It’s international burger day! So what better time to look at the most excessive burgers from around the world… Any you’d like to see on the menu at Chops?
We think a bit of experimentation is what makes a burger the tastiest food you can shove in your gob.
It’s the food of the people. It can be spiced, diced and riced, and each country seems to have its own approach.
So in celebration of International Burger Day (yes, really!), we’ve listed our favourite eight from planet earth…
1. Malaysian egg-wrapped burgers
The Ramly Special is a Malaysian institution, due to its unusual approach to burger preparation. The burger is wrapped up into a cosy bed of fried egg, creating an egg-pocket that stops those precious burger juices getting away.
It’s then doused with a dollop of margarine, Worcester sauce and Maggi seasoning, for a serious flavour-punch, and finally topped with cheese, lettuce and ketchup.
THE CHOPS STOMACH RUMBLING RICHTER SCALE: Worcester Sauce you say? 7/10
2. Finnish Antler Bap
Apparently eating Rudolf is completely fine in Finland. So fine in fact that two restaurants in Helsinki’s airport sell reindeer burgers.
Reindeer meat, if you’re curious, is extremely lean, with a very different taste to your everyday beef burger. Disclaimer: unless Santa starts stopping in Vietnam, don’t expect to see this one on a Chops menu any time soon.
THE CHOPS STOMACH RUMBLING RICHTER SCALE: Yes going lean, no to eating poor ol’ Rudolf: 5/10
3. India’s Carb on Carb
There could be no better way to stray away from the traditional beef patty than with some carb-on-carb action with the Vada Pav. A well-spiced, deep-fried potato dumpling is topped with spicy chutney, chillies, and onions, and consumed within a pav (bread bun).
THE CHOPS STOMACH RUMBLING RICHTER SCALE: Deep fried deadliness? A knee trembling 9/10
4. Uruguay: Chivito
The Chivito Común (common Chivito) is a burger so highly stacked that it could give a Chops burger a run for its money. It’s a buttered bun with tender slices of beef steak spilling out of the side, ham is added, along with melted cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and mayonnaise.
There are endless variations though. You could get a Chivito with beetroot, peas, red peppers, or a whole range of ingredients. If you’re unsure how we feel about a burger with beetroot, please see below for more info.
THE CHOPS STOMACH RUMBLING RICHTER SCALE: The Uruguayans don’t take prisoners with this beef steak topped with ham. An excessive 8/10!
5. New Zealand’s Kiwi Burger
The Kiwi Burger is made out of neither adorable birds nor people from New Zealand, just regular, everyday cow meat.
The Kiwi burger can be a pretty divisive subject but here at Chops we all agree that a burger with beetroot in it is surely the only dish on the menu in hell. A juicy beef burger, topped with lovely cheese, onions, mustard, lettuce, ketchup, then completely destroyed with the addition of, for some reason, beetroot.
THE CHOPS STOMACH RUMBLING RICHTER SCALE: It does look pretty decent. But this could 3/10 or 9/10 – it all depends on whether you like it purple between ya baps.
Image from CNN/Fergburger
6. Pakistan’s Wala Street Food Burger
Also known as the Wala Burger or Papu Burger, this dish takes on a whole new approach to patties – and Pakistanis take it seriously!
A ground beef and lentil mix is dipped into egg whites, fried, then put into a toasted bun with a dollop of chutney.
THE CHOPS STOMACH RUMBLING RICHTER SCALE: It’s a street food celebrity in Pakistan, which makes it good enough for us: 7/10. We love street food too!
7. Japanese Rice Burger
It wouldn’t be an article about global burgers if we didn’t include a burger with rice patties as buns. Japan always takes a thoroughly Japanese spin to western cuisine and the Rice Burger is no exception.
THE CHOPS STOMACH RUMBLING RICHTER SCALE: A joyously moist patty marinated in Teriyaki sauce from the land of Wagyu? 7/10
8. Vietnam’s Proper Gourmet Burger
Wheyyy! You didn’t think we were going to let someone else take Vietnam’s burger crown?
Burgers may have been around before we got here, but they weren’t Chops burgers. We make burgers to dislodge your jaw.
Come and try them for yourself and pull up a craft beer while you’re at it.
READ MORE: WHY CHOPS VIETNAM USES WAGYU BEEF FOR ITS PROPER BURGERS
READ MORE: THE CHOPS GUIDE TO HANOI STREET FOOD
READ MORE: THE CHOPS GUIDE TO TINDER DATES IN HANOI
READ MORE: HOW TO PAIR VIETNAM’S CRAFT BEERS AND PROPER BURGERS