Donkey burgers are all the rage at a Sydney restaurant

World
Europe

A burger stuffed with donkey meat is an unlikely hit at a Sydney restaurant. Huoshao King is the only restaurant in Australia offering up this traditional Chinese dish, and people are driving long distances to get their hands on one.

The restaurant owner Xiao Yanyan says they are selling at least 30 donkey burgers a day to Chinese customers and some curious locals. “Some customer have even driven 40 minutes to buy it because they miss this food so much,” said Xiao.

Huoshao King restaurant /Google Map Photo

What is so special about the donkey burger? As a well-known Chinese old saying goes, "In Heaven there is dragon meat, on Earth there is donkey meat."

The original donkey burger is chopped donkey meat placed in the roasted semi-flaky bread. The meat is typically served cold with warm bread and often includes green pepper or cilantro leaves. The specialty is popular in north China’s Hebei Province.

Donkey burgers originated in the Ming Dynasty. According to legend, the military of Zhu Di had nothing to eat, so soldiers began to kill and eat their horses. The local people then also began to eat horse meat, however, since horses were a valuable resource, common people substituted donkey meat and considered it tastier.

So where does the donkey meat come from? According to Xiao, the restaurant sources the meat from the Northern Territory where thousands of feral donkeys are having a serious impact on the environment.

8950km