Rock-Hard Buns: Creative Duck Burger From Japanese Restaurant Yume Wo Katare

In the wake of our 2018 Beijing Burger Festival, our Rock-Hard Buns series will whet your appetite by taking a look at those vendors who slung their wares at the veritable meat fest that just past.

You may be surprised that a ramen restaurant can make an excellent burger (and one made of duck rather than beef at that) but unassuming Japanese restaurant Yume Wo Katare definitely pulled off just that feat at this year's Burger Fest. 

Yume Wo Katare usually specializes in Jiro-kei (Jiro style) ramen, homemade noodles in a broth rich with pork fat, topped with braised pork tenderloin, bean sprouts, garlic, and rendered fatback (read more about the ramen in this post). Owner Shi Xin, who moved to Japan for elementary school and returned to attend university, apprenticed at Yume Wo Katare, part of the second generation of Jiro-kei ramen shops, and got permission from the founder to bring the brand to Beijing (there are seven locations of Yume Wo Katare in Japan, as well as a popular one in Boston). 

However, it was the super juicy duck burger that won over so many stomachs at the Burger Fest. Topped with avocado and tomato, and glazed with a tonkatsu-style sauce, fans of the duck burger praised it for being smoother textured and juicier than a regular burger. The burger was the brainchild of larger-than-life Japanese chef Odajima Kazuhisa, who works alongside Shi Xin in the kitchen, cooking up whatever specials come into his head. Odajima-san actually learned to cook Western cuisine before he learned to cooked Japanese cuisine, hence the burger. 

We asked them a few quick questions about their burgers. 

In your opinion, what are the most important elements in making a great burger?
Getting the right balance of flavor. 

What burgers and sides did you bring to our 2018 Beijing Burger Fest?
A duck burger, a healthy hamburger, and our Yume Wo Katare burger. 

What drink from your menu goes best with the burger?
Chūhai (shōchū highball, made with shōchū and flavored carbonated water) or oolong tea.

Aside from your own restaurant's burger, what is the best burger you've ever had?
Kua 'Aina, a famous burger restaurant from Hawaii with branches around the world.

Images: Uni You, courtesy of Yume Wo Katare