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A real big burger

By Stephanie Maureen F. Asi, Staff Writer

12/03/2008

Imagine this: 10-inch diameter buns that are soft on the inside but crisp on the outside enclosing two pounds of moist, flavorful beef patty that’s hot off the griddle; heaps of cheese melting on the patty; bacon smothered on top of fresh, green lettuce, juicy red tomatoes, sweet and sour pickles and crunchy white onions drizzled with a light flavorful condiment.

Now isn’t that the burger lover’s dream?

Aside from its incredible size, this burger is also big and satisfying in flavor. Something like this may have been just part of our dreams (specially after a long day spent looking for the perfect meal to no avail), but now there really is a burger big enough for you to gorge on. This can be found at the Holiday Inn Galleria Manila’s Bar One where the Big Buns Burger, a first in burger history here in the country, is becoming the star.

Leave it to baristas to make a bar famous among party animals by concocting the hottest drinks and the most imaginative of cocktails. Just as well, bands and DJs can turn a bland place into the most happening club that A-listers are sure to frequent. These may be the foremost elements in a bar manager’s mind, but a dash of creativity when it comes to making the pulutan that will compliment those amazing drinks also goes a long way in making a bar the party destination that it should be.

And this is what Holiday Inn management was going for. Marketing communications manager Teri Flores shares why they decided to whip up the biggest burger one can find in the metro. “(The Big Buns Burger) was created specially for Bar One. Since Bar One is an after office destination for gimmicks among officemates and barkadas, we had to have pulutan. Most bars offer the usual sisig so we created the Big Buns Burger,” she explains. True enough, this burger is unlike any other. Its size is phenomenal. A special patty was created just for this burger because the normal sized patties dried up when combined together. They also had the buns baked specially for this burger. Flores admits that it took a while for their culianry staff to perfect this gastronomic delight, but they’re glad the Big Buns Burger is now officially part of their menu.

Holiday Inn chefs whipped up this one-of-a-kind burger of humongous proportions to suit a barkada of eight. It is so big that you have to cut it in eight pieces just as you will do with a pizza. Because it is packed with so much veggies, cheese, bacon and a thick patty, you may opt to use a fork and knife in eating it as it will be uncomfortable to stuff it in your mouth. But if you are a really voracious eater, stuffing it in your mouth and going for more than just one slice is expected as the burger not only boasts of size. It also tastes great. Flores muses that so far, no one has finished a whole Big Buns Burger just by himself.

In conjunction with this groundbreaking burger creation, Holiday Inn also came up with a contest for women with the hottest rears. Dubbed as the Search for Manila’s Hottest Buns, together with FHM, they are looking for women with the most luscious behinds. “The Search for Manila’s Hottest Buns came in because the bun for Bar One’s Big Buns Burger is specially baked for that. So we thought, why not come up with the search? And who else will be your best partner for that but FHM?” Flores says. The Search commenced last Nov. 8 with 12 girls each week for four weeks vying for the title of having the hottest buns. Each week, three girls will advance to the finals: One weekly winner, one runner-up and an on-line voting winner from FHM’s Web site. Around 60 girls braved it during the initial tryouts and 48 got in. This Dec. 6, they will be deciding who among these girls has the hottest buns. The winner will be awarded with P80,000 and a full-page feature in FHM.

The Big Buns Burger is P850++ and can be found in Holiday Inn Galleria Manila’s Bar One at the fourth floor. To view the finalists of the Search For Manila’s Hottest Buns, visit www.fhm.com.ph.