The Burger Kings!

by Md Delower Hossai

When I was just a little boy, I asked my father "what will I eat? My father, having as limited a singing voice as myself, definitely didn't answer "Que sere, sera.

But, being without my mother on this particular occasion, he decided Mickey D's was the answer to my question.
Somewhat later, while I was still a little boy, I stayed with my aunt and uncle in Adelaide and discovered a whole new creation: Hungry Jack's (for some legal reason they couldn't take their stateside name: Burger King). And that pretty much took care of fast food burgers in Australia.

Then one day when I was no longer quite so little, and thankfully no longer dependent on Dad's hip pocket to provide me with sustenance, I had a revelation. Hamburgers could be found outside McDonald's. And they generally tasted WAY better if they were. Then when I was just a callow young man with no direction and less motivation, I asked myself: "what will I eat?" And as I was in Phnom Penh with a recently cashed paycheque, I had an extensive range of possibilities.

The first on Phnom Penh's list of non-McBurgers is the Gym's Beckham Burger. I don't know what David's cut is from Randall, but this burger (even if soccer-flavoured) gets my vote of confidence. It's big, it comes in a fresh bun that could be sliced to provide wrapping for four Big Macs, the vegetables inside are fresh, there's no sign of gherkin anywhere and the burger itself is just the right combination of juicy-but-not-leak-prone. Naturally, it comes with fries on the plate, and in true Ian Parmenter style, I recommend a cold glass of Anchor draught to accompany it. This is also a burger that goes particularly well with rugby or cricket on the big screen.

Second on the list is definitely Phnom Penh's biggest burger. Ronald might sell you the quarter-pounder with cheese, which is a little less impressive

when converted to metric (which could account for the Royale moniker in Europe), but at the Freebird, Dunk will serve you quarter of a kilo of beef inside a couple of slabs of bakery product along with assorted green and red veggies and a nice pile of fries on the side. Those eight ounces of beef overhang the bread roll in a most impressive way and the whole is enough to feed my entire family (which sounds a little less impressive once you know how small they are!) This burger is such a serious meal that you should probably consider a couple of Angkor stubbies to wash it down with. Third on our list is the Alley Cat Burger. American chef Dallas isn't satisfied making simple burgers (although he does them, too), so he threw the Pizza Burger into the mix. While the Alley Cat's burgers don't achieve the same fighting weight as the Freebird Burger, they do offer you the option to "Fatcat" your burger. This is a little like "supersizing", but you don't get the Diet Coke to help you maintain your slim, svelte self. To properly consume a Fatcat Burger, you really need to be blessed with Mick Jagger, Tina Turner or perhaps Steve Tyler's oral orifice. This is one TALL burger and a tall glass of Beer Lao definitely wouldn't go astray.

If by chance you find yourself in Kampong Cham I heartily recommend the Fish or Chicken Burger at the Mekong Crossing. These burgers are simple (though certainly not plain), come on the best burger roll I have ever eaten and after a couple of hours on a bike on Route 6 it really is the perfect way to relax with a big bottle of Angkor.