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JAPAN Don’t be fooled by the Irish name of Bunbury burger bar, Paddy’s Patties, parts of the menu have distinct Japanese flavour combinations. By
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DIANNE BORTOLETTO |
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t’s been just over 18 months since esteemed Japanese chef Norio Idei bought the burger business to become Paddy’s Patties fourth owner. “I was going to turn it into an udon noodle restaurant, but we had loyal customers and good support from other local businesses so instead we decided to add some new Japanese-inspired burgers to the menu,” Norio said. Norio explained that his business neighbour, Happy Wife, the first owner of Paddy’s Patties, has been a tremendous support. “He has helped me a lot, introduced me to local suppliers of things like eggs and avocados,” said Norio. Most of the fresh produce
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comes from the Bunbury Farmers Market where Norio worked for a year before he started flipping his own burgers. He has also worked alongside the Japanese maestro at Miki’s Open Kitchen in Margaret River for five years and before that at Wills Domain. When asked if he misses creating more refined dishes like those you find in his previous places of employment, Norio’s answer was a hard no. “I like cooking this sort of food and adding my own flavours,” the Japanese born chef said. “We’ve attracted some new customers with our new flavours; for example, our rice burgers, are becoming more
| FOUND | spring • summer 2019/20
YES PLEASE The burgers at Paddy's Patties set the bar pretty high in terms of taste.
popular, which is where we use rice patties instead of the usual bread bun to hold the burger.” Norio uses a fat ratio of between 12 and 15 percent in his patties and his mince, all Harvey Beef, is a mix of cuts including Angus rump, chuck
and brisket sourced from his local butcher. “I have a great relationship with my butcher, he’s very good,” Norio said. “Having good relationships is important. “We are still quite new visitbunburygeographe.com.au
