I wonder who chose to have National Hamburger Month on May? I’m guessing it’s someone over at the good ol’ US of A. Well, event though I don’t live in that country, I still love me a good burger. So, like with every other May, I also do my part with Burger Month, where I review a burger instead of writing up a regular post. It’s honestly one of my favorite months for several reasons. The first being I don’t really have to bang my head against the wall to find inspiration on what to write about. I already know it’s going to be all about some burger I haven’t tried yet. But the biggest reason why I love Burger Month is because, well, it gives me an excuse to go out and try a new burger each and every week!

There is still some planning involved as I do have to research on what new burger places there are in the Philippines. This week, I decided to try out Raging Bull Burgers, which has a branch over at the North Wing of the Shangri-La EDSA Plaza. Just by the location, I already knew it was going to be a little bit pricey. The things I do for Burger Month, indeed!

First, I do have to talk about the facility itself. It’s not in the mall area but you have to go outside to the North Wing, which is the little building connected one of the many parking lots Shangri-La EDSA Plaza has. It’s not that big of a trek but I feel I do have to mention it because you might not even know it’s there because of its somewhat out there location.

One thing I did like about Raging Bull Burger’s menu is it’s pretty straightforward. Sure, there is an assortment of beers, milkshakes and sodas to wash the food down. But when it comes to food, they make it clear this is a burger place! The menu only has six items available and three of them are burgers! Oh, they do have a chicken and a fish burger. I was actually surprised to see they had a vegan option!

At least they do give options for other people. But I’m here for the burgers so that’s where my eyes went. Among the three items, I chose the Mighty Beast because, well, it was the only one that had bacon on it. Sure, I could’ve gotten either the Kickass or the Raging Wagyu burger and added bacon to my order. But I like to get something straight off the menu because I’m assuming this is probably the best combination they had in mind. Of course, I ordered the combo, which came with thick cut fries. I should’ve clarified if these were the same as their Double Fried Fries. It was also the middle of the day so no beer. Just a Coke for me.

I will say the service was pretty quick as I did get my Might Beast Burger and fries fairly quickly. It wasn’t instant but it didn’t feel long, either. One thing I will say about the burger was how tall it was! A part of me was expecting it to be wide for some reason. Instead, what I got was a tower of a burger with a good amount of lettuce, bacon, tomatoes, sliced cheese and a couple of sauces in the mix. The fries serving was a little less than I expected, sadly. Once again, I really needed to ask if this was the same as the Double Fried Fries.

I will say the Mighty Beast put up a fight when I tried to eat it because, well, it was so tall I had trouble getting a bite in! Even when squishing it, it just barely went in my mouth hole. The burger patty itself was pretty juicy but not in a way that had the meat juice dripping down my fingers. There was some leakage but that was mostly due to the mustard and the barbecue sauce on the burger. I will say I do think it needed a little more seasoning or, at the very least, some more salt.

I guess that’s what the barbecue sauce was for in a sense, as it did add a good amount of flavor to the proceedings but, honestly, it lacked any kind of heat. You can add hot sauce as they do have a hefty selection of condiments there. But, like I said, I wanted to try the Mighty Beast for what it was. The bacon did have some crispiness to it, adding some textural crunch to each bite but I do wish the bacon flavor was a bit stronger.

The other toppings, such as the lettuce and the tomatoes did taste fresh and I will admit I loved how the pickles were sliced lengthwise as it did give a good snapping feeling when you take a bite from them. The corn bun remarkably didn’t turn into mush from the sauces. Sure, it was much flatter because of all the squishing I needed to do to take a bite out of the Mighty Beast, but it didn’t turn into paste. Well done!

I will say that I did come off as a little meh with the fries that came with the Mighty Beast combo. While they were good, they did come off, like the burger, needing more salt. Another problem I had with the fries is same problem I have with most thick cut fries: there’s just not enough crispiness to them. Sure, they were still firm on the outside but the majority of each fry would be the soft and fluffy interior. You don’t have this issue with thinly cut fries. Once again, I need to know if this is the same as Double Fried Fries. They weren’t bad but they weren’t mind-blowing as well.

One thing I didn’t tackle so far is the price of Raging Bull Burger’s Mighty Beast combo. The total price, including the can of Coke, came to 595 Php, which comes to around to around $10 US for reference. That’s a lot of money here. So, while I do say the Mighty Beast is indeed a good burger, it is worth the high price? Honestly, I do see the value but it’s definitely a splurge or reward item. It’s something I would get if there was a special occasion or something I would want to celebrate but not the kind of thing I would eat every week or even every month because I’m not some rich kid living in the Philippines. Still, I do recommend it for special times.

Have you tried eating at Raging Bull Burgers? How are you celebrating #NationalHamburgerMonth?