Should you try this rice burger joint?

Pat it down first sir with your palm then you can open it and start eating.

The lady staff of Hans Rice Burger instructed me after serving my order. Rice burger. It’s not really something new. I remember having eaten one when McDonald’s offered it several years before, quite messy as the rice was rather scattery. I also remember one Japanese restaurant at a mall offering the same.

I just came from an Airbnb shoot in Marigondon, Mactan Island and when I arrived at Park Mall, there was just one thing in my mind: have dinner at Cebu’s Best Lechon Belly. I missed this and was craving for it. But as I walked from the terminal to the al fresco diner, this well lit but small glass enclosed space got my attention. HANS RICE BURGER.

Curious, I entered, asked about their product and in no time, I placed my order: spam tuna mayo. It’s their best seller I was told. But curiously, you would expect that at least, there’s a burger patty. But no. NONE. It’s actually a rice bun instead of a burger bun and instead of the patty, they have spam tuna mayo with corn.

They have kimchi as patty. Or kimchi tuna mayo. Spicy pork. Spicy chicken. Or if you want, their combo: spam kimchi cheese, spicy chicken kimchi… Or the Filipino menu: skinless longanisa, tocino, beef tapa, corned beef and sisig. All with sunny side up egg. The owner is actually a Korean, probably named Hans? I didn’t ask. But it’s not important.

I opened the foil wrapper of my spam tuna mayo burger. Just like what was in the photo, but less appealing, was the spam, tuna mayo and sweet corn sandwiched between two cohesively packed rice buns. The latter is actually a mix of dinorado rice, nori (seaweed) and Korean spices. I took a bite. And another. and still another until I had just the foil and some bits and pieces of corn and rice.

Delicious. Wow. I loved the taste of the rice with seaweed bits. It gives it a distinct flavor. Add in the saltiness of spam, and the unique taste of tuna. Eaten together, it’s a beautiful play of texture and flavor. Smooth and textured. Salty and nori. And tuna. I love how the bits of tender corn kernels pop in ones mouth. Beautiful.

As I was there already and wanted really to blog about the place, I ordered from the Filipino menu: tocino with sunny side egg and rice buns. Wonderful. The rice doens’t scatter. It’s packed. But my complaint with what I ordered? I would have wanted that they should have provided a thicker cut of spam. The product photo was much more enticing than the one served.

Should you try this one? OF COURSE! YOU SHOULD!

It’s cheap. Cost me P80 for the spam tuna mayo, P70 for the tocino and P30 for the cola. It’s delicious, as written above. And it’s quite filling! The Filipino menu is perfect for breakfast on the go too.

Hans Rice Burger
G/F Parkmall (near Lechon Belly)
09772146459
Facebook: HelloHansRiceBurger