This is one of the least-popular dishes on the menu, as our server confided in us after our meal. Judging by how good the roll was, we couldn’t for the life of us figure out why. Guess everyone passes this over in favour of the more luxuriant lobster roll.

The buta roll consists of 150g grilled pork belly, pork collar and baked bacon, with house-made pickled daikon, grated yama-wasabi and house-made tare wedged between a lightly buttered and toasted bread roll. Our server shared that the Yama-wasabi was specially sourced, and only grows in high altitude regions. It had a lighter flavour than regular wasabi, without any of the nasal-cleansing explosions associated with wasabi, and provided a little sweetness to offset the savoury flavours of the pork. The meat was grilled to perfection, and the bread roll was fluffy and soft. I liked that the bread was only lightly buttered so as not to obscure the taste of the meat!

Unlike the burgers, the rolls come with a side of truffle fries topped with grated Parmesan cheese. I wouldn’t place a separate order for these truffle fries as I didn’t enjoy them much. They were a little on the soft side, but what was good about these was that the truffle smell wasn’t overpowering. If their fries were crispier, these would probably have tasted a lot better.

We loved how the buta roll came together. In fact, I actually liked this more than the burger as I found it extremely well balanced. Our server candidly shared that since this was one of the least ordered items on the menu, her boss actually wanted to remove it but the dish stayed on as it’s her boss’s wife’s favourite dish on the menu! She personally found it one of the best items on the menu as well, and admitted that the staff are always very happy when someone orders the buta roll. I think this roll deserves to stay on in the menu for sure. If you’re visiting BurgerLabo, why not give it a try and make the staff happy? :)