Aberdeen Restaurant Week: Byron - Calvin Haggis (Aberdeen)

Everyone that knows me, knows that the way to my heart is through food. And more importantly, a good burger.

There's something about burgers that fascinates me. How one item of food can be as expensive, or as inexpensive as you like, and can be as simplistic, or as elaborate as one wants baffles me a little. It's something you can find in fast food restaurants as well as some of the fanciest restaurants in town, and I love it for it.

Recently, I was invited down to Byron in Union Square to check out a new burger which they have just launched today, The Calvin Haggis. And yes, this is a burger named after the famous DJ Calvin Harris, just in case that wasn't obvious...

I'm not going to lie, I usually prefer to eat out locally, supporting local restaurants, however, knowing there was nothing quite like this burger advertised elsewhere, I had to go try it out.

Visiting last Thursday, I decided to bring my favourite person along for one last meal before he went offshore - or so we thought. Arriving around 6.30pm, we were greeted by the lovely team there and shown to our seats - a big comfy booth.

The manager came over to explain the burger and talk us through the menu. The Calvin Haggis is here for one week only (until Sunday 28th) and he explained that following its huge success last year, that the firm had decided it was time for it to make its comeback for Burns night again. 

We were both pretty hungry so decided it would be best to share a starter of the mac and cheese balls, so we could save ourselves for our main. 

The mac and cheese balls appeared pretty quickly and were nice and warm on arrival. The deep-fried bites were super gooey on the inside and tasted really good - I'm thinking it was some sort of American cheese sauce, but I could be wrong. Topped with buffalo glaze, spring onions, crispy bacon and more cheese sauce, they were the perfect appetiser - not too big, yet big enough to keep us entertained for our mains.

Our burgers arrived almost immediately after we'd finished our starter so there was not much breathing space - I was now very thankful we'd shared a small starter instead of ordering one each.

Obviously visiting to try out the Calvin Haggis, we decided to order one, plus a second burger and split them in half. Well, that was the plan...

The Calvin Haggis was a beast of a burger. A 6oz burger patty with haggis, a tattie scone, American cheese, bacon and onion relish, dry cured bacon, blanched white onions all packed into one burger with a dollop of Bryon's burger sauce and an egg on top to finish it off.

Braving it with his hands, Calum struggled to get the burger into his mouth. And it was so big he almost ended up wearing half of it. The egg ran down his fingers, but he looked happy and his comment "It tastes like freedom" told me everything.

The burger itself was great. It was well-cooked, and the haggis in it had a slight spice to it which Calum liked a lot. It also complimented the sweeter bacon brilliantly, and to our surprise, the cheese worked really well with the burger. It's somewhat of a hybrid of the perfect breakfast burger meets a naffa fine Scottish burger - one which I think would be a very popular hangover cure!

When I'm looking for something a little lighter, I tend to stick to chicken burgers so I decided to opt for the Clucky cooked in buffalo sauce. The burger was scrumptious and I loved the buffalo sauce which provided a real heat to the dish. Having already tucked into the deep-fried mac and cheese balls I figured start as you mean to go on, and ordered my chicken breasts to be fried, rather than grilled. The fried chicken breasts were smothered in guacamole, sriracha mayonnaise, picked red onions and shredded iceberg lettuce. The sriracha mayonnaise was very hot, so I was thankful I liked hot foods, as the buffalo sauce and the mayo partnered together could have been a disaster for someone who doesn't enjoy hot food. Luckily the guacamole was a great compliment to the hotter sauces so it cooled my mouth down quickly.

As well as the burgers, we ordered two portions of fries, one regular and one cheese fries, as well as a side of big, chunky onion rings. Calum loved his cheesy fries and was delighted to see the cheese was melted throughout the bowl of chips, rather than just on top. The onion rings were big and juicy, and were pretty crispy on the outside too.

I'd had more than enough with my burger and chips, but something in me was telling me I just had to have something sweet. Knowing there was no chance either of us could take on a dessert alone, we agreed to share a freakshake and call it a night.

The extra-thick oreo freakshake was enormous. Filled to the brim with all sorts of oreo treats, I was curious to see how we'd get on. A chocolate oreo milkshake with ice cream, oreo's on the side, a huge swirl of whipped cream, chocolate sauce poured all over and and a healthy helping of oreo cheesecake just for good measure - this was one serious milkshake.

I think I must have been after I'd taken a few sips of the think milkshake, polished off a oreo and made a fair dent in the oreo cheesecake that I finally gave up. I was defeated, and rightly so.

 The team at Byron went up and beyond for us, and the rest of the customers in the restaurant. They were very tentative and answered any questions we had. All of the servers were clued up on the menu, and all made different recommendations which was very nice - there's nothing worse than feeling like people are trying to sell you the same dishes, and that definitely wasn't the case at Byron.

With the Calvin Haggis only available for a limited time, there's not long for people to try it out. If you're up to the challenge and fancy some tasty grub, then it's definitely worth tackling. Although, a word of warning, you may want to take a change of t-shirt.

Byron Burger is also involved in the new project, Aberdeen Restaurant Week, which has been organised by the team at Aberdeen Inspired. Aberdeen Restaurant Week will run from 1 Feb - 8 Feb and will offer customers the chance to try out over 30 different eatieries menu's at a fraction of thier usual price. The public will get the chance to enjoy a two-course lunch for £10 per person, and a three-course dinner for £20.18 per person. Byron is one of the many restaurants signed up to the initiative.

  For Now...

Just Julia

Wagamama Union Square (Aberdeen): Review

With the sad news that Wagamama in the Academy Centre in Aberdeen was closing down, I had the ultimate fear that Wagamama would be no more in Aberdeen. A popular joint, I was relieved to hear that the HQ of Wagamama Aberdeen located in Union Square, Aberdeen's largest shopping and leisure centre, was stating open. Phew and phew.

A few weeks ago the general manager, Stu, connected with me on Twitter  after he'd seen online that I was a fan of the restaurant. Generously, he invited me along to try out the fast-paced Japanese cuisine Wagamama specialises in. Not one to usually visit chain restaurants (I'm all about eating local and indulging in artisan restaurants offering), Wagamama is probably one of the only chain restaurants I would actively seek out. It's freshly made dishes hitting the table as soon as they are ready, you're guaranteed to receive hot, tasty food fresh off the stove.

Of course, there was no chance I was going to pass up this offer without inviting one of my favourite Aberdeen bloggers along for the experience. Queue the entrance of the fabulous Sarah from Blogs, Vlogs, Etc. Now good friends, I'd met Sarah at my first ever Aberdeen bloggers meet up - otherwise known as #abzmeet - and decided this would be a great opportunity for us to catch up. And yes, in true Julia fashion, the boys got dragged along too.

Arriving at the restaurant, drinks were on our minds. The fresh juices at Wagamama's are really refreshing and always seem like the healthier option in my mind - whether they are or aren't is another question. A fruit juice featuring apple, orange and passionfruit and a tropical juice with mango, apple and orange were Sarah and I's drinks of choice, smooth and fresh, these lasted us the whole meal which I was rather surprised at.

For starters we shared ebi katsu, crispy fried prawns in panko breadcrumbs, served with a spicy chilli and garlic sauce, garnished with lime, and the chicken steamed gyoza - five steamed chicken dumplings served grilled with a dipping sauce. Both dishes boasted plenty on the plates to share and were a nice, light, dish to begin.

A chicken katsu curry regular, I felt obliged that I needed to try something different. Pushing myself outside my comfort zone, I decided it was time for a change, enter chicken raisukaree. A mild coconut and citrus curry with chicken, mangetout, peppers, red and spring onions, served with white rice topped with a sprinkle of mixed sesame seeds, red chillies, coriander and fresh lime. My boyfriend decided on the chilli sirloin steak ramen - spicy chicken noodle soup, red onion, spring onions, beansprouts, chillies, coriander and fresh lime, topped with tender strips of sirloin steak. Both dishes were very tasty, although I'm not a massive fan of the ramen dishes purely on the basis that I'm a rice over curry and a sauce over soup kind of gal. The chicken was succulent and juicy, and the curry sauce had a light kick to it. The freshly squeezed lime juice was perfect to calm the heat of the chillies and left a refreshing taste in my mouth.

Sarah opted for the chicken ramen, noodles in a chicken soup topped with grilled chicken breast and seasonal greens, garnished with memma and spring onions. Her boyfriend chose my ultimate weakness, the chicken katzu curry - major food envy.

One to usually push my stomach to its limits, with dessert menus in hand, we had made the subconscious decision that dessert was happening. Score.

I've had the coconut reika from Wagamama's before so wanted to try something different. Toying with myself, chocolate or coconut, I turned to our waitress for advice, Chocolate it was. Chocolate fudge cake served with dark chocolate wasabi sauce and a vanilla pod ice cream to be precise. This dish I really, really enjoyed. My favourite part of it was in fact the sickly sweet icing it was encased with. Of course I didn't manage to finish it, but what I can tell you is that all of the icing was devoured in seconds. The banana lover he is, my boyfriend opted for the banana katzu. Banana deep fried in panko breadcrumbs with a scoop of salted caramel ice cream on the side, this dish got a definite thumbs up from him.

Sarah and her boyfriend decided on the passionfruit cheesecake and the mix it up mochi ice cream. A combination of coconut, raspberry and toasted sesame mochi ice cream, the little balls of ice cream were wrapped in a layer of sticky rice, came accompanied with a house sauce. Both enjoyed their dishes, however I think the texture of the mochi ice cream took Sarah by surprise!

A busy restaurant, Wagamama Aberdeen is already very popular. I know so many people who have visited the restaurant over the past few years and have always enjoyed the food and drinks. What I never hear of is people trying out different dishes, so people of Aberdeen, I dare you to go visit the restaurant soon and try out different dishes. I did, and I loved every single one of them. Let your tastebuds relish in the different tastes of Japanese cuisine and get yourself to Wagamama to try something different now - be adventurous.

   For Now...

Just Julia

Union Square: Safari Supper Club

When someone mentions a 'proper hamburger' immediately my ears prick up. Full on mouth-wateringly scrumptious burgers are something I find my mind wondering off and daydreaming about regularly. Invited to an exclusive Safari Supper by Union Square with a mention of burgers was always going to be an event I would be unable to resist, and with the addition of cocktails too, I was there in a flash.

Union Square is one of Aberdeen's most popular shopping and eating destinations. With so much under one roof it can sometimes prove extremely difficult to decide where to eat, especially with an abundance of choice showcasing cuisine's from all over the world. The Safari Supper Club consisted of an evening of food and drink, whilst catching up with my blogger friends as well as meeting a few new faces. The idea of the club was to encourage the group to hop from one restaurant to another for every course, this excited me a lot as I've never thought of doing anything like that before, and I was intrigued to see how well we could execute this exercise as a large party. Nonetheless, our foodie adventure impressed on all levels.

First stop, Las Iguanas. Cocktail menu's at the ready I opted for a pink passion fruit; Pink Pigeon vanilla rum, apricot liqueur, Funkin passion fruit purée, vanilla sugar and pineapple juice. Passion fruit is one of my favourite flavours within cocktails - I usually opt for a Pornstar - however, wanted to try something a little different and I can certainly tell you that I wasn't disappointed.

 

Nest stop, Yo! Sushi. After previously visiting the launch of Yo! Sushi's new menu, Welcome to Tokyo, a few weeks ago in the Bon Accord Centre I knew exactly what I wanted before the manager had even handed me the menu. My ultimate favourite, popcorn shrimp tempura, glazed shrimp in creamy miso sauce, and a newbie to the menu, maguro katsu, tuna mixed with mayonnaise and onion rolled in breadcrumbs and served with a wasabi sauce. Two absolute menu winners for me.  I also decided to try out their miso soup for the first time and I was pleasantly surprised as to how refreshing it tasted. Not something I would have usually have went for but I'm glad I did. (You can also check out my other favourites from the new menu on my blog post from the launch - click here!)

Third stop, burger time. Heading along to Byron Burger for the first time I was intrigued to see how they would bring their #burgergame, and to what extent it would be brought. Being pretty full from Yo Sushi, I was starting to regret my starter choices, but nothing was going to stop me from going all out on my burger main. Choosing my burger was easy. As soon as I see the words BBQ sauce, it's game over for any other option on the menu. B-Rex, a 6oz hamburger with onion rings, streaky bacon, American cheese, jalapeños, pickles, onion, BBQ sauce and mayonnaise, was about to meet its match. When eating red meat usually I have it cooked medium-rare, however, when it comes to burgers I nowadays will always ask for it to be cooked well done. I'm obsessed with foodie documentaries and although some of you meat heads may disagree, I feel well done is the wisest of options when eating out. Personal preference and all. 

Brad, who was hosting the event, kindly ordered some french fries and sweet potato fries to accompany our delicious burgers, and after seeing so many positive reviews online over the past few weeks about Byron, I now understood just what all the fuss really was about.

 

Of course, as always at any American diner which serves up burgers, you almost always have to order a milkshake, especially when they are as good as the one's Byron serves up. Reese's peanut butter cup milkshake all day every day. A few Reese's peanut butter cups mixed up with some oh-so-creamy vanilla ice cream, nothing could bring me down from this ice cream high. The Oreo cookie milkshake also looked very tempting...that's a definite must try for next time.

Last but not least, dessert, and that came in the shape of sorbet from Italian restaurant, Carluccio's. I must confess, 9/10 I would never opt for sorbet or ice cream on their own for a dessert, I almost feel like it's a waste of calories, and in my case, the more calories the better. I'm a real fan of chocolate desserts, the chocolate torte and the warm chocolate pudding were tempting, alas, my eyes were much larger than my tummy and I had to surrender the luxury of a chocolate dessert. Looking for something light and refreshing, the melon and lemon sorbet hit the spot in cleansing my palette and refreshing my tastebuds after a heavy eating stint throughout Union Square. The melon was divine, but the lemon was very tart, not subtle in the slightest, which made it that much more refreshing on my tongue.

All in all the Safari Supper Club was a huge success, with bloggers from all over Aberdeen piling out of the restaurants full to the brim. A massive thank you to Brad from McFrank PR and Union Square for organising and conducting a brilliant evening of food and drink for us all to indulge in. I've never thought about restaurant hopping on a night out but after my Safari Supper Club experience, I may very well have to try this concept out with my friends.

  For Now...

Just Julia

Handmade Burger Co: Aberdeen

Recently I visited Union Square's burger bar joint, The Handmade Burger Co, after an extremely hungry boyfriend returned from a three and a half week trip offshore. A little hesitant at his initial suggestion, I decided to go along with what he was anticipating to be the best meal he had eaten in the past few weeks (the food offshore really wasn't the best), and joined him on this man meets burger journey.

Rocking up on a Saturday evening I was fully aware that the restaurant would be busy. Luckily my ravenous dinner guest had phoned and reserved a table, securing a time to indulge in his burger experience.

On arrival, we were greeted exceptionally quickly and ushered to our table by a chirpy waitress. Met with a sticky table and a dirty knife, I was a little anxious we were getting off to a rocky start, however, since previously working in hospitality I gave them the benefit of the doubt and the initial issue was dealt with swiftly. Now the only thing on my mind was the menu.

Opening the menu I was presented with well over 40 different types of burgers, and even for a burger fan, this was a little overwhelming. Toying with myself; beef or chicken, beef or chicken, I decided to opt for a Jerk chicken burger, something I was very much looking forward to. Being a massive fan of pulled pork, (and knowing my boyfriend's love for the stuff too), the smile on my face told him everything when he pitched the Denver chips to me. Six-hour marinated pulled pork smothered in BBQ sauce placed on top of chunky hand-cut chips and then covered in cheese, if chip heaven exists - I was there.

Denver chips

Jerk chicken burger with mango salsa, authentic jerk sauce, mayonnaise, rocket, tomato and red onion

We decided to go for two sides, obviously onion rings was the next top choice, and my hungry guest picked out the Texas chilli cheese extreme (beef) in a brioche bun - as you can imagine it was hot and cheesy, exactly as it stated on the menu. The brioche bun complimented the heat of the chilli cheese, bringing a light, sweet taste to the burger. I'm not a massive fan of hot and fiery; the hottest I go at an Indian is a Korma, so hot foods are definitely wasted on me. However, my Jerk sauce; although slightly spicy, was full of exotic flavours bringing a Caribbean feel to the dish. My burger didn't come with a gherkin which was pretty heartbreaking as I love them, but I managed to bag myself the other half of my boyfriend's. And who said romance is dead!?

Another thing my other half is well-known for, is his love of milkshakes. Dessert, or his mid-meal drink if he's feeling up to the challenge, will consist of a milkshake - providing he thinks the milkshakes are up to his taste test. Opting for a banana bonanza, it made the cut. I decided to be creative and mix-it-up a little by requesting a shake not on the menu (peanut butter and chocolate). I guess the girl behind the till liked my creativity as she gave me discount -  which was very sweet of her and much appreciated. All in all a pretty pleasurable and surprisingly satifying pit-stop for dinner. Just push yourself to pick something you usually wouldn't, its much more fun and worked a treat for me. Next time I'm trying the peanut butter and bacon burger. Mmm.

Banana and peanut butter and chocolate milkshakes

  For now...

Just Julia