A capital burger worth clucking over
France has its fries and Belgium its biscuits, but we also have food worth travelling for. This week, Alan Granville tucks into a deceptively light and delicious chicken burger, by the beach at Lyall Bay in the capital.
There are thousands of unpretentious takeaway outlets around New Zealand. They are in every suburb, village, or seaside spot. Serving heaps of fish, chips, pies and other deep-fried delicacies to everyone from surfers to suits.
It’s the quick fix that, in moderation, can be enjoyed as a devilish treat.
And it’s in one of these humble shops that I stumbled upon what I regard as the best chicken burger in the country – Seaview Takeaways in sunny Lyall Bay in Wellington.
Like many Kiwis up and down the country, I enjoy a cluckin’ good chicken burger.
Not quite to the extent of queueing for hours for a Double Down, but not that far away.
We love the crispy fatty goodness of heihei (chicken), after all, it was used as an enticement to get us jabbed recently on Super Saturday.
And while I enjoy product from that chain with three letters, as well as the gourmet options from Burger Wellington with all its fancy blackened chilli mayo razzmatazz, I found my chicken nirvana just around the corner from where I live. Handy!
Seaview Takeaways stands proudly facing the beach on Lyall Pde, just opposite the illustrious Maranui Cafe.
The squat blue building plastered with Tip Top ads, has been family owned for 30 years, and the illuminated menu has all the standard fare from chow mein to corn fritters and, of course, the allimportant chicken burger.
The first thing to note about the burger is its size, it’s pretty huge. This is value for money.
Owner Vicky Shen has kept her method simple. The chicken is tenderised and marinated in a special family recipe, then crumbed and fried until crispy.
And that’s pretty much it, simplicity at its best. It’s finished in a sesame seed burger bun with lettuce, coleslaw, onion and heaps of creamy mayonnaise.
The burger is quite deceptive too. It may look like something that would be ‘‘heavy’’ to eat, but it is in fact, exceptionally light and melt-in-the-mouth. It doesn’t feel like a greased-up chook – it’s more delicate than that. It’s also exceptionally moreish.
After munching off the overhanging chicken dangling outside the bun, that first taste of chicken, bun and mayo combined, is crispy succulence.
Seaview has many other highlights on the menu, the beef burger is also a must, and the queues on weekends show that I am not the only one who is enamoured with the takeaway’s product.
We should raise a cheer for all the other Seaview-type chipperies up and down the country. You humble, unassuming, craving-satisfiers.
Do you have a favourite snack worth travelling for? Email us at travel@stuff.co.nz
Staying safe
New Zealand is under Covid-19 restrictions. Stay home and follow the instructions at covid19.govt.nz.