Burger Quest: Part 1
There goes the diet
When I first came to Korea, I often craved tastes of home. I sometimes wanted familiar feeling of slamming thousands of calories into my system and then washing it all down with a bucket-load of sugar. I wanted grease and meat, but the problem was where to get it.
In the last year or so, Korea has started a new trend, burgers. A quick look around Samsan-dong and you’ll see what I am talking about. However, all across this city little cafes are popping up, serving this western favorite. So let’s start with the original varieties in this first installment;
The Fast Food Chains.
1. McDonald’s – Most Consistent/convenient
In the words of one of my professors “If you need to find a clean bathroom, anywhere in the world, go to a McDonald’s” Much can be said for the rest of the menu. If you crave that “taste of home” McD’s is the place. It has taken them some time to get up to the speed and service of their western brothers, but they are everywhere, even if you have to wait 2 minutes for your “Big Mac Set-uh”
2. Burger King – Tastiest/largest Fast Food Burger
Ulsan has long been deprived of this burger vendor for years and slowly they started creeping in. It started with the shop in the basement of the Hyundai Department store in Bangeojin and then spread to the other Hyundai Department Store in Samsan-dong. For Koreans who are not accustomed to eating saucy, drippy, greasy burgers, you get a little knife with your burger to make this chunk of “flame-broiled” goodness more palatable and easier to hold. Me, I barely use the napkins provided as I tear into thing like a hungry lion on a lame gazelle.
3. Lotteria – Most unique menu
I am not sure who started this “Bulgogi Burger” thing but Lotteria ran with it. Making a burger menu that is more suited for the Korean tastes, it has some of the most unique “Burgers” that I have ever seen. The Kimchi Burger is a unique treat but one of my fav’s is the Paprika-Bacon burger. The addition of the yellow pepper is interesting but the burger is alright. I am not a fan of the sweet bulgogi sauce that seems to cover everything here but it makes for an interesting diversion.
Coming Soon: The restaurants! It is going to take some time to get through all the new places but soon we will have the “Definitive Burger Guide for Ulsan” Until then look HERE