Burger review: Coast Bistro & Bar

Coast Burger

Pisco continues the search for the perfect burger in Hong Kong.  Last night’s contestant was Coast Bistro & Bar, just off Hollywood Road next to the escalator.  After a day spent hiking on and around The Peak, a burger seemed like the right way to recharge.  I still have not found the perfect “go to” burger joint, so it was time to try a new place.

The room is very well designed, with great soft lighting and lots of space in between tables.  The mirrors on the wall add a bit of space to the room without accosting you with your own reflection at every turn.  The crowd inside seemed to be having a great time, though it was strange that the bar was full and the main dining area sparsely populated on a Saturday night.

Coast is an Aussie joint, with a great selection of steak and fish dishes.  We were there just for the burgers, though, so when the server appeared, we asked for “two Coast burgers, rare”, thank you very much, and handed back the menus.  Almost as an afterthought we ordered a side salad, and a couple of glasses of Shiraz.

The burgers looked great when they arrived.  The burger itself is quite wide, and as the patty is not enormous, you can guess that it’s not that thick.  I don’t have anything against a non-thick patty, except to note that they are harder to serve rare.  By the time the outside has been seared. the inside is already past rare, in many cases.  With a thicker patty, it’s easier to keep the inside rare while it’s on the grill.

The burger bun is a strange crisped flatbread, somewhat of a cross between a pita and a focaccia.  Never having had a burger in Oz, I don’t know if this is common practice there, but I can’t say I’m a fan.  The bun did not completely cover the patty, which is a cardinal error.  The texture was quite good – it was easy to bite off a hunk – but I prefer a more substantial bun to balance the patty and all of its accompaniments.  Speaking of accompaniments, there was a good selection of chopped lettuce, caramelized onions, and thin beet slices inside.  However, the top flatbread was slathered in barbecue sauce, which (again) may be standard in Oz, but I strongly feel that it should be served on the side, unless the burger is sold as a “BBQ Burger” on the menu.

The shoestring fries were crisp, hot, and close to perfect – they may be the best fries I have eaten in Hong Kong.  I don’t know the source of their ketchup, but it hit all the right notes – not too sweet, and balanced with an agreeable vinegar tanginess.  The next time I am struck with an urge for a beer and a plate of fries, you will find me at Coast.

It’s quite a good burger, even thought it’s a handful to eat with the thin bun.  The burger has a lot of flavor, but it tended to fall apart (as it was too thin), and it felt a little greasy, perhaps because the bun was insubstantial.  I was happy with the fixings, and would have been thrilled if the beet slices were larger.

The fries (and ketchup) were perfect and memorable and worth a return trip on their own.

Dear Coast, please consider these suggestions during your next burger update:

• Make your patty smaller but fatter.  You’ll be able to serve a truly rare burger.
• Change your weird flatbread bun to something more substantial.  I salute your creativity and am sure you’ll find something appropriate and authentic from your great continent.
• Serve the BBQ sauce on the side, unless you change the name on the menu to “BBQ Coast Burger”

Two burgers, two glasses of Shiraz, and a side salad ran nearly 600 (!) HKD.

Food: B
Service: A
Setting: A
Value: C-
Overall: B-

Coast Bistro & Bar
1/F Kinwick Centre
32-36 Hollywood Road
SoHo, Hong Kong
+852 2544 5888

Pisco is still looking for the perfect burger (suggestions please!), but here’s my HK list so far, for gourmet (ie not fast food) burgers:

Recommended:

1. Soho No. 8 Aargh, apparently they are now closed!
2. Coast

Not recommended:

1. Gourmet Burger Union

Alas, the search continues…

Burger Time *

Every once in a while, Pisco gets the urge for a burger.  Gourmet burgers are preferred over fast-food burgers; I find the latter to be a little light, insubstantial, and examples of all the wrong tradeoffs that fast-food cuisine entails.

A short stroll brought Pisco and a friend (K) to Duke’s Burger, which is on the “best burger” list of the WOM Guide.  We entered and the bartender greeted us with a brusque “We’re full tonight.”  Is it really so difficult to be polite to potential customers, even on a Friday night?  We walked out and I vowed never to return.  I hope they go out of business with attitude like that.

Left without a good backup plan, we wandered around Staunton Street, and found a burger on the menu at Soho No. 8.  Sitting on the corner of Staunton next to the escalator, it’s a great place to people-watch, somewhat akin to being on safari at a popular river crossing.  The dark interior shows off the large, bright aquarium in the back, filled with a school of languid, orange fish.

The evening immediately brightened when I spotted a Leffe on the bar.  I asked the server which flavor, and she said, “Well it’s the brun, we don’t have the blond tonight,” which is perfect since the brun is so much better.  A couple minutes later a full pint of Leffe Brun was in front of me, the blown bulb of the glass nearly as large as my head.  I recall drinking (smaller) 375ml glasses of Leffe in Belgium; it’s so potent that you have to be careful.  But as it’s Friday, and I’m walking home, we can throw caution to the wind.

We ordered two burgers, rare, and they were delivered a short time later.  First impressions were favorable: the buns were substantial and toasted on a grill (unlike those flaccid, mushy excuses they serve at Gourment Burger Union, which is anything but).  There was a slice of cheese on the patty, nearly melted, but I scraped it off; you never know what kind of cheese you’ll find unless you ask in advance, which I had forgotten to do in my fluster over the Leffe.  The meat was rare, just as ordered.

The best aspects of this burger were the rare beef, stout, toasted buns, and a thick slice of red beet on the bottom.  The sweetness of the beet provided a good balance to the richness of the meat with its seasonings, and provided a little extra heft to the burger.  The only downside was the uneven and occasionally overpowering salt level in the patty.  The burger is advertised as “hand seasoned in house”, and it’s a pretty good mix, but make sure the cap is on the salt shaker the next time you put it together in the kitchen, OK?

Chill house music played at a reasonable volume set up a nice atmosphere, while letting patrons converse at normal voice levels.

The burger would have been exceptional if not for the sodium issue, but it’s definitely worth a trip back.  Anytime you can get Leffe Brun and a good, solid burger, it’s a treat, and one we should celebrate as often as we dare.

Two burgers and two drinks totaled HKD 391.  No photos of the meal since it was too dark, and I was too entranced with the Leffe.

Food: B+
Service: B
Atmosphere: B
Value: B

Soho No. 8
G/F, 8 Staunton Street
SoHo, Central [map]
+852 2536 9068

* I don’t recall beets in the original game, but I think they would have been a good addition.