Burger's King - Mr Burger King - Malay St Chicken Shawarma - Fast Food Colombo Sri Lanka

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Naming conventions are an odd thing in Sri Lanka. Many shops have rip off names, taking a well known name and modifying it just a little bit. Whether it's a little guy running a pastry shop called Move'n'Pick (Dharmapala Mw), a medium guy running a clothes store called Opel (Ethul Kotte Rd) or a big guy running a security firm called Ceylinco CISCO (everywhere, it seems), this is an accepted part of Sri Lankan business life.

Accordingly, the son of the fabled Nana's (the name of which was ripped off over and over again - there must be ten thousand Nana's in Sri Lanka) has set up Mr Burger King. Leaving alone the debate as to whether a royal personage could be referred to "Mister," we can instead focus on the food. And the location.


Mr Burger King is imaginatively located in Colombo 2 on the pavement next to the intersection of Malay St and Union Place: the one where you can go straight to go to Taj/Holiday Inn or turn right to Trans Asia.

MRBK is a cart with a grill next to it. They have placed a canopy right next to it with four plastic chairs so as to accomodate a more settled dining experience, with the aroma of diesel fumes and sounds of bus engines adding just an ambient touch of class. (It probably also makes the meat taste smokier so it's all good!)

Mr Burger King sells burgers (chicken! yuck!), fries and shawarma (chicken! yum!). The burgers - Keells chicken burgers - are ok. The fries that come with the burger, though, are worth ordering the burger for: well done with baby-bear-from-Goldilocks levels of crispiness and salt.

But the main event here, despite the name, is the shawarma. The bread for the shawarma - made at the owner's home - is fresh and warm. The chicken is pretty well marinated and smoked (the diesel fumes can't but help add flavour) and the sauce is excellent.

The chicken shawarma costs LKR 120 and the chicken burger costs LKR 100. As a cliche spewing TV newscast presenter would say: "MRBK may have ripped off the name but they sure don't rip you off!"

Restaurant Name: Mr Burger King
Address: Pavement on intersection of Malay St and Union Place
Phone: Are you f***ing kidding me? "Hello, MRBK, I'd like to reserve a pavement for two."
Tips:
You can park your car on Malay St just past the intersection.
The guys will come to the car and bring food to it: service levels are better than Pilawoos.
Go early (say 7-8pm) as it only stays open till the food sells out

(click here to see more reviews of burgers in Sri Lanka)
(click here to see more reviews of fast food places in Sri Lanka)