, and park safe. :-)

boo_licious said...

parking available at the back so need to get summons. We went back to try the fried rice and satay last night. Satay is not bad. The fried rice portion is huge but then I don't eat that much rice. Liked their Fried Rice Kampong with lots of wok hei, spicy and crunchy ikan bilis. Chinese fried rice is also not bad. Can understand why it's a popular order as it was a very reasonably priced dinner for approx RM8 per pax.

boo_licious said...

aiks, I meant no need to get summons....such a terrible typo error.

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

Thanks Boo for the tips. Looks like a repeat visit ought to be scheduled ASAP. hehe.

Precious Pea said...

Aiyoyoyo...cockles!!! Must try it out soon since so near my place.

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

Precious Pea: Go for all the other recommendations too! Do it fast before u move house. :-)

tankiasu said...

Eh how's the pricing like?

Btw..4-1 is not considered as trashing. When Arsenal beat Liverpool 6-3 2 months ago in Anfield, that was a trashing la. :P Kekeke....

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

Tankiasu: Oooh...Arsenal fan in da house...!!
Anyways...my mushroom burger was RM8, egg extra RM1 and mushroom sauce extra RM1. The bratwurst with rosti was RM12. Drinks: 2 coffees and 1 lime juice, RM13.

Anonymous said...

That's reasonable wor, consider that the beef really came from NZ. Lol... I prefer the chicken smell than durian :P

Pink Elle said...

Woah, food porn! :) That burger looks fantastic! I was just wondering where to get those nice 100% meat patties burgers as opposed to the cardboard McD's kind! Thanks for the good tip :)

~From another bean counter~

Riz Ainuddin said...

hey meena. the optional mushroom sauce made all the difference right? u know you can custom the burgers. I usually have the mushroom burger with extra cheese, egg and burger to make it a double special. Of course. The unmissable mushroom sauce!

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

jason: yeah, the chicken smell can be quite intoxicating. But I think durians smell just as great. :-P

pink elle: looks like we have two things in common now, eh? ;-)

ra: double of everything?!?! u sure can eat a lot, huh? :-P U're right, though...the mushroom sauce makes all the difference. Next time, I'll try the other burgers and ask for mushroom sauce on the side. :-D Must starve the whole day first...

fatboybakes said...

argh, damn!!!! i cant wait to try this place now. can you insert some cockles into the burger?

sc said...

drove pass this place so many times and i've never even thot of popping in. but now knowing that it serves yummy burger..hmmm, will pop over soon :)

Timothy said...

Hey hey ...

It's a simple food stall, but you gave us a view from a different angle. Now, that takes skills man. And you've got it....

(kneels, and sing songs of praises).....

Anonymous said...

Sigh, I'd give anything for a piping hot plate of cockles now.... with chili sauce... slurp!

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

fbb: tell me when u're gonna be there and asking for cockles in ur burger. I dowwan to be there when the chef shows u the back of his frying pan. Or maybe I do.... (sadist)....

sc: yeah, and do park at the legit car park behind Rasta's. :-)

timothy: *blush* I feel like a goddess....harharharhar.

barbie, barbie, barbie....we have the power to satisfy you. When u want to eat some damn good kerang ah? Name the date, and I'll provide the transportation (because I so nice one).