Bruce Lee, the greatest martial artist to walk the face of the earth. It was not only his fighting abilities, but his approach and philosophy to martial arts which was so admirable. In case you haven’t realised, I’m a HUGE Bruce Lee fan! Judging by the layout of Kung Fu Burger, the owners obviously adore this martial arts legend too.
The interior’s yellow colour scheme is a tribute to Bruce Lee’s famous yellow jumpsuit. The huge martial arts/burger poster looks to be a custom design and sets the tone that these guys are serious about martial arts and burgers! It’s so cool to see these guys channel something they love into their business. There are so many burger joints these days with their hipster interiors, but I felt the love with Kung Fu Burgers. I could be bias, but this place feels more personal to me.
We started off with a chicken bites and chips special. The chips were nothing to rave about, but the chicken bites were out of this world! Soft, juicy and succulent. I couldn’t believe how good they were, it was such a tease because I had to share them with Helen. The chicken wings on the other hand were not so enjoyable. They were smothered with an overly sweet sauce which was sickeningly sweet and was an appetite killer.
After the roller coaster ride with the starters, we moved onto the burgers. Helen got the Minister Chicken and I got the Gangnam Style. These burgers were absolutely SOLID. The characteristics of the chicken bites carried onto the chicken in the Minister Chicken. The yuzu mayo sauce which went with it worked so well because the yuzu actually cut through the heaviness of the mayo. I’d never thought I’ll use the word ‘refreshing’ to describe a mayo sauce, but this was exactly how it tasted.
The patty in the Gangnam Style burger was cooked beautifully. It also had strong beef flavours, exactly how a great beef patty should be. On my first bite, the Korean mayo and Kim Chi registers on my tongue but the brain is lagging. After a couple of seconds, my eyebrows go up and then I spurt out “this works!”. There’s also Asian slaw and cheese with this burger, and all the ingredients work together to create a memorable burger experience. The cherry on top is the fact that this burger only costs $12! Move over $20+ burgers, we have a new sheriff in town.
They put a skewer through the burger to keep it together. Just pretend it’s not there because everything falls apart anyway. This may be the messiest burger I’ve ever eaten. My hands were all dirty, I had sauce leaking everywhere, it was chaotic! I would recommend wearing dark coloured clothing or pre-stained clothes before coming here. I wasn’t offended at all by the mess, I just had a laugh! Just be aware that no amount of tissues was going to help. A quick wash of my hands with soap and water, and they were good as gold. A basin in the outside dining area would be hugely beneficial I think.
Will we return? Most definitely! It’s a high calorie meal but a walk to the Jam Factory cinemas helps with the fullness. Both of the burgers we had were only $12, the value of these burgers is unrivaled. Combine this fact with their late trading hours and there really is no reason to not try these guys out!
Kung Fu Burger
Address: 355 Chapel Street, South Yarra VIC 3141
Phone: +61 3 9043 3361
Website: kungfuburger.com.au
