Tuesday, 29 March 2016

LABADI BEACH HOTEL

LABADI BEACH HOTEL

Hey guys! Ugh I know, this is soooo late! Sorry about that! The past week has been a LOT! Plus Dave was sick, so we couldn't eat out! SORRRRYYYYY!

Let's dive in, shall we? Last week, we went to Labadi Beach Hotel. We've been getting a lot of people saying to go there, and that was where we had our first date, so we were down.

Labadi Beach is my favourite hotel here in Accra. As a designer, I can appreciate the thought process behind the design of the space. There are so many different areas you can relax in. Our favourite is the new bar over the lake (also first date location.)




This is the main restaurant. We chose to sit outside at the new bar. Pictures below:



Love it!

We sat down at 10.06pm. Our waiter, Moses, was really fun! He recommended burgers, beers and also suggested a little photo shoot. *covers face* We didn't understand some of the angles though...but don't question a photographer right?


Then we took a picture of him!


MOSES!

We ordered drinks and checked the menu out.


We thought the prices were okay, being that it's a 4 or 5 star hotel.

David got the Cheese Burger and I got the Fish Burger with Tartar Sauce...just for something different you know...not everyone eats meat.

We had to wait a WHILE for these burgers thoughhh! Dave thought they were trying to build up our appetite but yo, I was just hungry. We waited a whole 45 minutes guys! No lie! David wondered if we would have got the burgers faster if we had opted to sit indoors in the actual restaurant. Oh well. They came eventually...







Chop Time! (and of course, voice notes)

Ratings are out of 5

DAVID

Cheese Burger

" I think the chips are delicious! Very nice. Overall presentation? Nice. I like it. Looks tempting. I just tasted the chips; very, very nice! Only negative is that they are a liiiitle too salty. Less salt, and they would have been perfect! About to dig in!The BUNZZ look a little burnt, but I'm cool with that..

Mina : Yeah but you like burnt stuff. Not everyone might like that.

David : True. Taste wise, I feel like its good, but there is something missing as far as a hamburger should taste like. Personally, I like it, but something in the meat is missing. I mean, its not bad. Not at all, but it did fall apart after 3 bites. Overall, ! give it a 2. (David went up and down on this rating)


Fish Burger

I can see fish lovers liking this a lot. Personally, I'm not big on fish, this was recommended by someone who is not a meat eater. I'm getting a really fishy taste. maybe its because I'm not a big fish fan, so I'm sensitive to it?

Mina : Really? but I make fish for you a lot.

David : Yeah, but I guess your fish is just banging. That's why I don't have a problem with it.

Mina. Good save, sir. Good save. Maybe its because its not breaded? But that could be the fast food part of us talking.

David : Yeah. I mean, like I said, its not a bad burger. I will give it a 3 because it held together, nothing fell apart. It was seasoned well. Had I been a real fish lover, I'm sure I would have rated it higher because there was nothing wrong with it. It was good."


MINA

Cheese Burger

"David's burger maaaaannn.... I give it a 1. Straight up 1. I'll tell you why. Maybe David is extremely hungry and rushed to burger judgement after 3 bites (hence the back and forth on his rating), but I'm not feeling this burger. 

First of all, its REALLY messy. It's actually two little patties as opposed to one or two big ones, so it is falling APART! Its either really messy or David messed it up and gave it to me. I'm going with messy. Taste wise, I don't see what all his fuss is about. All I get is TANG. I'm not sure why though. It just doesn't have that BEEF taste! Even the patty alone is not tasting burger-y enough for me you know? Maybe its just a fancily spiced cheeseburger? I don't know what's going on maaaan. I'm just getting all this tang! I feel like I just ate some almost sour pineapples! And now I'm getting butter. My last 2 bites taste like butter. Ugh this is SO WEIRD! Not enjoying this at all. And now I'm using a fork to finish this off. 

Look, burgers should be DIRTY. This was just messy. Its almost like it needs some Maggi cubes up in there you know? (Those who know, know.) Just to bring that tanginess downnn!

So yeah...a 1.


Fish Burger

Ok so I'm not really getting a fish taste. I'm getting tartar sauce though. The burger bun is decent. Not too hard, not too soft, not soggy either. I don't know. Maybe because its not beef, I'm a bit meh? It's not that I don't like fish, I actually do, but this doesn't do much for me. I'm not overwhelmed, but neither am I underwhelmed...this has been a weird tasting for me.

I give this a 2

Shout out to Moses though, who realised we were done the second we took the last bite and quickly cleared our table. We left him a nice tip.



I think 20 cedis for one small Guinness is RIDICULOUS! Hotel or not. Also, no judgement on the ORIJIN. I'm a local girl at heart! LOL!


VERDICT

DAVID

Cheese Burger


Fish Burger


MINA

Cheese Burger




Fish Burger


What do you guys think? Did we pick the wrong burgers? Have you had success at Labadi Beach? Let us know!

Side Bar : Their buffets are amazing though. See for yourself next time you are there!

Till we eat again,

David & Mina





Thursday, 17 March 2016

HONEYSUCKLE - OSU

Hiya guys!

Back at it! Oh, we're fine, thanks! Not much to complain about; our other job is eating burgers so everything is NICE!

This week we tried Honeysuckle in Osu. It's just opposite that Fire Service road, same road as Papa's Pizza.

Now I cant speak for Dave, but I was excited! Honeysuckle used to be my JOINT! I mean there are many pictures of my friends and I with their signature striped walls featured etc....Let's not reminisce too much, yah?

Okay so we got there at 9 sharp and found some seats. For those that don't know, Honeysuckle is basically a British pub. Well, it has that pub feel, which is what they were going for, and it works.





There's a pool table too, but it was on the other side.

Yah, so we sat down and our waitress brought us menus, took our drinks order and brought us our drinks.....and then DISAPPEARED! 



Ummmm...

There was nothing left to do but eavesdrop...the table next to us was not happy. Something about not being able to pay by card yet again and the waitress's attitude but that's none of our business. *sips tea*

We looked at the menu and...


What you see is true shock (not posed at all) and that's David's "HUH?" face.

First of all, these are regular burgers. There was nothing on there that said gourmet, nothing with extra special beef...so we didn't get why average prices of a single patty was 55 and a double 65 cedis. Ugh. 

At this point we were getting frustrated and I was 2 seconds away from calling Gifty, my trusty Honeysuckle waitress from her section to serve us. (Shout out to Rockson; another EXCELLENT ride or die waiter there!)

Our waitress finally surfaces, but to clean up the table next to us! We call her over. She didn't think we wanted to eat, (but gave us menus - huh?)

I had the "Like to get to know you well done" burger with onion rings because it was the closest thing to a classic burger and Dave had the "Return of the (Big) mack" with fries. Single patties for each.

After a 25 minute wait (no bueno), our burgers arrived. David's burger....well there wasn't anything "big" about it really. Single patty or not, he felt it should have been big because that's what it's called. I agree. My burger looked nice though.

Ok no touching. PICTURES!
(The manager comes over to ask if all is well! He might be on to us.)



mmmm...cheeeese!










TIME TO EAT! (and record voice notes)


DAVID

RETURN OF THE (BIG)MACK

"Ok, so for the price of this burger, I want to take one bite and open my eyes wide like damn, this is banging! It's just a burger. Kind of bland for me. The BUNZZ are flat and only a little toasted. 

Mina : Yeah its basically yeast and sesame seeds and air.

David : It's just a regular burger. Should have been amazing for how much we're paying for it. Fries, I'm not impressed with. Not salty enough. They are soggy; not crispy enough. 
Bang for the buck; not worth it.
I give it a 1. I'm a little disappointed. If you're gonna charge me 70 cedis for a burger, it better be good.


LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL DONE

It messy. Yup. Your burger's really wack. It's flavourless. It's like there's nothing to it. I'm hungry and I'm not really killing this thing the way I should be. I take a bite, put it down and a minute later take another one. That says a lot, right? You know if I'm hungry, I'd kill it.

Mina : Yah. Umm but why so hungry? Did you eat your lasagna?

David: I did. But that was lunch. I'm a man, Mina. I get hungry quickly!

Mina : Noted.

Yeah a 1 for me. Would give it a half if I could.


MINA

LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL DONE

*takes 3 bites* Ugh. WHERE IS THE FLAVOUR? I taste nothing! But how is this possible? There's bacon on here! At least the bacon should come through! I'm dipping into some ketchup because I need flavour from SOMEWHERE! The meat is cooked well. Maybe just not seasoned enough? The bun is okay. Lightly toasted, soft.
Onion Rings are just blah for me, but then again, I'm not an onion ring girl. I mean they aren't soggy or anything, but again, ketchup was needed to give me something more.
A 1 from me.

RETURN OF THE (BIG) MACK

I like this way better than mine. The cheese flavour really comes through for me and so do the pickles! There is such a difference between mine and David's. The bun though (I REFUSE to say BUNZZ) is really flat, which is weird, because it looked decently plump when it arrived...and its not like we have to squeeze the burger in our mouthes...it's lacking in size too. I like the flavour on the patty, however. I think I'm going to give this a 2!



VERDICT
(all burgers are rated out of 5)


LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL DONE


RETURN OF THE (BIG) MAC

DAVID


MINA


Have you tried any burgers from Honeysuckle? What did you think? We want to know!

Till we eat again!

David & Mina

Wednesday, 9 March 2016

THE HUNT BEGINS!




THE  HUNT BEGINS!
ROCKEFELLAS


Hi there, Burger Hunters!

Thanks for showing so much interest in what we are doing! Honestly, one day after stuffing ourselves with burgers, we thought "Hey let's look for the best burgers in Accra. Oh, let's document it too!" 
And that was that. No fancy story.



I'm Mina. That's David. *waves*
Our mission is to taste the best burgers and not get FAT.

OK, down to business.

First stop was Rockefellas in Osu. Its down the Penta Hotel Road, in the same space as the old Tantra Nightclub (ahhh memories...)

Anyway. We got there sometime close to 9pm. We've both been there before, but not for a while so we were happy to see some additions (like the TV in the outside seating area.)






We sat down and our waitress handed us our menus and took our drinks order.

 What we've decided to do wherever we go is to order one Classic Cheese Burger and then one variation. Unless we're back at a place to try out more burgers on the menu and have already had their classic.



It states pretty clearly that these are Gourmet Burgers, so we felt the pricing was fair. I ordered the Classic Cheeseburger and David got the Crunch Burger. Because he loves mozzarella.

Our waitress brought our drinks and some nuts for us to munch on. I didn't have too many because I didn't want to spoil my appetite (all I ate that day was a piece of fish), also, I mean, who wants acne?  

Our burgers came after 20 minutes of waiting, which David thinks is fair. I agree. Didn't feel like we were waiting forever.








They each came with a big portion of fries (which we both couldn't finish) and a little coleslaw.

THOUGHTS
(These are from voice notes we recorded while eating said burgers)
(All burgers are rated out of 5)

DAVID

CRUNCH BURGER

"Soooo, structure wise, I give it a 3 because it pretty much holds up together. The BUNZZ are pretty good. Nice and lightly toasted on top. Inside is nice. It's not soggy, no one wants soggy BUNZZ. We like dry, crispy, tasty BUNZZ! The patty consistency is pretty decent. Its crunchy. Lives up to its name. The cheese is nice. What was this? The chicken burger? I'm getting mozzarella chicken burger.

Mina : NOOO! Its deep fried beef and the mozzarella's deep fried as well. *rolls eyes*

David : Oh ok. Yeah, its good. The fries are good. They're not soggy. They're crispy. I would give them a 3 as well."



CLASSIC BURGER

" Doesn't really live up to my expectations of a burger. I don't have a problem with the bun. The bun is nice. Just the taste and flavour of the burger is not for me. I'm not sure if its the sauce or the meat itself, but I don't get the burger taste that I want to have where I bite into a burger and I want another bite. (David had 3 or 4 bites), so I will give this a 1."


MINA

CLASSIC BURGER

" It's a bit tangier than I, as a burger eater in Ghana is used to. Because it has mustard and pickles, which you don't really get a lot here. My patty is also a bit more rare than I like it to be. I feel like if it's being labelled a gourmet burger, they need to ask these things. I guess it's standard to make patties medium rare for gourmet burgers (?) but I like my meat well done! To sum up, its not DETTY enough for me.

If my burger was well done, I would give it a 2 but I have to go with a 1. 

Fries wise, I thought they were pretty standard, so will go with a 2. I almost feel like some of them are a bit too crispy. You know when something is too crispy, it tastes a little bit like oil sometimes? Not all of them are like this though.





CRUNCH BURGER

"I Love it! Its deep fried, way more done than mine and the fried mozzarella is yummm! The bun on this is perfectly toasted and all the ingredients feel fresh!

David : Yeah, my burger is better than yours.

Mina : This is true. The chilli mayo sauce in this is really good. I normally dip in my own burger sauce mix (ketchup & mayo) when a burger gets too dry but I don't feel like i need to with this one. The balance is good. Pretty decent burger!
Definitely a 3! "



Pretty good for all the stuff we ordered huh?

VERDICT

ROCKEFELLAS CRUNCH BURGER
ROCKEFELLAS CLASSIC BURGER




Let us know your thoughts!

Till we eat again,

Mina & David

















Monday, 7 March 2016

HI!



Hi Guys!

Welcome to our page!

We've decided to search for the BEST BURGER in Accra because, let's face it; there's nothing worse than a disappointing burger.

We want to know; what do YOU think makes a good burger? Where are your favourite burger spots? Please leave a comment, we would love to find out!

So how will we be rating our burger experiences? Well, we believe a good burger is determined by the following:

RATIO OF BURGER TO BUN
STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY
TEXTURE, FLAVOUR & TASTE
BUNZZZZ
QUALITY OF MEAT
INGREDIENTS
SAUCES
SIDES
PRESENTATION
BANG FOR YOUR BUCK

Yeah, it's a lot, but a burger is NOT TO BE JOKED WITH!

We will be hunting down a burger each week and rating with our 5 burger rating system and no burger is off limits! Standard burgers, gourmet burgers, roadside burgers...BRING IT!

We're READY!


Don't forget to comment and let us know about places we may not know of!

Till we eat again,

Mina & David