In Short: Happy Ending Burgers builds upon the foundations of Mister Gees and delivers refined, well thought out burgers that draw on Gee’s travels abroad. Anxiety in NYC and Deep Fried Friends must be sampled, you won’t regret it.
I always love a good burger. Those who know me well may attest that perhaps, in the past, I loved burgers a little too much. Over the past few years, I have abandoned sneaky visits to fast food “restaurants”, and a burger is a rare, once-in-a-while treat. When an invitation came in from For Food’s Sake, I jumped at the opportunity to not only attend Happy Ending Burger’s pre-opening launch, but it was a fantastic opportunity to meet Bianca and the team. Social media interaction is one thing, but nothing beats interacting in person!
To Happy Ending then. Before tucking into the delicious burgers coming through the noren, I had a discussion with co-owner Katrina to get a little more background about the beginnings and inspiration of Concord’s newest foodie destination. Happy Ending is an over-night sensation, years in the making. They started as a humble food truck in a Burwood car wash. She told me of days where it was tough going, yet slowly her husband and owner Gee Ozgen’s burger food truck Mister Gees started getting traction. From early on it was clearly about quality over quantity. One burger per week with a side. Mister Gees still rocks as the one burger food truck in Haberfield. Happy Ending takes that less-is-more concept a step further with the choice of only four burgers, three sides, and two drinks.
As the burger patties sizzled away, I dug into the Korean chicken tenders, fingers and all. While in presentation it’s lively red in colour, which may indicate a fiery kick, it isn’t so. Sure there is a mild lingering heat, but it’s expertly balanced with a sweet sauce coating the crispy fillets of chicken. The chicken is tender and delicious, they are truly addictive, and my serving disappears hastily.
A second side, which just kept me coming back for more, were the fries with cheese. The fries were crispy, and elevated to the next level with the mighty fine cheese sauce. Creamy and tangy, it’s a best mate a burger could have!
Trays of burger didn’t last long, and I snapped up an Anxiety in NYC. This burger really exhibits what Gee is doing with his burgers at Happy Ending. A step up in refinement, with classic processes used to prepare elements of the burger; think past the milk buns and dry aged beef patties, which were outstanding. Imagine a duxelle of mushrooms and confit of shallots in your burger. I love the sweetness of shallots with the earthiness of the mushrooms. There’s American cheese, and a tarragon bacon mayo to really seal the deal. A memorable burger for certain!
If beef ain’t your thing, Happy Ending ensures you don’t miss out with an equally epic chicken burger offering. Deep Fried Friends is a delectable looking burger, with chunks of fried chicken bursting from the milk buns. What sets this chicken burger from any other you may have tasted is the use of kaya butter. Now my Singapore and Malaysian friends would know all about kaya butter, but even they wouldn’t have imagined it would be found in a burger. Yet, in combination with lightly battered, yet crispy, succulent chicken, American cheese, and mayo it just works so well. That tropical richness is evident with every bite, and it’s just divine! Happy Ending? For sure!
With a successful burger truck, there is no doubt that Happy Ending will conjure similar levels of excitement for burger aficionados across Sydney and beyond. It occupies the perfect location on Majors Bay Road in Concord.
It’s a menu that makes it perfect for takeway for the waiting hordes at home, or you can sit out the front to swallow those burgers and sides. This is the only place in Sydney where it’s totally acceptable to have a Happy Ending!
*Coco and Vine dined as guests of For Food’s Sake and Happy Ending Burgers
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