Chur Burger, Surry Hills

Burger
I have fond memories of many a finger-licking cheeseburger consumed on our annual family road trips up the coast when I was little. I was always a cheeseburger-happy-meal child, relishing the sweet tomato sauce, tasty mustard and flecks of onion which sandwiched together my flat cheeseburger, in all it's greasy goodness.

Then as I grew older, no more were those messy cheeseburgers, with their bright yellow cheese and iconic soft brown buns, as our trips became less frequent and my tastebuds searched for flavours of a different kind. Now the humble burger is back in business. In fact, it has been for some time now, and it doesn't look like it's going to be disappearing again.

A taste of home at Bills in Yokohama, Japan

Australian
After two weeks of travelling around Japan we tourists were in dire need or a red meat fix. Not quite used to the Japanese diet of rice, fish, chicken and seafood every day - with little fresh fruit or vegetables - our iron levels had slowly decreased throughout the trip to leave us slow, tired and lethargic. When we read that Bill Granger, a local Aussie chef, had set up a restaurant in Yokohama in Japan, we made a unanimous decision to eat there and get a taste of home. The restaurant is nestled inside one of two side by side red brick warehouse buildings in the harbour city of Yokohama, about a 40 minute train ride from Tokyo near the sea. We approached the airy, beach-themed restaurant at 11am for brunch, and were told by the hostess that there weren't any tables free until 1pm. Not to worry - there were lots to do in Yokohama (including the famous Cup Noodle Museum!), so we put our names down to return later on for lunch.



Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse Buildings
At his Yokohama restaurant, Bill has brought the modern Australian beach eatery to the streets of Japan. The décor, not dissimilar to the sort you would find at a coastal beachfront café, reminded us of sunny Australia and the relaxed, chilled atmosphere that it is ubiquitous for.