This is post #46, part of my #50PostsIn50Days personal challenge to document my first 100 days in Hong Kong. Other posts in this series may be found at the bottom of the original post.
The Butcher's Club was started by a group of meat enthusiasts with a passion for creating high quality dry aged beef in Hong Kong. They import Black Angus beef from a farm in New South Wales Australia and dry age the meat in Hong Kong for various lengths of time, minimum 30 days to "as long as their customers would like . . ." (perhaps we can request a Hong Kong version of the famous 9-month aged Riserva steaks??)
I have yet to visit the butcher shop, but I've visited one of their more recent concepts, the Butcher's Club Burger, which first opened in Wan Chai in 2014 and now boasts five locations throughout Hong Kong (Wan Chai, Central, Tsim Sha Tsui, Quarry Bay, and Wong Chuk Hang), as well as a new location Beijing.
The fast casual eatery focuses on hand crafted burgers (made with a blend of rump, chuck, and brisket that is dry-aged and then ground), beer, and bourbon. It's simple, but it works. The beer selection is good, and the burgers are delicious.
Pictured above is the Classic ($120 HKD), which comes with maple bacon, tomatoes, pickles, and a special sauce. The burger has a nice, thick meat patty with a good, beefy flavor and quality ingredients. Compared to our favorite burgers in the States, I would say that these burgers are on the lean side and are less salted that what we're used to in the States. We personally wished the burgers were just a bit saltier and juicier. Having said that, they have a lovely beef flavor, and they are genuinely good burgers.
I would highly recommend the Thin Cut Fries with Mayo Dressing ($30 HKD), served with bonito flakes, furikake, and togarashi. These fries were crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. They were perfect, and I found myself going back for more. They had quite a solid spice kick to them, and there was just a little bit of crunchy sugar thrown in there that really made the flavors pop. I loved the salty sweet combo of these fries, and I would come back maybe just for these fries alone!
The duck fat fries ($30 HKD) are another fine option, and Bryan happily polished most of those off.
Beware of portion sizes, though! We had no idea that the Double Happiness ($180) would literally be TWO cheeseburgers with maple bacon, tomato, and pickles. Bryan often gets the Double Double at In & Out, which he can easily finish. This was no small feat.
I guess there's a reason why it's double the price.
For those that are trying to be healthy, they actually have an option called The Skinny Jeans ($80), which includes a smaller cheeseburger and a salad (which you can also order separately as a side dish). To be perfectly honest, the salad is pretty ordinary, consisting mostly of lettuce with a few leaves of mizuna and a couple grape tomatoes. The honey mustard dressing does have quite a mustard kick. Bryan liked that.
The burger is fine, but I was a bit disappointed that it didn't include more toppings or fixings. Perhaps I should have added some tomatoes, lettuce, or bacon (my favorites!).
General Thoughts - The Butcher's Club Burger
This is a fun place. Prices are pretty reasonable, quality is high, and the vibe of the place is fun. The Michelin Guide has recommended The Butcher's Club Burger for the past three years, including in the 2018 guide. The beer selection is pretty good, and it was nice to enjoy a good IPA with my burger. The burgers are quite good, and I really enjoyed those Japanese-inspired fries.
It's still not quite In & Out. However, if I'm ever homesick for a good burger, I would totally come here again.
The Butchers Club Burger (multiple locations)
