Hailing from a city consumed by gourmet burger chains, I’ve grown accustomed to craving pimped-up patties.  In this series, I hit the streets of Phnom Penh to sniff out the very best burgers on offer.

Inferno Beef Burger
Hot chilies, hot sauce, BBQ sauce, bacon, cheddar, blackened
$9.00, served with a side of fries

The Burger Joint

Over on Street 282, this BKK1 hamburger specialist has a warm and inviting venue with a welcoming host.

While dining here, I noticed the manager’s attention to detail and super organised can-do attitude as he pulled out all the stops to make sure that all guests would be able to be comfortably seated and enjoy their meal in the cosy comfort of Lone Pine’s venue.

The Burger

The cornucopia of stacked gourmet burgers listed on the menu both excited and baffled me. There was so much to choose from, so many flavours, so little time.

Not one to shy away from a challenge, I opted for the ‘Inferno’, and aptly ignored any warnings from the waitress of it being super spicy. I was ready for crying with delight into my chilli infused dinner.

The inferno combines an abundance of fresh chillies with hot sauce to challenge those who like it hot.

On the Side

A portion of thin, crispy fries accompanied the burger. These packed a lot of flavour.

The burger came deconstructed, with the salad garnishing on the side consisting of lettuce, tomato and onion. Whilst this could almost be considered a side, I went ahead and stacked it all back on the burger.

A hot sauce dip and tomato ketchup dip were included too. Not that I felt too much need to go to town on the hot sauce as the inferno was ready to punish my taste buds already.

First Impressions

The deconstructed serve immediately pointed out to me just how hot this was going to be. The red chillies protruding through the menacingly dark hot sauce almost had me considering a chaser of milk or yogurt to dissolve the heat like the pansy I might end up being.

The taste was beautiful. I should note that the waitress asked me how I wanted my burger cooked – which is fairly rare for gourmet joints yet surely a sign of those that care about satisfying your individual tastes. I got my burger rare, which is unlikely to please the burger masses, but absolutely suited me.

The meat melted in the mouth, with the hot sauce and chillies aggressively double checking I could handle my decision – which I could. If you love spice, I would highly recommend this. The bacon was cooked American style, super crispy and a nice texture to throw into the mix, there was a perfect amount of flavours and ingredients to tickle all my taste preferences for a mouthful.

The Verdict

The choice at Lone Pine is great. I’ll need to revisit with a more classic combo option but based on heat-seeking bravado I’d give the inferno burger 8/10 –  perhaps only shying away from higher because it really is a niche that the majority couldn’t enjoy. Although arguably it’s designed to test foodies in a chilli challenge rather than a casual meal – give it a go if you think you’ve taste-buds of steel, you masochist.

14, Street 282, BKK1, Phnom Penh

Looking for different flavours? Check out other reviews in this series here:

Frazer Vs Burger: The Merguez @ Cafe Java

Frazer Vs Burger: Twin Burger Fish Amok @ Le Table Khmére