Fish, fried chicken, beef—all piled in for a jaw-dropping jumbo burger!

Text & Photos byGui Xiaosun

Hehe~ I truly feel that teenagers have such big appetites~ XD Actually, I sometimes wonder if I was as "shockingly hungry" as my longtime junior friend back in middle and high school!! Especially how these days, young girls can be even more "meat-loving" than boys~ Last time during the weekend, I brought her to this American-style brunch spot on Zhongzheng First Street, and she absolutely loved it!![Taichung Zhongzheng First Street Zhongyou Department Store Brunch Burger] ALL-IN BAO Ku: A vibrant and youthful casino-style vibe!! Delicious hot burgers and super hearty brunch with unbeatable value—highly recommended!! One weekend evening, we came back for another satisfying feast!! We ordered two "jaw-dropping" super-filled burgers and a cheese spicy sausage burger, leaving us full and happy once again~ XD

There are many burger joints and American diners in Taichung, each with its own unique flair~ One of the main reasons we love coming to this 'All-in BAO Ku' is its great value for money!! Kids can definitely get their fill here~ XD Plus, the location is great!! When bringing kids to shop around Zhongzheng First Street, if they get tired and want to rest or feel hungry, we’ll head to this 'All-in BAO Ku'!! Its actual location is a bit hidden—you have to walk down a small alley next to Zhongyou to find it. It’s a cozy, quiet, and fun place in the midst of the hustle and bustle~

I’ve always thought that 'All-in BAO Ku' is quite bold for using such a striking red as the main color for its interior design!! From afar, you’re drawn to this bright red building, and the American-style decorative touches give the whole space a fun, eclectic, and very American vibe.

Because it’s located in an alley, 'All-in BAO Ku' isn’t a very large restaurant!! But that also makes it feel warm, cute, and welcoming~ Every time we come here, the young staff seem full of energy, even the kitchen crew radiates enthusiasm!! It puts you at ease while enjoying the food!! The first floor has a semi-open kitchen and a reception area, and you take the stairs up to the second floor where the dining area is located~ That staircase always makes me feel like I’m stepping into a fantastical foreign world, with my imagination running wild.

You could say you've entered a comic-book-like space—gambling tables surrounded by good friends, hamburger bites next to walls of poker cards~ If you're planning a graduation party for middle or high schoolers, you could even book out the second floor to play games and reminisce about those three years!! At 'All-in BAO Ku', it’s joyful, colorful, and the kind of place that makes you want to forget your worries and just have fun~

Of course, today we’re here for the burgers!! Haha!! On their menu, there's the 【#All-IN Power Burger】 (it looks pretty hardcore and intense XD), and we ordered the ‘Tiger Atomic Explosion Waterfall Fury Beef Burger’. Honestly, at first glance, I had no idea what was in it, but after hearing the staff explain, I was curious to try it~ Another one called the ‘Heisenberg’, well!! The name sure doesn’t give away what’s inside—it’s actually fried chicken + beef + fish fillet haha!! There’s also a ‘Cheese Spicy Sausage Burger’ and ‘Cheese Spicy Sausage Fries’—everyone should definitely try their spicy meat sauce, it goes with everything so well~ XD

My longtime junior friend loves the creamy corn soup here—it’s loaded with ingredients, and just one bowl feels like it could fill you up by a third!! There’s plenty of potatoes, ham, corn, and onions, really hearty and satisfying!! ^___________^ //

The first thing to arrive was my junior friend’s ‘Heisenberg’!! The reason she could eat without restraint is because she’s now stuck in middle school with tutoring and tons of homework, so she can’t come to Taichung often anymore~ Plus, meals at home aren’t great, and she often says the best food she gets is from school lunches!! So whenever she visits Taichung, we usually take her here to “refill her energy” XD Although we didn’t know what these “amazingly named” burgers meant at first, when we heard the staff say this one had beef, fried chicken, and fish, it instantly caught her attention~ I mean, why do kids love fried chicken and fries so much?! (Though we adults love them too, maybe loving junk food is just innate XD)

Let’s take a look at this ‘Heisenberg’—it’s seriously huge!! The top bun is freshly grilled and spread with peanut butter, and inside there’s fresh onion, sunny-side-up egg, fried chicken, bacon, hand-ground beef, fish fillet, tomato, and cucumber... It’s so big that it’s almost impossible for a kid to hold with both hands!! It feels like it might collapse at any moment!! Truly a “jaw-dropping burger”!!

So we don’t break our jaws!! Hahaha~ Actually, even us adults struggle with it!! If anyone can open their mouth wide enough to take a bite of this burger in one go, I’d be truly impressed XD So usually, we just wear gloves and eat it layer by layer!! Or we use knives and forks to share it, just like how foreigners enjoy communal meals~ Every layer of the ‘Heisenberg’ is made with fresh ingredients—the just-fried bacon, the freshly fried chicken thigh and fish fillet let the cheese melt naturally... The veggies like onion, tomato, and cucumber balance out the fried chicken and prevent it from feeling greasy!! Adding peanut butter to an American burger is such a classic touch!!

And of course, the beef patty is a full two centimeters thick!! The highlight recently is that 'All-in BAO Ku' adds flying fish roe to their beef patties~~ This is the first time I’ve ever bitten into beef and felt that popping candy sensation, with a bubbly, bouncy, juicy texture in my mouth!! So delicious!! And I think it’s because of the flying fish roe that the beef doesn’t get tiresome at all—in fact, it becomes even more enjoyable and tender.

For the other two “jaw-dropping burgers,” we only ordered one cheese spicy sausage burger!! And wow, the combination of cheese and spicy meat sauce is amazing!! Especially that ‘spicy meat sauce’—you could totally turn it into a spicy meat sauce pasta dish!! The cheese has a mild aroma, not too salty or overpowering, and it pairs perfectly with the spicy sauce. One bite gives you a crispy bun, tender and juicy sausage, and an addictive sauce!! That’s why we also ended up ordering the ‘Cheese Spicy Sausage Fries’ afterward, hahaha!! Even my longtime junior friend is getting trained to eat a bit of spice by me now XD

Hehehe!! This ‘Tiger Atomic Explosion Waterfall Fury Beef Burger’ is also a classic—we won’t forget it anytime soon!! We really love how the young team at All-in BAO Ku keeps experimenting with different burger ideas, showing us all the possibilities of the “American burger.” How can I describe this one? The highlight is the middle section, which is structured like a “cylindrical column”! Describing it structurally shows just how unique it is XD

This “cylindrical structure” is like tree rings—the innermost layer is fresh king oyster mushrooms, cooked with buttery seasonings, giving them a sweet, milky aroma~ The middle layer is a ring of beef, almost like bitter melon stuffed with meat, encasing the king oyster mushrooms!! The key here is that this beef layer is about one centimeter thick and is studded with lovely flying fish roe!! The outermost layer is seared bacon, wrapping around the precious fillings like a protective coat, presenting a juicy and substantial bite.

It’s also impossible to take a bite of the entire ‘Tiger Atomic Explosion Waterfall Fury Beef Burger’!! You’ll definitely dislocate your jaw if you try!! And the soft egg added at the bottom is just as shocking—it’s cooked to be as thick as a burger patty!! How many eggs did it take to make something that thick?! XD

We used knives and forks to dig in without caring about the mess!! Cutting into that cylindrical structure wrapped with king oyster mushrooms, flying fish roe beef, and bacon, you see the creamy juices burst out... One bite and you get the sweetness of the king oyster mushrooms, the milky aroma, the bubbly texture of the flying fish roe beef, the slight crispness of the seared bacon, it’s just amazing!! The best part about sharing a meal with family is being able to try lots of different things and enjoy a variety of delicious foods all at once!! So satisfying!!

Finally, because we loved the cheese spicy sauce so much, we ordered another portion of fries!! We chatted about the junior friend’s school life, and my friend always asks me if it’s because I’m immature or just fate—how does she always have so much to talk to me about, from childhood to now?? Maybe ever since I was little, I’ve always wished I had an elder I could talk to endlessly, whether it was dad or mom...

Eating together, not worrying about saying something that might upset the other, enjoying the food we love, and continuing to savor the irreplaceable happiness that belongs to us alone.

All-in BAO Ku
Address: No. 12, Lane 131, Section 3, Sanmin Road, North District, Taichung City
Phone: 04-2225-1117
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［Enjoy life, never be bored. – Gui Xiaosun］、FB

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