A couple of weeks ago, we announced that Teddy’s Bigger Burgers will be opening its first Philippine store in Greenbelt 3 on Saturday, August 23. The post not only revved the engines of competitive eaters who would do anything to win a year-long’s worth of burgers; it also piqued the curiosity of serious foodies who are intrigued by what’s hailed by the Hawaiian customers and media as the Best Burger in the island.
Last Tuesday, August 19, franchisee SumoBurger Global Inc. invited Teddy’s Bigger Burgers founders, Ted Tsakiris and Rich Stula, as well as the local media for a sneak peek of the Philippine menu.
We were among the lucky first ones to say aloha to Teddy’s’ award-winning burgers. Quite pleased with what we had (worth the hype, we think!), we’ve listed down 5 things Pinoy burger lovers can look forward to on Teddy’s Bigger Burger’s opening day:
Bigger burgers that are competitive with what’s available in the market
There are no Small, Medium, or Large burger size options at Teddy’s. What they got is a long list of Big (5 oz. or 1/3 pound), Bigger (7 oz.), and Biggest (9 oz.) burgers– cooked and assembled upon order. Their Big Teddy’s Original burger, the smallest you can order, is already quite a handful especially to a lady. A bunch of guys at the next table was barely able to finish Teddy’s Double Bigger burgers. They clearly mean it when they say theirs is bigger.
Original 7 oz. Burger
Monster Burger, double patty
But more than the size, Teddy’s burgers are pretty competitive taste-wise, too. Teddy’s takes pride in their 100% Chuck Patties, which are made with 100% corn-fed US Black Angus ground chuck steak, charbroiled to the customer’s desired doneness, and dressed with their signature sweet and tangy aioli sauce. Ted Tsakiris swear by the pureness of the burgers which has no binders, fillers, artificial flavorings, and preservatives. All patties are hand-pattied daily and only cooked upon order.
From among the options in the menu, Teddy’s Original Burger (solo: P265-5oz.; P325-7oz.; P395-9oz.) cooked medium, then stacked with special sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and pickles, is the most ideal iteration for you to taste the quality of the patty. But if your budget and appetite permits, feel free to order the dressed up ones. Get the Cheese Burger (solo: P300-5oz.; P360-7oz.; P430-9oz.) if your ideal burger is clothed with melted cheddar. You may also want to try their sweet Teriyaki Burger (solo: P300-5oz.; P360-7oz.; P430-9oz.), that works best with the potato buns. For binge eaters, a serving of a Monster Double Burger (solo: P440-5oz.; P545-7oz.; P660-9oz.) should be enough to whet a monstrous appetite.
Cheese Burger
Teddy’s encourages customization. There’s a long list of ingredients that you can add on to amplify your burgers. But if you want to be sure about it, get from their recommended mix and matches: Cajun Burger (+P50) with Cajun seasoning, pepper jack cheese; Hawaiian Style (+P70) with Teriyaki, Grilled Pineapple; Bacado Burger (+P125) with Avocado, Cheddar, bacon; and Kailua Burger (+P150) with teriyaki, grilled mushroom, grilled onions, and Swiss cheese.
Kailua Burger – 5 oz.
Hawaiian Burger – 7oz.
Cajun Burger
Bacado Burger
Only in the Philippines Special Menu
While the core of Teddy’s Bigger Burgers menu is the original menu from Hawaii, they’ve made additions specifically to the Philippine market. For chicken lovers, there’s the sweet and tangy Tiki Wings (P295) that will leave you lip-smacking. Chicken Tenders is there, too, presumably for kid diners. What we’re most interested to try though is their take on Hawaiian drive-in food Loco Moco– a burger patty served atop rice with gravy and fried egg.
Tiki Wings
Lemonade
Comforting Sides and Milkshakes
To complement the burgers, Teddy’s included comforting side dishes and dessert drinks. When at Teddy’s, options for sides are: skin-on Teddy’s Flavored Fries (P75-small; P115-large), Tater Tots, and beer-battered onion rings served with cheese or garlic sauces.
Garlic Fries
Cheese Fries
Their milkshakes are among the thickest in the market as well. Teddy’s reports that they follow a 90% ice cream and 10% milk proportions, with no ice or water included.
Choco Milkshake
Small space made interesting by chill beachside music
Teddy’s occupies a small space at the 3rd floor of Greenbelt 3 and can seat around 30 people at a time. Diners are required to fall in line behind the counter to order. Since there’s not much room to move inside, we can only imagine how cramped Teddy’s would be on its opening week.
To its credit though, Teddy’s sports a laid back casual vibe, made more interesting by its pipe-in beach-side reggae music. For a moment, we felt like we were not in Makati as we were bobbing our shoulders to the beat while getting our hands dirty with the burgers.
Perky and friendly wait staff
The American team who’s training the local staff is still in the country for the store’s opening. They are a bunch of energizer bunnies whose energy levels bust through the roof. They’re friendly and are willing to take each customer through the menu. We hope their infectious energy gets imparted to the local team because we hadn’t had that much fun in a restaurant in a long while.
Albeit on the pricey side (a meal here will easily cost one around P500) Teddy’s Bigger Burgers drives up the sulit factor with its quality patty and big servings. Based on what we’ve tasted, Hawaii’s best burger has a good chance of winning the hearts of the islanders in this side of the Pacific.
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Teddy’s will treat its first 100 customers with free Original Teddy’s Burger (5 oz.) on its August 23 opening day. The first five in line will receive one year supply of burgers (one burger a week, for 52 weeks). The 6th to10th in line will get six month worth supply of burgers (one burger a week, for 26 weeks); and 11th to 20th in line will receive three month worth supply of free burgers (one burger a week for 13 weeks). From the remaining 80 in line, five lucky winners will also win a weekly supply of burgers of one month (one burger a week for 5 weeks), to be drawn via raffle. Line starts at 7 am in front of Teddy’s Bigger Burgers Store on August 23.
