Tuesday, December 25, 2007

The Daily Grind, Bangsar Village - burgers extraordinaire

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‘Delicious!’ I exclaimed, as I savoured the moist chicken patty in my mouth. I found out later that it was because they had used the whole chicken and not just chicken breast to make the patty. The thin sesame sprinkled buns were toasted to a slight crisp and liberally buttered. The pickles contrasted well with the burger. I was told that they made their own pickles. ‘Smoked salmon on chicken?’ I questioned. ‘What an unlikely combination!’ I was getting more and more mystified by the second. But this non-believer was soon shown the light. The cheesy sauce wrapped up all the flavours and made my burger encounter an out-of-body experience.

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And that’s the thing. We’re talking burgers here. A meat patty sandwiched between two buns. As a teenager, it was a treat to eat a burger simply because mum and dad never let me near a burger joint. In university, it was a staple as far as fast food was concerned. From McDonald’s to Ramly and everything in between. I soon tired of it. I met my husband, a highly adventurous foodie, and we roamed the streets of KL in search of that elusive sashimi. The burger in its greasy shroud was soon a distant memory. It almost became a dirty word to me, and I’m not talking about those deliciously dirty words that I freely exclaim while driving along the Fed on my way to work.

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She had a classic cheese burger. It was a thick juicy patty made of ground beef (yes, they freshly grind all their meat), homemade ketchup and their very own mustard mix. I half expected to see cows and chickens roam the hardwood floors, and I suspected that if I looked beyond the carpark of the concrete jungle of Bangsar, I might even catch a glimpse of their vegetable patch. A milkmaid and a shepherd would spell the beginning of my insanity. I digress. Two thick slices of cheddar cheese completed the experience.

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I glanced at the tomato ketchup and chilli sauce bottles. ‘They’re all homemade,’ she said. No kidding. In my mind’s eye, I saw vines holding plump shiny tomatoes in that imaginary vegetable patch. The chilli sauce was wonderful, with a heady mix of ground chillies and mustard and other secret ingredients. The accompanying fries were merely a vehicle for me to savour the addictive sauce.

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The man ordered a Down on the Farm burger. I glanced over my shoulder as I thought I heard a Moo. Only for those with a hearty appetite, this muscle flexing thick beef burger, barbeque basted and smokey grilled stacked with thick sliced onion rings was oozing masculinity. A corn cake made with whole corn kernels, crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside, made the man go limp with delight.

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Avocadoes are a constant love interest, so my second experience at The Daily Grind was an affair with a chicken burger covered with creamy avocado sauce and topped with hot salsa. The play between sweet and savoury and spicy ensured that the burger was a winner. Again, I was bowled over by the smoothness of the chicken patty, and I couldn’t get enough of the buttery buns, my carb addiction.

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If you pace yourself well, you’ll have enough room for dessert, and one dessert that is worth trying is the peanut butter and roasted banana pie. I’ll let the picture do the talking.

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I never did quite explain why my sudden interest in burgers at a time when I crave foie gras more than hearty meat patties. (Incidentally, The Daily Grind is currently having a Christmas special consisting of a prawn cocktail, a Foie Gras *gasp* burger and a sherry trifle for just over RM60.) It took an hour long discussion with the husband to figure it out. ‘You’re enjoying it because you’re viewing it as a dining experience’, he looked at me sagely. ‘You’re eating with a fork and knife, cutting small pieces and savouring each mouthful like you’re enjoying a good steak.’ He was right, you know. How else could I explain why I was paying between RM23 and RM36 for a burger? Once dissected, it made sense to pay that amount. I was paying for an experience. Sometimes, revelations such as these can be quantified, and the question is, how much would you pay to see fireworks on your plate?

The Daily Grind
Bangsar Village
Kuala Lumpur.

Open daily until 12 midnight.

Open on Christmas day.

23 comments:

Kenny Mah said...

O a whiff of your beef
Will induce in me a lust
If only I had still my teeth
I'd sup on more than your crust...

It's Xmas day and I haven't had my lunch, and then I read this. O the torture... the dismay... still waiting the Diva and the Datin to get ready... aiyoyo kadavalei...

Rasa Malaysia said...

Happy holidays!

Henry Yeo said...

Finally, gourmet burgers.......Slurp!

Big Boys Oven said...

this burgers looks so awesomely good, I like the idea and crativeness of having a mexican burger with acavado mashed and salsa, it makes a perfect day for me, i think I can have two! Merry Christmas!

Rarebeet said...

Merry Xmas LL!! Wow the food looks really good hor?! ;-) Such lovely photos!

Cokeworld Citizen said...

Erm...I dunno how to respond as a penangnite : P

But personally, I would say...we only live once. So why not?

backStreetGluttons said...

actually he & you are both right and maybe then again not so since in all reality all Xperiences par Fantasies , always will start & end in absolute orgasmic delicious shared co. of togetherness... de key to absolute pain or pleasure YES !

even a burger , agreed thru thick & thin no less

Sugar Bean said...

The peanut butter and roasted banana pie sounds special, haven't heard of this combination before. Passed by this place a few times, gonna try it out since you mentioned it's good!

HairyBerry said...

Manyak lawa itu burger
Lagi mahal dari itu Ramly punyer
Itu burger sama angsa liver
Saya misti mau cuba!

Selamat Hari Kotak (Boxing) Day, ya!

Hey, looks like Kenny got the rhyme bug too..hehe!

Kenny Leong said...

How come the burger look.. Hmm.. "small" to me..
or its something doing with photoshop

myCoffee said...

The burgers do look mighty delicious. Btw, Merry Christmas to you!

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

omg..u went d..so i guess it was that good eh?

ok ok must try must try..

its really darn true..ramly cost RM3 and these costs 20-30 pls..is it really worth it?

Henry Yeo said...

well, there is foie gras burger on the menu, surely it must be worth something considering how much $$$ foie gras is. So just a question of the serving....

yammylicious said...

omg! fantastic burger!!! now i heart gourmet burgers thn ramly d! walalala! =) look so delicious! SLURP

G said...

uhh...too yummy to be true .... nice pics .. merry xmas and hippy new year!

Jason said...

Manyak pretty punya picture la.

*haven't had breakfast, now stomach growling*

MeiyeN said...

oh my.... yummy! must bring fiance try their burgers... which floor it's may i know?

Bernsy said...

the borgers look irresitable...
all shall be assimilated into borger glut this holiday season... lol !!!

Happy New Year...

tigerfish said...

Cake bigger than burger? That burger is definitely not enough for me, moreover it looks and sounds so delicious.

Anonymous said...

What do they call those expensive looking burgers? Haute cuisine de burgres? :) It looks yummy.

Babe_KL said...

happy new year to my dear celebrity madame president :)

Jun said...

joe was telling me abt this place too! interesting combos they have.

gosh now u're makin me crave the combo of PB and bananas like nvr before! *grrr...*

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

Hey guys...sorry but I've been busy with stuff to reply to all your comments! But yeah, to all who wished me a happy holidays, have a wonderful holiday (or what's left of it) too!! So great to hear from so many of you!

Also, to those who commented that the burgers looked small, well they aren't! I should have put something there for perspective. They probably looked small because of the thickness of the patty. These patties are damn thick, I tell ya. And they're quite filling. On both occasions that I was there, I could hardly touch any dessert!