肉肉大米 京基濱河時代店 Aged ground beef and rice at KK One (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I have been trying to get myself a table at popular Japanese hamburger steak restaurant, Hikiniku to Come (挽肉と米) who recently opened at IFC but without much success. Rumors had that they have just implemented a new ticketing system allowing guests to prepay for a ticket rather than waiting in line. But before I could get my hands on one of their freshly grilled patties, I had the chance for a similar hamburger steak experience at KKOne Shopping Mall (京基濱河時代廣場) in Shenzhen.

Hailed from Shanghai, Aged ground beef and rice (肉肉大米) has quickly established themselves as a crowd favorite since they first opened doors a few years back. They currently have a number of branches in Shenzhen and this one at KKOne boasts the same open kitchen concept serving their signature patties with fresh beef which gets minced and shaped on-site, before finishing over grill (no charcoal).

They have a team behind the scene doing all the hard work of grinding the ground beef next to the open kitchen.

There are only two set menus available here, a choice of two (¥68) or three (¥78) beef patties. For ¥10 more, one can upgrade the patty to a cheesy one with melting cheese and shaved parmesan on top. The best part of all, each set meal comes with grilled broccoli, egg (raw or onsen) and unlimited supply of steamed rice and miso soup.

Jelloman just couldn't take her eyes off the chef beef patties on the grill.

Here we have a number of condiments available to go with the grilled beef patties. My personal favorite was the barbecued meat sauce, with the onion sauce a close second.

Grilled beef patty (Original flavor) – Very nice and meaty. I'd like to see more flavors coming from the meat. I wonder if the ones from Hikiniku to Come offers more richness in flavor.

I tried to put my soft-boiled egg on top of the beef patty so it could absorb the flavors from the yolk.

Grilled beef patty with cheese – Our chef put the finishing touch on by shaving some Parmesan cheese on top.

For me, this was a little too cheesy with the double-cheese treatment (first the slice of cheese melted on top and then the shaved). 

Way too heavy when you factor in the size of the beef patty.

Both Jelloman and I enjoyed this ultimate hamburger steak experience with their concept of

 “Just ground, grilled, and cooked”. Having a personal chef taking care of us in front of the counter table added to the overall experience but would it be enough to lure us back, I didn't think we have a clear answer yet.

Food Rating: 5.1/10

Price: ¥¥

Address: Shop L133, 1/F, KK One South Zone, Futian, Guangzhou, China

深圳市福田区KKONE 时尚潮流购物中心-南门L133

Closest Metro Station: Xiasha (下沙)

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 9:30pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/b0/EITi