COCONUTS HOT SPOT — Be it the juicy char-grilled Australian beef, perfectly-cooked chicken, or vegan patties made from colorful veggies, Chef Poupée makes sure that everyone can sit down at her restaurant and enjoy a simple, well-made, delicious burger.
You may know Panida Paethanom, better known as Chef Poupée, back when she ran her burger stall at On Nut market. After the market abruptly closed down, we last heard from this Thai chef when she opened Burgers and Bangers with her partners.
But the fallout and conflict about their different management styles drove Chef Poupée to part ways and open Bad Burger with her family. Her mission? To give burger-loving folks exactly what they deserve — a high-quality burger with a low price tag.
“I want people who wake up with a hangover to say ‘I want that burger’,” Chef Poupée said.
And they sure do. Located in the small alley between Sukhumvit 18 and 20, Bad Burger has been busy since it opened two months ago. The burger joint has eight types of burgers to choose from, including options for vegetarians and vegans.
We tried The Baddest burger (THB289), which is char-grilled Australian beef topped with béarnaise sauce, Gruyère cheese, lettuce, tomato, a slice of crispy bacon, and a beer-battered onion ring.
The patty is perfectly cooked — not too dry or juicy — and the homemade buns are fluffy and high-quality, which makes sense because Chef Poupée freshly bakes them daily at her home.
The béarnaise sauce goes well with the gooey cheese. As you take a bite, the creaminess is balanced by the fresh lettuce and tomatoes.
With a background in fine dining and experience working in top restaurants such as L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Chef Poupée is proud of Bad Burger’s attention to detail: “[We differentiate ourselves in] the small details that people don’t really see. Some don’t even know, but we’re proud to present our food to customers.”
We also tried the Grilled Veggies Burger (THB239) which melds flavorful slices of eggplant, tomato, and zucchini, with lettuce, tomato, and homemade vegan cheese.
Vegetarians often find themselves eating veggie burgers that taste like nothing and seem to be an afterthought on most menus, but Bad Burger’s veggie burger is well-seasoned, and the vegan cheese, made from coconut milk, has a mozzarella-like texture. While it tastes different than traditional cheese, it still adds a creamy, delicious, savory flavor profile to the burger just like dairy cheese.
“I’d never tried vegetarian burgers before I invented one. I tried many places and found out they’re too dense…too much like meat…like they just throw things together and say ‘Yeah, it’s a vegetarian burger. You should be grateful to have something to eat.’” Poupée said about other’s restaurants attempts to please vegetarians.
Other than the beef and vegetarian options, Bad Burger also offers a variety of patties — pork, lamb, and chicken, or you can go big and order the Villain Duo, which consists of The Baddest burger and a rack of ribs for THB459.
Each burger comes with a choice of familiar side dish. Choose from fries, potato wedges, onion rings, coleslaw, potato salad, green salad, or upgrade to mac and cheese for an extra THB30 if you’re a baller.
Asked what she thinks of Bangkok’s burger scene, which seems to have no shortage of options. Chef Poupée believes that, at the end of the day, customers want something simple and delicious.
“I do feel intimidated sometimes, but we try to be unique, but not too unique. At the end, people still want something that they know,” she said.
Bad Burger is open daily from 12pm – 11pm. Delivery is available through Foodpanda.
FIND IT:
Bad Burger
Between Sukhumvit Soi 18 and 20
BTS Asoke
