First let me explain that I do not have extensive exposure to the hamburger and cheeseburger scene in Beijing. My taste buds have become accustomed to the old-fashioned half pound monsters that folks of the deep south love.

Coming to china, I never expected to eat hamburgers as I was afraid that not only would they be expensive (with so many cheap chinese restaurants why spend 80 rmb on a burger), but also seriously sub-standard fare made with an "asian" taste (I imagined a bulgogi-like burger concoction).

Let's Burger has proven my assumptions wrong. The regular cheeseburger at Let's Burger is only sub-standard (I have graciously dropped the "seriously").

My immediate impression of the burger when it was brought to me was the striking similarity of the patty with the "school lunch" hamburger patties I ate for four years at my public high school in the states. Not only did it match the school hamburger patty in size (quite small for a 65 RMB hamburger), but it also had the same mass-produced look (with the crinkly star shaped edges if you know what I'm talking about). Im sure the meat and the patty is freshly ground and made at the store, but by looks alone, the burger looked rather dull and dry (the same could be said about my salivatory glands at the time). My first bite was pleasantly met with a hearty beefy taste, but my enjoyment was immediately canceled out by the presence of tendon in the ground meat (the hard crunchy stuff that I only seem to find in burgers in China). The second thing I noticed was the seepage of the patty's juice onto the plate. In my opinion a good burger is also paired with a good bun that absorbs the yummy patty juice (potentially increasing the flavor filled goodness in each bite). Sadly, Let's Burger's bun did not meet this criteria, in fact the bun seemed to merely be a means to hold the patty and condiments in place (did not bring any flavor or special texture to the table, though possibly this could have been due to the overpowering flavor of the condiments). The condiments also did not seem to fit with the burger. While I enjoyed the freshness of the tomato, and sweet and crunchy nature of the onion, I felt that they simply overpowered the beef's natural taste (although this might have been due to the patties dismal size, I felt I was lucky to get beef in every bite). The cheese, which some people have complained about, was not much of an issue to me. Although I would have preferred a hard cheddar, instead of the swiss, I felt that the cheese did bring some flavor to the burger (if you like swiss cheese...) and gave the burger a smoother texture (which I kind of liked).

So overall, Let's Burger did disappoint by American standards, however this was certainly the best burger I have had in China (granted I've never had a burger as expensive as this in China). By American standards, Id have to say Let's Burger's Cheeseburger would be on par with a cheap 4-5 dollars sports bar burger (except with better condiments).

P.S. Too may fries for one person to handle. They have an impressive sauce bar with so many different kinds of mayonnaise. I figure in China, mayonnaise is used as a dip for the fries (apparently the unhealthiness of mayonnaise is not that big of a factor here).