Katchup Description

The latest of many Beijing restaurants offering an American take on the dish (called a “burger”) is Gulou’s Katchup. With a fluorescent green surfboard hanging aloft on the back wall and a cabinet full of over-sweetened US sodas, the decor draws more from stateside diners than Pyongyang dining halls. The monochrome tiling and abundant natural light give the restaurant a bright, clean feel that is befitting of the early spring day on which we dine. Perhaps intended as a not-so-subtle swipe at the imperialists’ perversion of this North Korean classic, the Manhattan Monster (RMB 68) is a satisfyingly calorific tower of vice, featuring fried egg, chilli beef, bacon, cheddar cheese and fried onion. But while such obesity-inducing creations are normally wider than the average mouth span, the monster flattens down nicely to fit into our faces with minimal mess.