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Piccolo Me launches gluten-free cheeseburger wrapped in rice paper

Callan Boys
Callan Boys

"Like a Quarter Pounder in deep-space hibernation." The rice paper cheeseburger from Piccolo Me, Sydney.
"Like a Quarter Pounder in deep-space hibernation." The rice paper cheeseburger from Piccolo Me, Sydney.Callan Boys

The ramen burger is pretty weird. I think we can all agree on that. But, it still kind of looks like a burger. As does the rice burger, croissant burger, tomato burger, Scotch-egg burger, doughnut burger, bao burger, waffle burger, charcoal burger and even those carb-free creations using lettuce as a bun.

But this rice-paper-wrapped burger? This is something else.

It looks like a Quarter Pounder in deep-space hibernation.

Brought to you from the team at Sydney-based cafe chain Piccolo Me, it's a standard kit of burger fillings (beef, cheese, pickles, onion, mustard, tomato sauce) wrapped in a transparent sheet of rice paper. It's part of a secret menu that also includes deep-fried Nutella​ ice-cream.

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"I started a diet this week where I'm not eating bread," says Piccolo Me co-owner Roy Hachem. "I still wanted a burger, but didn't want to eat it with a knife and fork on a plate. I wrapped it in rice paper instead and it worked really well."

The rice paper cheeseburger is available from Piccolo Me's store on the corner of Hunter and Castlereagh Streets in the Sydney CBD and will set you back $12 with fries. I took myself over there to give it a whirl and can report it tastes exactly how you would expect.

The fillings all work together, as tomato, mustard and pickles are want to do, and the beef patty, while not packed with flavour, is well-seasoned and juicy enough to warrant a thumbs-up. The rice paper lends a slightly balloon-y texture to proceedings, particularly in the parts where it's folded over on itself.

I'm not sure if melted cheese and rice paper bring out the best in each other, like cheese and bread do, however I could totally see this working as a gluten-free burger alternative for some. It's a self-contained unit (unlike, say, the san-choi-paleo lettuce bun burger thing) which means mustard won't drip onto your shoes if you're eating and walking at the same time.

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Piccolo Me is also rocking a bacon and egg rice-paper roll if you're going for a twin set, but don't like burgers. Heck knows what will be wrapped in rice paper next, but a doner kebab at some point seems all but inevitable.

1 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, 02 9221 0547, Mon-Fri 7am-4pm, piccolome.com

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Callan BoysCallan Boys is editor of SMH Good Food Guide, restaurant critic for Good Weekend and Good Food writer.

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