Hanbaagaasuuteeki: Victoria’s Bāga Revolution
There is something wonderfully democratic about a smash burger. It asks very little of you: pick it up, take a bite and surrender to the inevitable. At Hanbaagaasuuteeki, however, the humble burger has been given a passport.
Conveniently located on Buckingham Palace Road in Victoria, this playful, cult restaurant has spent its first year taking the familiar American smash burger and giving it a decidedly Asian accent. Japanese, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese flavours collide with crisp-edged beef patties, pillowy potato buns and a menu of unapologetically bold sauces and toppings.
We were invited to join founder and owner Fatih Alkan and the chef for a private tasting downstairs, an opportunity to experience some of the restaurant's dishes away from the bustle of the main dining room and, more importantly, to get a glimpse of the thinking behind a restaurant that has managed to build such a following in just twelve months.
The occasion was particularly fitting: Hanbaagaasuuteeki is celebrating its first birthday with five new additions to the menu.
The restaurant's proposition is simple, but its execution is anything but. Rather than treating Asian flavours as an afterthought, Hanbaagaasuuteeki puts them at the heart of the burger. Kimchi, gochujang, ponzu and nam jim are given equal billing with the beef, creating combinations that are familiar enough to understand and adventurous enough to keep things interesting.
The Kimchi Bāga (£11) is a perfect example. A proper smashed patty, with those irresistible caramelised edges, is paired with slow-fermented Korean kimchi. The richness of the beef meets the acidity and gentle heat of the kimchi, cutting through the burger's indulgence with precisely the right amount of bite. It is the sort of combination that seems obvious only after someone else has thought of it.
Then there is the Ika Ringu Doggu (£12), a more mischievous proposition. Made fresh daily until it sells out, it places crunchy calamari rings inside a soft potato roll before finishing the whole affair with ponzu-kuro nanban. There is a lovely contrast between crispness and softness here, while the sharp, savoury sauce gives the calamari enough personality to hold its own.
The Kimuchi Doggu (£13) takes the hot dog in an altogether different direction. Forget ketchup. The bespoke sausage is dressed with Japanese-style kimchi, delivering a combination that is salty, spicy and pleasantly fermented. It is proof that Hanbaagaasuuteeki isn't interested in simply replicating familiar fast-food formulas.
The Thai Okla Bāga 2.0 (£12) is arguably the most ambitious of the new bāgas. Inspired by the Oklahoma onion burger, it is piled high with som tam-style slaw and finished with a punchy kra pao sauce. Sweetness, heat, acidity and savoury depth arrive in quick succession, while the onion-rich burger provides a suitably indulgent foundation.
Then comes the District 4 Chicken Bāga (£14), or, as the menu puts it, “straight outta Saigon”. A crispy chicken thigh is glazed in a fiery nem-style sauce, then topped with kimchi and fresh coriander. It is messy in exactly the way you want a burger to be messy, and sufficiently addictive to make napkin management part of the experience.
What makes the menu work is that, despite the global influences, the burgers never lose their sense of identity. This isn't fusion for fusion's sake. The flavours are bold, but the format remains gloriously straightforward. The restaurant understands that a great burger should still taste like a great burger.
That balance is perhaps the secret to Hanbaagaasuuteeki's rapid rise. There is serious thought behind the sauces and seasonings, but none of the preciousness that can sometimes accompany culinary experimentation. The food is fun. It is generous. It is designed to be eaten with your hands and enjoyed without a second thought.
The fermented tang of kimchi, the brightness of ponzu, the heat of chilli, the fragrance of coriander and the richness of a properly smashed patty are carefully calibrated rather than thrown together. Each bite manages to be indulgent without becoming overwhelmingly heavy, no small achievement when the central ingredient is, after all, a burger.
Founder Fatih Alkan describes the original idea as bringing together everything the team loves about Asian food in a format that everyone already knows how to eat.
The five new dishes push that language further — from Korean fermentation to Japanese street-food references, Thai aromatics and Vietnamese heat. They also make one thing clear: Hanbaagaasuuteeki isn't content to simply celebrate its first year. It is already looking towards the next chapter.
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