By Sumiitra Yiohan Sooriaarratchi
Vege Burger – Big Bello – Rating 4/5 @ Fat Boy’s – The Burger Bar, Publika Mall, Kuala Lumpur.
This food excursion to Fat Boy’s in Kuala Lumpur all started with reading an article on the future of plant based meat substitutes like the vegetarian burger that bleeds – Beyond Meat Veggie Burger that Bleeds. The article reviews the vegetarian burger created by a start-up company called Beyond Meat that has received funding from Bill Gates.
The meat industry is destructive, the article states that “Meat production is harsh on the planet. Traditional livestock farming accounts for an estimated 18% of all global greenhouse emissions, uses 70% of the world’s water, and exhausts 47,000 square miles of land every year. Cattle is the main source of this environmental havoc.”
Beyond meat isn’t the only player in this new market, another notable start-up is Impossible Foods – believe it or not the burgers in the picture below are made entirely of plant based ingredients.
I decided to search for a good vege burger in Kuala Lumpur and chose to try the burger at Fat Boy’s. An unlikely place since Fat Boy’s is known to be a carnivores paradise. They have one vegetarian burger on the menu – Big Bello – priced at RM21.50 (USD5.50).
The burger was fantastic. Filled with grilled marinated portobello mushrooms, caramelised onions, grilled capsicum and pineapple with melted mozzarella cheese, smoked chipotle sauce on a whole wheat bun. The bun was perfectly made and really stood out among all the ingredients. The only reason I gave this burger a rating of 4/5 is that I felt there should have been more cheese for a vege burger. Also note the French Fries are the best I’ve tried in a very long time.
The future looks good if we are going to enjoy more plant based foods. I hope to see more creative vegetarian options for consumers and more innovations in food technology that will benefit the planet.
We also tried the home made chocolate ice cream which was great. RM6.50 (USD1.70) for a single scoop.