Grilled: Fatboy's Founder Serves Up Chicken Caesar Burgers, Egg Topped Beef Patties, and More

In the lead up to the Beijinger's month-long Burger Cup (kicking off May 16 with burger specials around town), we take a closer look at some of this year's participants. We start by grilling Kennie Tay, co-founder of Fatboy's, one of the many restaurateurs who will not only be slinging juicy beef patties at our May 28 Burger Festival but is also vying for the title of Burger Cup champion (voting for which begins on May 30).

A portly fellow, sporting a backwards baseball cap and an ear-to-ear grin, Kennie proved to be a warm and friendly host, eager to tell us what sets Fatboy's apart at one of the restaurant's cushy, 50's diner-style booths. Before long he was regaling us with tales about the cookouts, classic rock, and other personal milestones that lead to the opening of this popular burger chain.

How long have you been a burger flipper?
My brother Bernie and I founded Fatboy's in Singapore in 2009. He is spearheading our branches in Singapore, Malaysia, and Bali. I'm handling our Beijing, Cambodia, and Thailand branches. He and I worked at many restaurants before we started Fatboy's. I got my start at a lot of Singaporean style places, while Bernie learned much of what he knows while working at the Hard Rock Cafe. He started as a server, and he worked his way up to the AGM of their Hong Kong branch. Back in the day, we'd do a lot of cookouts in our spare time in Singapore, experimenting with toppings for our friends. We decided to open a place of our own before long, because we had such a love of burgers.

Give us the lowdown on your signature burgers (discounted versions of which will be available at the Beijinger's 2016 Burger Festival on May 28):

Wimpy, RMB 88
Topped with a fried egg, smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, and our homemade barbecue sauce. This sauce has a special twist – rather than the smoked hickory taste of typical barbecue sauce, ours has a tinge of chili. So it's a bit spicier, making it more suitable for the Asian tastes [laughs]. We prefer to put cheddar on the Wimpy, because it's the classic option for cheeseburgers.

Holy Caesar, RMB 68
This is one of our most popular chicken burgers. Basically, it's a classic Caesar salad in a burger – grilled seasoned chicken, smoked bacon, parmesan cheese, iceberg lettuce, and of course, Caesar dressing. People are becoming more health conscious these days, so we want to make sure we cater to that kind of customer, too. Also, practicing Buddhists don't typically eat beef, so our chicken burgers are popular at many of our branches across Asia.

Brief us on your beef: where do you source it, how do you prepare it, and what secret methods or ingredients do you use?
We source our beef from Australia. We use a combination of cuts: the majority is chuck, along with a blend of brisket, striploin and beef fat. This combination gives our patties a great texture – firm, while still maintaining its juiciness.

Bun conundrum: what bread is best suited to hold your burgers together?
On our Wimpy and our Holy Caesar we use a mixture of brioche and a classic white sesame bun. We make sure to have a little more butter content than the average bun, so that it's creamier. We have other types of buns for other burgers though – our big Monster Mash crispy fried chicken burger (RMB 98), for instance, has a honey oat bun that's firmer than our white sesame.

Give us a guide to your sides: What do these signature burgers come with?
At the Burger Cup, we plan to serve chilli corn chips, because it's a fairly uncommon side that I think will help us stand out. But at our restaurant, we usually serve our burgers with a side of thick-cut fries, which we think go well with with the beef patties both in terms of taste and aesthetics – they even look great together! We also serve sides of coleslaw, made with my Mom's secret homemade recipe. But I'll share the secret with you: it has a bit of apple cider in the mix, to give it an added sweet and sour flavor.

How should we wash it down?
A thick and creamy root beer float (RMB 38), made with A&W Root Beer imported from the US. I'd also recommend a lager, which I think is the perfect beer to go with a burger because its fizziness makes for an excellent foil to the beef's smokey flavor. One of the best lager's we have right is Barking Squirrel (also RMB 38 for a bottle), which we import from the microbrewery in Canada.

Inspiring diners: Which fast food joint sparked your love of burgers, and prompted you to get into the grill game?
Wendy's. We used to have this Wendy's joint near our home. We spent a lot of childhood time there. Whenever Bernie and I went, we'd always get the classic: a double bacon cheese burger.

Stay tuned for further info on Burger Days discounts at Fatboy's and other restaurants around town from May 16 onward. Also, be sure to check the Beijinger blog for regular updates on the Burger Cup competition (voting for which begins May 30), and how you can cast your ballot for 2016's beef patty champion (which will be crowned on June 13). 

Photos: Kyle Mullin, Fatboy's

The Beijinger's 2016 Burger Cup is brought to you in cooperation with the following sponsors: Oasis Hospital, McCain Fries, Santa Fe Movers, Etonkids, Sherpa's, Lonely Planet, Xian Cheng and Asian Tigers.