Bun, meat and cheese
FOR someone who knows that there are over a thousand people waiting to eat his burgers, Taiki Tsubota is pretty chilled out. He moves at his own pace, not letting the pressure of an ever growing wait list ruffle his Zen-like presence.
Tsubota is the man, the myth and the legend behind Homeburg, a food stop in Bangkok known for making and selling only four well-crafted burgers a day.
Sell isn’t even the right term here, as Tsubota doesn’t put a price tag on his creations, and instead asks guests to give any amount of money they feel is appropriate ... or not at all. The highest Tsubota has received for one burger is 1,500 Thai Baht (RM206), and that speaks volumes of what the young man has to offer.
“It doesn’t feel right to charge my friends money because I am using them to get feedback for my burgers. I am always trying to perfect my burgers, so I need straightup honest opinions with no sugar coating,” he said during his visit to Kuala Lumpur last week.
Tsubota, 25, was in town for the Taste of Tiffin event last weekend, introducing his other side project Bun Meat & Cheese. Bun Meat &
Cheese was a pop up store (soon to be a real restaurant in the Thonglor vicinity in Bangkok) that served only 100 burgers a day, for six months, and which bid adieu to fans in September.
“I’d like to believe that all the burgers I serve have the same uniform taste but when it comes to food, there is no way that you can copy it 100% right all the time.”
At the event in KL, 200 burgers were made, including one reserved just for The Star. The Thai/japanese Tsubota took control of the kitchen in Momo’s Kuala Lumpur, and it was quite a sight to see the big man manoeuvre the tiny space.
“It’s easier to cook with induction cookers because I can control the temperatures better, but I have to make do here,” he said, adjusting the knob on the gas griddle.
Interestingly, Tsubota’s culinary education stems from experimenting at home, watching Youtube videos and reading books like Modernist Cuisine and The Food Lab.
To make his patties, he used Thai beef – 40% chuck roll, 30% macreuse, and 30%-fat – which he cooked at 48°C, then covered and let rest for five minutes. Timers, thermometers and measuring scales are all important in Tsubota’s kitchen as he is a perfectionist when it comes to getting everything right for his perfect burger.
He drizzled a concoction of lemon syrup and caramel sugar on the patty before placing thinly sliced gherkin on top and covering it with American cheese. He then dipped the patty into a vat of hot vegetable oil before placing it on soft buns.
“Thais don’t like hard breads. They like soft, white bread and I found a baker who makes them just right for us,” Tsubota shared.
Each bun is cut in half and toasted covered, with the addition of two ramekins filled with water under the lid. “It’s to let the steam soften the buns further, but I crisp the bottom half of the bun later on, to hold the juices from the patty,” he added.
For Tsubota, a perfect burger doesn’t have vegetables, hence the reason he serves them on the side. The only topping here is fried shallots and a secret sauce. He cuts the burger in half, claiming it’s the best way to enjoy his creation and boy, is he right!
The first bite of the burger is one that I will remember (and crave) for a long time. The soft and sweet buns complement the perfectly seasoned and cooked patty, and each crunch of the fried shallots add texture to every bite. The tangy sweetness of the patty is something you didn’t know you needed in burgers until you try
Tsubota’s creation. The RM206 price tag suddenly makes sense.
“I hope that with the opening of Bun Meat & Cheese permanently, more people will get to try my burgers, but I want to also keep my Homeburg tradition going. That is where I will be doing my experimentation, and I will need people to tell me the truth,” said Tsubota.