Neighbourhood Burgers – Korean Fried Chicken

I needed to get a burger review done but was short on time after having a longer day at work than expected. My Deliveroo app came to the rescue! I thought I had tried everything that I had considered worthy in the last year or so, but then came across Neighbourhood Burgers. The pictures certainly looked the part. Some of these burgers looked pretty incredible actually. I am a sucker for Korean food and the Korean Fried Chicken Burger screamed out at me for a review. Read on and see how it went…

The Bun: 16/20

The Sesame Seed bun did have quite a dense look when I opened the box which was a little worrying. Looks can be deceiving, however. The bun was pretty good. The sesame seeds were understated, adding a small amount of texture to the stack combined with a bouncy, light, bun. Despite being somewhat light in flour content, the bun held well against the rest of the stack, both crown, and heel. The jaggedy cut through the bun did look like it had been cut by a three-year-old which didn’t add much in the way of looks. I have seen my son use blunted dinner knives to cut bagels for himself and the resemblance was uncanny. A little more attention to detail, pride even, and it would have scored a little higher. The percentage of heel did disturb the overall bite flavour but I put this down to laziness.
 

The Toppings: 4/10

This stack came loaded with Kimchi Slaw, Pickled Onions, and from nowhere they had also added a huge Tomato ring. When I tasted the Kimchi Slaw alone, the flavour was nice it did have a nice acidity to it. That being said, you could clearly tell that this was not a “Mommas recipe” well travelled and refined. It tasted like a commercial knock off, unfortunately, and largely ineffective in the stack. The pickled onions were not a patch on some of the pickled onions that have so enhanced some of the burgers we have tried. It was the addition of the tomato I didn’t understand and didn’t like at the crown of the burger. It ruined the balance and added moistness to the crispy chicken that made zero sense.

The Condiments: 4/10

The Korean Fried Chicken Burger came with a Miso Mayonnaise that I was excited about! The flavour was ok and well positioned at the heel of the bun with the slaw. What should have been one of the stars of this burger was completely undermined by the acidity in the pickled onions. The onions completely stole any and all flavour from the condiment which left the burger completely out of balance.

The Cheese: 0/20

There was no cheese in this stack. Usually, I would make an allowance and add a score to reflect some of the other components but not this time. The Korean Fried Chicken Burger struggled in most areas.

The Patty (s): 13/20

Two huge chicken patties came in this stack. I have had Korean Fried Chicken multiple times when travelling Asia and the standard is pretty high. Despite the chicken patties being nice, with the label ‘Korean Fried Chicken’ they fell short of the mark. Korean Fried Chicken is extremely crispy, and the batter is usually one of the stars. Neighbourhood Burgers have done a nice job cooking the chicken; it was full of moisture, but the breading fell short of a crisp.

The Taste: 9/20

The balance of this burger is completely out of whack. The pickled onions need softening if they are going to take centre stage in the flavour profile as these do. The acidity did not marry well with chicken, perhaps the white meat is too flavourless to compound with such a strong flavour. The Kimchi Slaw, although pretty nice, doesn’t take a leading role in a stack that would do well to champion it more than it does. The chicken is well cooked, but could use a more traditional Korean batter to enhance the crispiness. Overall the Korean Fried Chicken Burger just didn’t work for me, too many components alienated one another to a confusing result.

Our Verdict: 46/100

Neighbourhood Burgers have tried to create something that could work for some people. With Korean Fried Chicken being one of my all-time favourite meats this stack was held to the sword from the moment it came through the door. It is worth mentioning the loaded fries that came with pulled brisket, cheese, BBQ sauce, and Chipotle sauce too. Even reading that back it sounds exciting! Unfortunately again, this was a let down. The fries are undercooked, under a mound of moisture in cheese, sauce, and dripping brisket juice. For me, the whole experience of Neighbourhood Burgers felt like they have the right ingredients with poor execution. I mean, undercooking fries in that much moisture is a cardinal sin. Any one worth their salt in the kitchen would know you need to overcook by at least 10% to account for the crispiness loss. I am disappointed, evidently, but the burger came much like the fries; mushy and flavour profiles all over the place.