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
