A Closer Look At the Rhong-Tiam Supreme Burger Truck

As reported last week, the Rhong-Tiam Supreme Burger Truck has been parking at 47th Street and Vanderbilt along with a whole bunch of other food trucks. I finally got the chance on Tuesday to stop by and check it out myself. Interestingly, the full menu painted on the side of the truck is covered up with a few printed copies of a smaller, limited menu. I’m not sure if they’re in a trial phase or if the full menu has already been scaled back, but there are still plenty of options available, including burritos, rice bowls, empanadas, and salads. Given that the truck is named after their “supreme” burgers, I figured that ordering a burger was the way to go.

Back in the day, I had fallen in love with the Bibimbap Burger at Social Eatz (RIP), so the idea of an Asian fusion burger really appealed to me. After some deliberation, I ordered the Korean BBQ burger ($9.75), which has kimchi aioli, pickled carrots, hijiki lettuce, and Thai tamago. I also got a small order of fries with a spicy honey mayo sauce ($3.50) and a chocolate milkshake ($6.00). There wasn’t much of wait at all to place my order, but it took just under ten minutes before the food was ready.

As you can see, there was a lot of stuff on this thing… more than I expected anyways. My hands definitely got messy holding the burger, but everything stayed together surprisingly well. The burger patty itself was a little smaller than I had hoped, but it was plenty filling all the same, so I can’t really complain. The beef – slightly charred on the outside, but cooked to an appealing, mildly pink medium on the inside – was pretty fantastic. It wasn’t spiced in a particularly noticeable way, but it was juicy and texturally pleasing.

Unfortunately, I was kind of disappointed with everything else on the burger. As a whole, the Asian elements were a little bland and didn’t blend with the beef quite as well as I wanted. They mostly just distracted from the good parts of the meal (i.e. the burger). I’m still curious to try the General Tso and the Yang burgers, but something tells me the most satisfying one of the bunch might just be the basic cheeseburger.

The fries were rather tasty! They were long and potato-y and had some great seasoning going on. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but the menu describes the fries as “5 spiced.” The spicy honey mayo was shockingly yellow, but pretty enjoyable – the honey flavor was mild, but the spiciness was not. This stuff packed a good kick, which I liked. Other dipping sauces available are “sriracha aioli” and “kimchi aioli.” Mmm.

The milkshake was fairly standard. It wasn’t very thick, but given the temperature outside, I couldn’t help but enjoy it. I definitely think $6.00 is a bit steep for what it was, though. It’s probably not too difficult to find a better, less expensive alternative without having to go very far. Potbelly’s, for instance, has great shakes for under $4.

Will I be returning to the Rhong-Tiam Supreme Burger Truck? Yeah, probably. I wasn’t crazy about everything, and I somehow managed to rack up a $19.25 bill during my one visit, but the burger itself was really good! Also, there are still a whole slew of non-burger items that I’ve yet to try. Curiosity always gets the best of me.

The + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

  • Excellent quality beef makes for a tasty burger
  • Great fries with tasty dipping sauces
  • Unique Asian fusion menu items

The – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

  • Not so cheap
  • Small burger size given the $9.75 price tag
  • Bland burger add-ons

Rhong Tiam Burger Truck, Track its location via Twitter

4 Comments

  • User has not uploaded an avatar

    Can I borrow $5?

  • Is that the total quantity of fries you received for $3.50? That might be one potato’s worth in that picture.

    • The picture’s a little deceptive. I was happy with the amount of fries I got. Also, each one was pretty big – more so than the picture lets on.

  • I tried the Korean BBQ burger today and hated it.

    It was overcooked.
    It was dry.
    The meat was a lean choice, so dry and tasteless. A burger has got to have fat! Otherwise, eat a salad and be done with it.

    I did not enjoy it at all. And for $10, should have been better.

Leave a Reply

You must log in or register to post a comment.