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2014-10-05
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Recently I took a weeklong trip to Shanxi for business and pleasure, and although I got to have some good Shanxi food, mostly I had terrible hotel buffets (breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 3 days in a row at the conference!) and terrible greasy noodles at train stations and tourist traps. Arriving home, predictably delayed, what I really wanted was a burger.The burger options near me (Sheung Wan area) aren't great. Bowl Burger closed and I don't even think it was open for dinner. Same for GBU. C
The burger options near me (Sheung Wan area) aren't great. Bowl Burger closed and I don't even think it was open for dinner. Same for GBU. Canteen does an OK one, but you have to go to Canteen, and that was not the ambience I was looking for. I learned just recently that The Lot on Possession does a good burger (review of that to come), but I didn't know then what I know now. La Viola seemed like my only option, and my friend who lives at Island Crest swears by the burger, so I set out to give it a go.
I don't have a lot to say. The burger was certainly good. I had to ask for ketchup and mustard, but that's better than them pre-slathering the burger with some condiment I didn't want. There was lettuce and tomato on it, but they're obscured in the picture. The patty was cooked as ordered (medium), but I felt it was on the over-seasoned side. The cheese was melty American stuff, which I am not against by any means. There was an egg that was thankfully easy to remove. Mama told me there are three things you never do: pee into the wind; mess with Superman; and put eggs on hamburgers. True story. Burger score: good, B-The fries were truly awful shoestring fries. And that's not coming from someone who just has a vendetta against shoestring fries-- I like the fries at McDonald's. These were just flavorless potato-like sticks. I'd've preferred potato chips to be honest. Fry score: terrible, F.
Salad: I will admit that I skipped the salad, and I ate all my fries, despite not liking them. I think this is some psychologically deep American thing, some sort of compulsive need to consume fried foods/ fried quasi-foods that are placed in front of me. I need treatment.
Would I go back to La Viola again? Yes, I've been there like 5 times already for drinks, and it's more or less inevitable. The rest of the menu looks enticing. Would I get the burger? Probably not-- especially now that I know The Lot has a better one. This one's not bad, as I said it's good, but I try not to settle for merely good burgers.
Other Info. :
The burger is not on the regular menu, but is listed on the wall as a "special." My friend who lives in Island Crest, the apartment complex above La Viola, assures me that it's permanently on the specials menu, so if you're going here for a burger, rest assured it's there.
(The above review is the personal opinion of a user which does not represent OpenRice's point of view.)
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