Hogtapus

I phoned up Zibibbo to make sure I could get a  table at lunchtime to try their Burger Wellington entry, The Hogtapus. “Sure, no problem” I was reassured, so I booked it in and walked down to Taranaki Street and got myself settled in.

What’s in The Hogtapus? Sounds like it should have some hog, or pork, in it. It also sounds like it should have some octopus as well. That sounds weird. It is weird. But it’s also true.

Here’s how it’s described on the Burger Wellington website:

Grilled night-roasted Wairarapa pork belly with octopus, pickled carrot and red onion and kawhai mayonnaise in a seaweed steamed bun, with triple cook fries and roasted pork juice gravy. The Garage Project beer match is Hāpi Daze.

It looks like this:

Now, you might think that octopus is chewy. You might have had pickled octopus, which has a fairly robust texture. This was neither of these…it had been slow-cooked so was tender, juicy and melt-in-your-mouth. And delicious. The pork was present in pulled pork and patty form. The accompaniments – pickled carrot, onion and mayo weren’t overpowering or too wet, and helped bring the burger together. The steamed bun was flecked with seaweed in the dough, and was moist and super-tasty. The triple-cooked chips were crispy, tasty, and delicious. The hoppiness of the Hāpi Daze cut through the richness of the pork. Did I mention the deliciousness? Can you tell where I’m going with this?

Yes, that’s right. This is another 10 burger. Which is interesting, because the other 10 that I’ve awarded so far was also a pork burger. As was the one I awarded in 2014. In fact, discussing this with the maître d’, we decided that beef was running a poor second to pork this year.