Bowl Burger: When They Won't Shut Up Behind You

(Burger: The road to get to you was painful)

Wednesday lunch place was supposed to be my choice and I suggested checking out that shiny new Chinese joint that just opened up near the office. Was supposed to be a good plan. But all our way down, I had – not one, but TWO annoying voices behind me going:

“Are we there yet?” “Ohmigawd this is SO far.” “Are we walking to the…omg is this the MTR station?!” “How much further is this place?” “Oh great, look at all these people. Now we’re going to have to wait.” “Don’t tell me you’re lost.” “You’re lost aren’t you?”

I was so disconcerted by these two annoying non-shutter-uppers that I lost all sense of direction, my brain only being able to think: “SHADDUP! SHADDUP! SHADDUPPPPP!” but half exhausted by their sea of complaints, I gave in on my search for the new Chinese place and instead, we dove into the shoebox-sized Bowl Burger on Mercer for a bit o’ beef and carbs.

…which reminds me, I haven’t actually had a fast-food beef burger since moving back to Hong Kong (I had one of ‘em Four Seasons burgers a while ago but, good as it was, it’s just really not the same thing). Weird. We placed our orders and obnoxiously hovered over two just-finishing-up diners with our “we’re waiting for your table, so hurry” expressions.

I went with the #2 single patty beef burger set ($42) with drinks and paper bag of fries. I had read before that the burgers here are all handmade using 100% ground US beef, so I was actually pretty excited to give it a try. True enough, the burgers were perfectly juicy with a good bit of bite. Could’ve been grilled just a little more (I like ‘em kinda charred) but still, would have to say that it was a pretty well-rounded burger overall. Good sauce, good flavor, and none of that ridiculous overflow of unnecessary fillings (my burger pet peeve). The burger was a hefty portion too, though nothing that the food champion in me couldn’t down in its entirety.

(Fries: a paper bag of warm deliciousness)

And special mention goes out to their fries. Leaning towards the thick-cut variety, with perfectly, pillowy-soft potato innards and a hot, crunchy, exterior… I loved. Time permitting, I would’ve downed the whole bag…and gotten another. But time did not permit. Next time then…

So yes, the trip down to lunch was annoying. But the food was good. And on the way back, I had an errand to run so I took a separate, SILENT and PEACEFUL route back to the office. So I guess it ended up being still quite a pleasant afternoon.

FOOD: 4/5
SERVICE: 3/5
ATMOSPHERE: 1/5

BOWL BURGER ($)
25 Mercer Street
Sheung Wan
3118-0676