Young Ratawit “Best” Ratanayongpairoj is about to celebrate the one year anniversary of his wildly popular Chiang Mai burger restaurant and rock bar – the aptly named Rock Me Burger. In just one year, Rock Me has already caught the eye of Thailand’s leading food review website, Wongnai, receiving “Best of Wongnai” awards in 2014 and 2015.
Best (also aptly named!) says that his secret is in keeping everything accessible to his clients, with comprehensive and creative but uncomplicated menus, bites infused with both quality and flavour and using only the highest grade products.
“I was fortunate enough to have gone to the United States for an exchange programme for one year after my own high school graduation,” explains Best of his dual passions, cooking and music. “I lived with an American family and was the only Thai kid in school. It was daunting at first, but because I had spent my childhood studying, playing and performing classical Thai as well as modern acoustic music, I had something to offer. Americans appreciate talent, whether it is sports or in music. Soon I had created a band and we were touring, sometimes performing for up to 5,000 people! The moment I found out that it was my picture on the front page of that year’s high school year book, I felt an incredible sense of achievement. It was the best year of my life. And after returning to Thailand and studying English literature followed by the Ex-MBA Executive degrees at Chiang Mai University, I decided to open this restaurant in homage to and out of love for that great experience that shaped who I am today.”
Best says that in America, he also had the opportunity to join a few cooking courses, including international ones that taught him the basics of great world cuisines. “Since childhood, my father was the man in our kitchen and I soon discovered that my love of cooking equaled that of music,” he continues. “They are both expressions of creativity and passion and both are an art form.”
The motto Best instills in his 13 staff members is “Every Bite’s Our Pride.” He says, “It is very important to jam pack each bite with flavours. Our whole wheat buns are homemade, the meat is not frozen and cannot last more than two days, so our customers can enjoy premium Thai beef of high quality. While some people don’t like vegetables with their burgers, we want to be health conscious, so our vegetables are always very fresh.”
Best is so obsessed with variety and flavour that he has even created a whole range of unique homemade buns on which to serve his award-winning burgers. “I worried at first that with only one bun flavour, it may be too limiting,” he says, explaining that now customers can get their burgers on a beetroot bun, a pumpkin bun…even a chocolate red velvet bun!
“My sister Saminee ‘Bright’ Ratanayongpairoj is very talented in designing the menu and we have some really fun burgers that have now become real signatures of our restaurant, such as the Rock in Hell, a burger of Thai tastes which comes with duck’s eggs as well as krapao sauce,” says Best. “We also have the Rock on Heaven burger, a delicious burger of beef, cheeses, freshly scrambled eggs and bacon. Traditional burger flavours are also on offer, and portions are large.”
To celebrate Rock Me Burger’s one year of success, visit them on the 25th of February from 5pm onwards to get a great beef or pork burger for only 100 baht a pop!
Rock Me Burger Rib&Roll
Ingredients
Chunky pork rib 1 kilo
Barbeque sauce 250 g
Tarragon 1tbs
Rosemary 1tbs
Chopped onion 1
Oregano 1tbs
Salt
Fresh pepper
Light extra virgin olive oil
Bay leaves
Method
1. Marinate pork rib with all ingredient for at least 48 hours.
2. Preheat the oven 400° F and slow bake the pork for 120 minute.
3. Before serving, put the pork back in the oven again with 500° F heat to get a
beautiful brown colour.
4. Serve with mashed potatoes and sweet and sour coleslaw. Enjoy!