April 2011
I admit, I’m a piggy fella. Give me anything pork and you’ll win my affection. I wish that were the case with Ninja Joe though. I wanted so much to like it, to adore it, and to perpetuate all its glory because it is the only fast food joint that serves pork burgers. In fact, all they have are pork burgers; even the sides are made with pork.
I’ve eaten at both The Gardens Mid Valley and the Tropicana City Mall outlets. And each time, I came out with the same verdict. It is good, but not brilliant. But you can’t fault it really because it delivers what it essentially is – a fast food/burger joint serving reasonably good burgers with fun selections at reasonably good price.
The ninjas are a fun one to have. With a diameter of about 9cm, they are thin, slightly larger than mini burgers. And you can choose from six different sauces. The Teriyaki and Black Pepper are a little sweet but not cloying. The Spicy one has an interesting taste that is very sambal-like.
The Big Boss is a good burger if you want something more filling. On the plus side, the patty is made from real minced meat and the lettuce comes in whole leaves and not shreds. The taste can get a little plain so it’s good to add on a slice of bacon to give it that extra smoky flavour and chewiness – goes really well with the chili sauce. There’s the option of adding on cheese as well.
The fries however are disappointing. They have obviously been left sitting out in the cold for a while, and the thick crinkle cut doesn’t help at all. To be frank, the fries taste a little like mushy cardboard. But the Tanto’s good. It’s basically fried tofu with pork filling, though the tofu tastes like fried pakora to me. The pork filling is soft, fluffy and loose and I detect a hint of spice. It’s a good snack to have if you are craving meat but don’t want something that’s too filling.
Despite the downers, Ninja Joe has proved to be quite a popular joint with a sizeable following on their Facebook page and Twitter account (@porkburger). We could do with more places like this but then again, I might be biased. Lim Chee Wah
Outlets at The Gardens Mid Valley and Tropicana City Mall.