Hitting up a Malaysian burger shack for Ramadan

by Joe DiStefano, Posted Sep 17th 2008 @ 1:02PM

Saturday was the 13th day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, so I decided to celebrate by visiting a Malaysian burger shack. And I didn't need to hop on a plane to do it either. Thanks to Dave Cook of Eating in Translation I learned of Bazaar Ramadhan just hours before the event kicked off. It was held in the Banquet Hall of the Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the United Nations. There was all manner of Malaysian home cooking on offer, including several varieties of the famous rice dish, nasi lemak. In addition to the traditional accompaniments of salty dried fish, peanuts, cucumber and hard-boiled egg I got some sambal sotong, a dark black mess of squid that had been cooked in the pungent Malaysian paste, sambal. It was good, but as you've no doubt guessed by now the food that excited me most was Malaysian hamburgers.

I first heard of Malaysian hamburgers from my friend Zak Pelaccio whose restaurant Fatty Crab slings some wonderfully juicy and well-spiced Malaysian-inflected sliders. He'd always told me they were inspired by the Ramly Burger, a traditional Malaysian street food. Until I saw this video detailing the construction of "The Sloppiest Burger in Malaysia," I had no idea what a Ramly Burger was. Apparently it involves grilling an egg in a pool of margarine dropping a slice of cheese on top of the egg and enfolding a patty inside.

When I approached the cheerful group of kids working the Burger Shack stall my heart skipped a beat as I saw copious amounts of margarine being spread on to whole-wheat buns that were being griddled alongside beef patties and eggs in ring molds. "Ramly burger?," I asked. There was no response but the kid in the blue shirt kept calling out, "Get your genuine Malaysian fast food right here."

So that's exactly what I did. Knowing it was the closest I'll probably ever come to having a Ramly Burger in New York City, I ordered a burger with an egg banjo, cheese and all the toppings. Since I don't speak Malay I have no idea about the derivation of the word banjo. But I'll never think of the ditty Oh! Susanna in the same way ever again, or burgers for that matter.

Just look at that thing, it makes me drool like Homer Simpson watching the commercial for the Good Morning Burger. When an older fellow plopped a cold slice of cheese on top of the egg I actually asked him whether it would melt. What a foolish question. For the record everything included tomatoes, onions, mustard, mayo and chili sauce. The thin patty was grilled perfectly with an outside coated with crispy bits encasing the juicy innards. It was one of the sloppiest and best burgers I've ever eaten. If any of the kids at the makeshift Burger Shack happen to be reading this, please look me up. I'd like to go into business with you. Or, at the very least, enjoy some more Malaysian fast food.

Filed Under: Food Oddities, Ingredients
Tags: asia, beef, burgers, cheese, cheeseburgers, east coast, fall, Fatty Crab, FattyCrab, Homer Simpson, HomerSimpson, Malaysian food, MalaysianFood, oddities, Ramadan, Ramly Burger, RamlyBurger, Zak Pelaccio, ZakPelaccio

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

9-17-2008 @2:37PM Dave Cook said... I'm glad you tried it! I was so focused on the traditional Malaysian food that I wrote off that stall (without looking closely enough, evidently) as a way to placate fussy children.

The bazaar was an afternoon affair that ended in early evening, so while many folk ate heartily on the spot, as I did...

http://www.eatingintranslation.com/2008/09/bazaar-ramadhan.html

...observant Muslims were fasting, and had their food wrapped up for the evening meal. It's possible that the Ladies' Association (of the Permanent Mission of Malaysia in New York) will hold another bazaar at the end of Ramadan, when everyone can enjoy their food in one another's company. If so, I'll post the news on my blog.
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9-17-2008 @5:39PM nexttonormal said... Anyone know where to get the griddle top they are using in the picture? Looks like it just sits atop a portable gas grill. Love to find one.
The burger looks good too. Probably wouldn't be the same cooking and eating at home tho.
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11-14-2008 @12:29AM D.Baker said... The term BANJO from "egg banjo" simply means 'flooding egg'. Banjo is a Northern Malaysian slang of the word BANJIR i.e. in English: FLOOD.
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