Name: Flip Burger Yogyakarta
Address: Jl. Candrakirana No.23, Terban, Kec. Gondokusuman, Kota Yogyakarta, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta 55223
Cusine: Burgers
Specialties: Burgers
Is it possible to find a really good burger in Indonesia? This was the question I found myself contemplating one day as the wind rippled through the rice field I call my backyard. It was a question I had pondered often and at length since moving to this wonderful country. It is true, McDonald’s in Indonesia (as in many countries such as Singapore and Japan) is better than back in the United States, and while the double cheeseburger can be an absolute lifesaver during times of alcohol-induced regret, I am not sure that I would be able to confidently declare it a “great” or even “really good” burger.
Attempts to burgerize in Indonesia are often disappointing. For one, this is not a country with any deep or abiding love for either bread or cheese, two of the essential components of a good burger. Cheese is so daunting that in one episode of Masterchef Indonesia the judges forced the home-cooks to do something with a cheese plate, and it was one of the toughest challenges on the show, with people running around holding goat cheese like it was toxic waste. And bread, well, aside from Breadtalk bread which is usually heavily processed and unnaturally fluffy, it can be tricky to track down a good loaf in Indonesia. So imagine my pure, unfettered joy upon learning about the existence of Flip Burger.
I think Flip Burger was originally started in Jakarta, maybe around the upscale dining enclave of Senopati. But wherever it started, I am grateful to the burger gods for bestowing a branch on us here in Yogya, as Jakartans are already fairly spoiled for choice when it comes to Western food. It is clear from the moment you bite into a Flip Burger that the person who designed this thing understand what makes a good burger tick. For one, the burger is simple. It is not loaded up with add-ons, but just features a couple of perfectly matched ingredients that are allowed to shine: bun, beef, cheese, sauce and onions. No tomato. No lettuce. Pro move.
The brioche bun is luxuriantly soft and pliable, and the patty is quite thick. The beef tastes like ground beef, like if you made the patty at your own house from high-quality beef. The cheese melts well, and the sauce is kind of like Thousand Island. But what brings the burger together is the onions. Not just regular onions but carmelized onions that bring a rich earthy background to the burger. These five ingredients when played off one another are pretty much burger perfection. They also have fries, chicken skin and sodas and stuff, but there’s nothing remarkable about the sides. The burger on the other hand. It is fucking great. Whenever I am hungover and feeling homesick for a good greasy cheesy burger Flip burger is what I look for on Go-Jek.
