It’s the month of May for 2025. And you know what that means? It’s once again time for me to celebrate #NationalBurgerMonth! Although I am in the Philippines and not in the United States where this is “celebrated,” as burgers are one of my favorite meals, I do like to observe this non-traditional holiday over here.

I am going to try to do something a little bit different for Burger Month this year. I’m going to make a more active effort in searching for those little known burger places in the city. As someone who feels like burgers needs a little boost in popularity, I would like to focus more on those places you may not have heard of. After all, there are a lot more places in the Philippines nowadays that serves this American staple.

This week’s entry is a prime example of what I mean. The place is called 344 Bangketa Burger. If you’re not from the Philippines, the word “bangketa” translates to “sidewalk” more or less. So, basically, this means “sidewalk burger.” But I do think it’s mostly used for alliteration. Still, the name 344 Bangketa Burger is an apt name as you do have to sit very close to the sidewalk while you dine in.

One thing that the picture doesn’t do justice is the surrounding area. I actually got there early while they were still getting the place opened up and they weren’t ready to take in customers. So, I had to walk around a little bit and explored the area. 344 Bangketa Burger runs along San Rafael Street in the Mandaluyong area. It generally looks like a residential street. But what amazed me is how many eateries are along that small stretch of road. Seeing as 344 Bangketa Burger and a good number of those restaurants only open up after mid-afternoon, I can only assume the area has a good number of patrons who go t to hang out after work or just want a late-night meal to mingle with the locals in the area to hang out. Makes me wonder if the area is packed with people late in the evening.

Anyway, after some time, I did return there when they were ready. I looked through their menu and, honestly, despite it appearing to be just a regular residential restaurant, they do have a rather impressive lineup of food on their menu. While I would say the star would be the burgers, they have other items like chicken sandwiches, quesadillas, tortilla pizzas and, get this, tomahawk steaks. They actually have those huge tomahawk steaks over there! I really wanted to see if they were any good. But, as they were huge, they were also rather pricey and probably for more that just one person. Besides, this is Burger Month and I was here for the burgers!

Ultimately, I went for their take on the Bacon Cheese Burger. They didn’t have a combo special so I also ordered a side of Belgian Fries as well as a glass of lemonade as the person taking my order said it was “freshly squeezed” lemonade. After waiting for a few minutes for them to prepare my food, I got my order of their Bacon Cheese Burger, Belgian Fries and lemonade. I will give the a few points for presentation as, despite its rather humble aesthetic, 344 Bangketa Burger does try to make their food look more than just presentable.

First off, let’s place our attention to the star of this meal: 344 Bangketa Burger’s version of the classic Bacon Cheese Burger. There is a lot that I love about this burger! The burger patty by itself does taste pretty good. It was cooked well but still had some juiciness to it. Still, despite it being good, I do feel it didn’t have a lot of fat in it. I do wish it was a little bit bigger but, flavor-wise, I can’t complain. Besides, as their Bacon Cheese Burger costs 180 Philippine Pesos (which is around $3.25 US), I do think that’s a fair trade off.

I will say I was initially taken aback by the sauce they put on the burger. Not because it tasted bad but because it was… different. I do know how most burger places in the Philippines would put on some catsup and mayo on their burger or maybe slap on some “special sauce” (which is just thousand island dressing) and call it a day. Well, whatever sauce 344 Bangketa Burger puts on their burgers, it’s distinct enough. Perhaps I don’t have an educated enough palate to figure out what they put as it just might be a different brand of “special sauce” that I’m unfamiliar with. While it’s good, it did catch me off-guard but I did learn to appreciate it. Oh, and the bacon on this Bacon Cheese Burger was crisp enough to add a nice textural contrast to everything.

I do have a couple of issues with 344 Bangketa Burger’s Bacon Cheese Burger. I already mentioned the size of the beef patty but, in retrospect, that’s more because of the size of the bun. The bun was too big for the burger patty. This led to me getting through most of the beef patty but I still had some bun left over. So, it’s mostly a patty-to-bun ratio issue. Also, the bun itself could’ve used been toasted a little bit more as the sauces did make it get rather soggy by the end.

Unfortunately, while their Bacon Cheese Burger was very good, I can’t say the same for their Belgian Fries. There was just something generally off about them. While the skin was nicely fried, they didn’t have a crunchy exterior and the inside came off as very dense instead of the light and fluffy texture you usually associate with Belgian Fries. It was almost like biting into sweet potato fries. And while those are good by itself, that’s not what I think of when eating Belgian Fries. Also, there was a general lack of salt. Thankfully, having both catsup and ranch dressing on the side did help a lot on the seasoning aspect.

Oh, I do have to talk about the lemonade because this pleasantly surprised me as they did have it freshly squeezed… I think. At the very least, it was a mixture of instant and real lemon juice as my lemonade had a noticeable amount of pulp. It also wasn’t too sweet, which is the taste I usually get with the instant kind. However, having it freshly squeezed did make it kind of a bother to drink through a straw. The pulp would block the straw and, if the lemonade would go through, there was a good chance you might suck up a seed or through in the process. Still, this was pretty good.

Overall, I do think 344 Bangketa Burger was a good way to start out 2025’s Burger Month. The burger was pretty satisfying and tasted great. I do have some misgivings about the Belgian Fries but nothing that I would call bad. Maybe next time I should go over there at night and see what else that street has to offer. If it’s anything like the burger place, it just might be a great place to hang out.

Are there any local burger places in your area you think people are overlooking? Let me know what they are in the comments section below!