#FastFoodFriday: Burger King Applewood Rodeo: A S$2 Burger In A S$5 meal

If you’ve heard about Burger King Flamin’ Hot deal, then you’re probably wondering if the new burger’s good or not.

In fact, you might be waiting with anticipation because it’s #FastFoodFriday and you might as well wait for Goody Feed’s review!

(well don’t do that because I only have so many stomachs, but feel free to send your energy via emails to us)

Well, I got good news for you! Because we’re doing Applewood Rodeo Burger! But too bad, no potato buns here.

How It Looks

This is what it looks like, untouched out of the package:

Which, comparing to the advertisement leaves a lot more to be desired.

It’s not exactly overflowing with mayo and bbq sauce, and the patty somehow seems smaller?

But more importantly, why is this called a rodeo burger?

I can’t really find an answer to that, except just because Burger King felt like naming it that way. So here’s a gif of Miley Cyrus rodeoing a hotdog which hopefully explains something.

A Closer Look

So let’s dig up the burger a little. Let’s see whether advertisements were lying. Flipping over the top bun, we see 2 onion rings with enough Applewood BBQ sauce and some mayo for sticking to the burger.

It’s a bare minimum amount of sauce, instead of the overflowing one you see in the ad; barely any below the onion rings. We got everything we were promised, though the presentation may not be as nice.

The most impressive thing about the burger thus far is the adhesive strength of the BBQ sauce.

And then, a cross-section of the burger, which actually looks pretty decent safe for slightly undesirable meat: other things ratio.

And I bite.

I have to say, I’m a bit disappointed

I wanted to like the burger, but I sort of can’t.

The ratio of meat to everything else is poor, with more onion and bread than beef. At its heart, this is a S$2 burger that got a makeover to turn into a S$5 meal set.

It’s like if a celebrity look-a-like was hired to replace the actual actor in a movie, but the movie ticket was sold as if the look-a-like was the actor. Productions are good, but the characters in the movie seems a bit…off?

Hardly any beef was tasted in a full bite, masked by the onion rings and bread. This was a filling burger, but it is hardly one filled with beefy, applewood smokey bbq goodness.

The sauce is a little different from standard BBQ, with a kind of sticky, sweet factor to it, but the taste is more cloying than delicious.

A good version might have planted some evil desire to burn random apple trees into my subconscious, but this isn’t one of them.

Considering the set as a whole, this is still a S$5 meal in a fast-food restaurant. As for sides, there’s also a drink and a cheesy fries, which was swapped for onion rings at no charge.

It’s all in all, priced like fast food. I’d pay S$2 or S$2.50 for the burger, but maybe not buy the whole meal.

Rating: 2.5/5

Not that interested in the new burger anymore? That’s okay because there’s something else you can try.

Potato Buns

What? Potato? In buns?

You heard that right. It’s not just a potato. It’s not just a bun. It’s the best of both worlds in a potato bun. It’s soft to the touch but also denser and more fulfilling.

But if you’re wondering if the buns make all the difference, then listen to why Shake Shack used potato bun: “it cradled the meat perfectly — it absorbed the juices, but it didn’t become soggy.”

In fact, this inspired others to adopt using potato buns (specifically from Martin’s), which is called the Shake Shack effect. Ronnie Killen, a restaurateur, pitmaster and chef, said, “There’s just something about their bun with a burger — the meat, the salt, the savoriness — it’s just magic.”

Did you hear that? Magic.

Burger King straight up swapped 2 plain ass buns for 2 slices of magic, which is what you only hear from strangers in vans trying to sell drugs to kids.

Oh, but it’s real. 2 slices of magic served up with Burger King’s flame-grilled goodness in the form of a burger with potato buns.

And it ain’t at the price of drugs either. It’s S$5.40 ala carte, with the Value Meals served with Iced Milo (small) and French Fries (medium) at S$6.90.