With the exponential influx of burger places in Sydney the growing competition means better and bigger burgers for all to enjoy so when I heard PLK and Barrio Chinowere joining forces there was no way DT and I were going to miss out. Considering it's only a pop-up, taking up residency at Deus Cafe in Camperdown it isn't going to be around forever; until the end of January but I really hope it's extended or becomes a permanent addition. Honestly, I had only known of PLK's existence and from previous experience, the burgers were pretty fine. Barrio Chino was a new name to me but if PLK was involved that was enough reassurance for me that the burgers would be worth my while and money.
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| Menu |
We visited on a Sunday with the knowledge that it opened at 12pm, so we being the people who didn't want to wait in a long queue for our burger fix arrived at 12 on the dot. To our surprise, the place was already in full swing, if we had known that we would have ventured inside sooner as we were just passing time in the car waiting for 12 'o clock to roll around. Good thing the line wasn't too long yet because I was starving.
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The cafe was nicer than I had presumed with long communal tables and also smaller ones to accommodate at most four people. Ordering was straightforward, you order and pay at the counter, receive a number and find a table and the food will be brought out to you. It was an efficient, no-fuss system although there was about a 20 minute wait for the food to arrive, but totally worth it.
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| Double cheese burger $16 |
Trust me when I say that the burger was not all just good looks. Definitely a burger worth coming back for and will make sure to throw in some bacon next time. So glad we got the double because the beef patty was so close to perfect, let down a tiny bit from not being more seasoned, but that's probably intentional so one can savour them beefy flavours. Make sure when you order their cheeseburger to specify you want the patty cooked medium otherwise it would be served burnt (well done) and why would you want a burnt one?
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The patties were soft with perfectly pink insides and draped with a layer of American cheese it was absolutely mouthwatering, especially so for DT because he loves his burgers. As for the milk buns, they were robust and did a good job holding those epic layers together and were soft and fluffy. The lettuce, tomato and McClure's pickles helped to balance out the heaviness of it all while the dirty sauce (a mixture of cheese sauce and spicy aioli) really gave the burger that necessary flavour and oomph to make the entire creation so amazingly good.
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| Fried chicken burger $14 |
I couldn't help but compare it to Mary's fried chicken burger which I rank very highly. Unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations but in saying that it was still a very good burger. I was most impressed by the buttermilk fried chicken because it was so succulent and tender and was similar to Mary's except for flavour. There was green Sriracha mayo in there somewhere but I couldn't taste it which was a shame. I also felt that the lettuce was too intrusive (probably because I got lettuce closer to the stalk which was too hard and crunchy) and would have enjoyed it more if the burger came without it.
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| French fries with dirty sauce $7 |
One cannot have burgers without their ultimate companion and these french fries were badass with that smothering of dirty sauce on top. The fries were nice and crisp on the outside while soft and potatoey inside. The cheese sauce and spicy aioli combination was right up DT's alley and I was afraid it would be too much for me to handle but I was wrong. Cheese sauce it was but there was enough spiciness to counteract the heaviness which made it super addictive and hence neither of us displayed any restraint when it came to eating them.
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Sadly, this burger pop-up will be finishing up soon and it's not one to be missed as PLK and Barrio Chino have collaborated to produce some pretty awesome burgers, particularly their cheeseburger and that dirty sauce is freakishly delicious too. If you get the fries, you need the dirty sauce to complete them.