Chur Burger's New Menu Tasting, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane

August 18, 2015

It has been a while since I went to Chur Burger in the Valley and whilst I walked past the new Chur Burger Express in the Eagle St Pier food court. When I was recently invited to the new menu tasting, luckily it was a good time too as I was still on my uni winter holidays, I did not second think but confirmed my attendance. I remembered my first time trying Chur and I fell in love with their burgers. 'Nuff said.

Now, before you drool anymore after seeing the photo above, be prepared for more drooling photos of more mouthwatering burgers as you read on..

Since there were a big group of people, there was a mutual understanding of the limited food being shared, allowing some have a say of what they wanted to try when the food started arriving on the table. Everyone was able to take photos of some of the food beforehand on the bench, though some extra lighting were needed since the natural lighting of the restaurant, the food and the fact that it was at night made it harder to take nice decent photos under good lighting. So, please do excuse some of the photos below if they do look slightly more orange or too bright.

'Salt and Pepper Squid w Ponzu Mayo' ($12) was a light snack that everyone will love from kids to grown ups. The ponzu mayo was interesting however, I could not taste much of the ponzu other than it had a slight citrus flavour within it. The salt and pepper squid could have had a bit more pepper but the amount of salt was just right. The batter was nice and thin and it's always a bonus when the meat is thick with a thin batter around it.

'Southern Fried Chicken Wings w Jalapeno Mayo' ($14) had that tang of spiciness but not overpowering, the taste of America comes down under. The Jalapeno Mayo had a nicer kick than the Ponzu Mayo and the SFC is again, another winner amongst diners but for me, it was just okay. I would not pick it as a snack as it can get pretty oily and messy too.

Now this is a must try when you're in Chur and decide that you still want some meat but you don't feel like a burger. The 'Crispy Pork and Squid salad w soba noodles, pickled vegetables, asian herb and ponzu vinaigrette' ($18) was a delight to eat. Sad I wasn't able to have it all to myself. The squid tasted similar to the salt and pepper squid but just cut in half whilst the crispy pork is different than you crispy skin pork belly but it had that crunch but yet doesn't feel like they have just fried the fat part only of the pork.

The asian herbs and pickled vegetables were fresh and gave a subtle taste after eating the crispy pork and squid salad. A well thought out combination of each of the ingredients in this dish. Another interesting thought I had was having Soba noodles incorporated within the dish. You don't usually use soba noodles in a salad so when I read that there were soba noodles, it gave the whole dish a new twist. A mixture of different cuisines fusion-ed into one simple dish.

What's a Taco doing in a burger joint? That's what I thought too at first but when it came out one by one, it looked so pretty. They weren't too big nor too small, but they reminded me of petite tacos and might fill me up just by eating one or two when I'm not having a big appetite.

'Mushroom Taco w sweet potato, pickled red onion, feta and candied pumpkin seeds' ($7) was a unique combination which reminded me of a mushroom breakfast dish actually I had recently. The texture of the mushrooms when combined with the sweet potato and pickled red onion gives you this distinct taste of a somewhat healthy but delicious taco. The feta and candied pumpkin seeds blended in nicely but I could not really taste much of the candy-ness of the pumpkin seeds.

'Jerk Chicken Taco w blackened corn salsa, chilli and herbed aioli' ($7) was a taco that scared me because of their finely chopped chillies. I did not try this taco but it seemed quite spicy but then, usually the green chillies are spicier than the red. Despite my exotic background, I still can't handle the heat when it comes to spicy, feels like being the oddball out of the whole family really.

Now are you ready to indulge on some mouthwatering burger photos? I did not taste all of the new burgers which reminds me to go back to Chur again to try them out. I think I only tasted one of the burgers out of the burgers that came out. Although the night was a menu tasting, the burger menu has not changed so I was aware of what I have tried and what I wanted to have a try.

'Marinated Grilled Chicken w hot sauce, mayo and minted slaw' ($12) was an absolute killer when it came. It looked so much and it felt as if when someone tries and grab this burger and take a bite out of it, it just seems like the chicken and the rest of the filling might just pop out from the back, and yes, a messy burger to eat.

'Grilled Beef w cheese, tomato jam, mustard mayo and pickle' ($12) is your Cheeseburger but no, not your typical traditional cheeseburger. Your only source of greens is the thinly sliced pickle, yet the pickle did not have the strong picklish taste but it was a great simple combination with the cheese and mustard mayo. The grilled beef was a good piece of meat I have to say, it was grilled well and the meat itself wasn't just all super micro minced up. The burger bun also was slightly grilled which was great knowing that not only the inside of the burger counts but also the buns too. I love a good burger bun and this definitely did it for me.

'Grilled Lamb w mint sauce, feta, red onion and aioli' ($12) reminded me of your cheeseburger but with grilled lamb instead and instead of your cheddar cheese, you get feta. The mint sauce does seem interesting especially being put in a burger but then, it reminds me of grilled lamb salad with mint and feta.

'Crumbed Fish Fillet w pickled cucumber, lemon mayo and dill' ($12) was a burger I actually wanted to try, maybe it was because it's been a long time since I've eaten Fillet'o'Fish from Maccas, but of course, this would of course be much healthier yet a real fish burger. A delight to look at even when you haven't even eaten it. I like to be able to see most of the ingredients in a burger when it first arrives or presented on the plate.

'Spiced Chickpea Fritter w grated beetroot and honey labne' ($12) is another twist on a burger I reckon. I did not have the chance to try this either but another burger I would've liked to try. I would feel however that the chickpea fritter and the grated beetroot would make this burger quite heavy in terms of post eating even if it is not meaty but the fact that it does have a big chunk of chickpea fritter makes me feel that way.