Tummy Prosperity: Burger Seduction at Hurricane's Grill Burger Bar

December 2015, the very first time I had Hurricane's Grill signature ribs on my hands and I immediately fell in love with it to the single bit. It was soooo good that I really wanted to lick all my fingers if only no one was watching me. The gigantic ribs were finished by my sister and I just in a blink, even making my parents got surprised with how fast the two of us finished the whole thing.

At that time, actually Hurricane's Grill had been established in Jakarta as well. I've heard contradicting opinions about it and thereby, I didn't dare to try. However, my sister who had the same liking with me at almost all times, told me that the one in Sydney was a must-try and she could guarantee that I would regret it if I didn't have this original version of it.

Started in Bondi Beach 20 years ago, Hurricane has had 9 branches spread around Australia. However, the most favorite one, which's also the one with long long queue, is the one located at Darling Harbor, where people can enjoy not only its delightful dishes but also the gorgeous view of the Harbor Bridge. And it's also the place where I was firstly in love with its ribs.

Back in Indonesia, I still didn't try Hurricane's Grill here till its second branch was finally open in Mega Kuningan area, which was just 15-minute walking distance from both my office and my boardinghouse. Different from the first one in Gunawarman which brings out the concept of luxurious dining, this one is a more casual one with the new theme of burger bar. It is intentionally made to serve the needs of busy and highly mobile business people, whose activities are mostly done around this area. Hence, the focus is more on something which can be both enjoyed in the restaurant and taken away as well.

As expected, at the time I visited the outlet which was already dinner time of a working day, the venue was almost fully occupied with people in business attire. I could bet that most of them just got back from the office and wanted to either avoid traffic jam, simply meet up with friends/colleagues, or just have dinner before turning back home.

Occupying the center space of the ground floor of Noble House, the outlet's highly visible once you entered the main building. It's next to J Sparrow's, another newest kid on the block. The venue is actually semi-open-air with quite huge space, able to accommodate around 100 people in my wild-guess. Coming in less-formal ambience, it looks more like a combination of restaurant and bar, yet the design is still classic and elegant.

One note, since it's still quite new and this area's indeed quite packed of people during weekdays, I highly recommend you to make prior reservation just to ensure you needn't wait for too long. I was actually lucky at that time since it was a grand-opening invitation and thereby, the spot for my friends and I were already reserved. Nonetheless, it still took quite long for them to have every orders ready on the table.

As the restaurant wanted to introduce its burger bar, I got the chance to try every single dish displayed on the menu of the burger bar. For all of them, they used the fresh meat, air-flown straight away from Australia! Basically, they served every types of people's preferences for burgers as the selections ranging from the classic ones up to the super deluxe ones.

For the standard ones which were actually the simplest and most common, they had Classic Burger, Chicken Almighty, and Double Cheese; which were basically the combination of single patty with several toppings all burgers had generally.

Classic Burger (IDR 95k)

Beef patty, melted cheese, salad, mayonnaise

Chicken Almighty (IDR 95k)

Lean grilled chicken breast, avocado, bacon, sunny side up, aioli, lettuce, tomato

Double Cheese (IDR 135k)

Classic burger with extra cheese, aioli, lettuce, tomato

Then, taking a step up, there were Southern Fried Chicken Mess, Double Decker, The Challenger, and The Heart Attack; which were all come in 'WAAAYY MORE SINFUL' blend, stacking various types of protein to be enjoyed together in a single bite.

Southern Fried Chicken Mess (IDR 105k)

Crispy deep-fried breaded chicken fillet, runny egg, smokey chipotle mayo

Double Decker (IDR 165k)

2 beef patties, melted cheese, thousand island, onion marmalade

The Challenger (IDR 165k)

Beef patty, deep-fried breaded chicken fillet, melted cheese, thousand island, caramelized onion

The Heart Attack (IDR 165k)

Beef patty, sizzling bacon, sausages, sunny side up, salad

Bringing the burger to the even higher level, the ultimately exclusive one, there was The Sore Pocket Burger which would literally make your pocket got sore just exactly like its name. It served the bloody expensive mixture of beef wagyu patty, foie gras, grated truffles, and sunny side up on top of fresh salad; just like putting all those high-priced ingredients together ;) ! Ok, I know you must be envying me now *wink wink*.

The Sore Pocket Burger (IDR 555k)

Beef wagyu patty, foie gras, grated truffles, sunny side up, salad

Overall, I thought the bun was moist enough, the patty was tender and juicy, and the combination of flavors delivered by each burger was succulent. Yet, one most important thing, you had to enjoy it while warm, otherwise it might get a little bit dry. My two most favorites among all were The Challenger as I loved the idea of combining grilled beef patty and deep-fried breaded chicken allowing two different texture jointly spoiled the taste bud; and The Heart Attack as I was pampered by the various types of beef it served, patty-bacon-sausages all in one just like the typical Aussie breakfast! Despite the happiness I gained from the giant burger family, I still thought they would be even nicer if they could come in more affordable price :) .

Not to forget, actually the burger bar served something beyond burger, HOTDOG! It came in two variants, The Classic One and The Chili Dog. Looking at the generous melted cheese showering the hotdog, I guessed you could already tell which one was my favorite. Beware, this was only for those who could take spicy food.

Classic Hotdog (IDR 95k)

Smoked beef sausage, caramelized onion, tomato sauce, mustard

Chili Dog (IDR 105k)

Classic hotdog, spicy chili con carne, chili sauce, melted cheese

To add more pleasure into your plate, there were side dishes to accompany your burger/hotdog. Wedges, chips, onion rings, sweet potato, cheese fries, and even truffle fries. My personal preferences were absolutely the wedges and the cheese fries.

As for drinks, I tried their Rootbeer Floats (IDR 48k) and Chocolate Milkshake (IDR 60k), which were both lovely that I intentionally had to put myself in calorie-amnesia in order to be guilt-free for having them.

Closing with the desserts, I tried three of them; Chocolate Mud Cake, Sticky Toffee Pudding, and Bailey's Mousse. The first two didn't really suit my palate as I preferred them to come in more soggy texture. Luckily, the mousse was blissful with the strong Bailey's hint.