And the award for “Smallest Restaurant in Nanjing” goes to… Burger Shop, the recently-opened hole in the wall that is quickly winning the hearts, minds and stomachs of Nanjing’s locals and foreigners alike.
Burger Shop first open its door last November. But then tragedy struck. A faulty fridge short circuited in the middle of the night; the resulting fire closing down operations for a month. Hence The Nanjinger’s visit on 24 January was but 2 weeks after the reopening.
Therein, it’s the Argentinian Angus beef that features in all of the Shop’s beef burgers which is part of the reason for it being a hit; one of the others is pure authenticity.
Owner and local lass, Michelle Chen, visited the USA as a tourist previously and fell in love with America’s greatest contribution to global cuisine. Realising Nanjing lacked a decent burger joint with affordable prices and that locals like burgers just as much as foreigners, persuaded her to open up shop. The restaurant’s minuscule size has enabled her to keep costs down and pass on those prices to diners.
And the cost of these Authentic American burgers? The Nanjinger opted for The American Classic Beef Burger at ¥32 and the Monster Beef Burger at ¥42, adding ¥10 for the combo which gives a choice of fries or mashed potato.
Could we fault them? Tough call. Probably not. That said, the fried egg in the American was a little too runny (disclaimer; the menu clearly states, “Sunny Side Up”) and the huge breaded Portobello mushroom that tops the Monster was not to this correspondent’s liking. Certainly not faults par se; the former petty paranoia and the latter me being just plain fussy.
But the pettiness ends there. At Burger Shop, even the humble mashed potato is elevated to new heights with the addition of cinnamon; simple but highly effective.
Elsewhere on the menu there are three varieties of filled baguettes; choose from carbonara, Bolognese or black pepper meatball. Each priced at ¥58 makes them Burger Shop’s priciest offering.
As for the somewhat small environment, of the three tables, one is more or less “suspended” both between above the others in an innovative use of space that has resulted in what must be coolest spot in Xinjiekou. Space for 10 customers, max.
Chen also told The Nanjinger that of those 10, eight would be foreigners. Such popularity with the local “laowai” gang she puts down to Burger Shop’s listing on Bon App!, the foreigner-and-English-friendly version of Dazhong Dianping.
Finally, it would be bereft of us not to mention that Chinese ice-cream brand, Baxi, supplier to Dairy Queen, is put to excellent use, earning Burger Shop another accolade; “Best Milkshakes in Nanjing”.
Burger Shop is located at 125 Mingwalang in Xinjiekou. Tel: 13851692500.
