Zark's Burgers SM Megamall — Restaurant in Mandaluyong

Today, for lunch, I have attempted the jawbreaker challenge. The portion is indeed huge, especially for the fries.

If you want to attempt it, it will cost you around 450₱, and 550 if you do not succeed, however I cannot suggest you this restaurant.

Starting with the fries, they are obviously frozen, but average and eatable (except for one fact, but we'll get to that later on). The buns are of low quality, and taste wise, the worst part are the steaks. They taste like angel's burgers or minute burger's, but surprisingly much worse, my wife needed to drench her burger with ketchup just to be able to eat it.

The real challenge however lies in a quite unethical part, that makes it impossible for human beings unless you want to end up at the hospital or at the dentist : everything was way too hot for consumption.

When ordering the challenge, the manager will come with a document that you need to sign, then, after around 15mins they will come with your jawbreaker (which is not that surprising), and a large quantity of fries. When you are ready (to put your gloves on), they will start the clock, without at any point warning you about the heat. The fries just got out of the deep fryer and are at (at least) 80°C inside, and the steaks are literally steaming and impossible to even touch, even after the 5' challenge has ended. It is not possible to forget that, and they probably have done it on purpose. In my country (France), I work in a kitchen, and this completely baffles me, people can get seriously hurt over stuff like this, especially when there is a time limit that is added. I tried looking at the Filipino laws, in case my western self was just thinking too much, but no, it clearly is an infringement to the Consumer Act (RA 7394), as no warning has been given, and the only way to complete the challenge is to physically put yourself in danger (not the worst one, but still, food this hot is not safe for consumption) to finish it.

After the 5 minutes passed, we waited another 10-15 minutes for my wife's food, that did not arrive hot, jokingly enough.

I do not know if the challenge resides in the size, the speed, the temperature, or the taste, as the burger made me want to puke (the steak does not even taste remotely close to beef), but it was the worst challenge I've ever seen, so for that, congrats.

Another negative point, the food tastes so bad that even 10h after consuming it, my burps still smell horrible and my wife...

I had heard many good things about Zarks and wanted to try - been meaning to do so for quite a while.

Having visited many burger locations around the world I have to place this in my top 5 and possible no.2 after Fudrockers in Dubai.

The menu is very interesting - although you need to ask the staff for more details regarding the burgers and their content.

The quality of the meat is very god with little onion content so does not leave an after taste.

The normal size burger is bigger than MacDonalds and smaller than the Whopper but the content of the burger is very well put together and the sauces varies depending on the burger you have.

They have specials in fries and nachos that are again very tasty and well worth the extra. Remember with the burgers you get fries anyway so the Nachos is the better choice (get the fully loaded)

The drinks are very basic - the ice tea is quite sweet and the blue lemonade is also tasty.

Sorry but the only thing that let's them down is the fixtures and fittings - they are very tired and all needs to be updated. We also had an issue with a fly that we could not get rid of.

They are always busy so some reinvestment would strengthen their...

Zark's Burger deserves a glowing 5-star review, especially for their exceptional customer service! I recently encountered a problem with a delivery order placed through a third-party app – part of my meal was missing. When I called Zark's, I had the pleasure of speaking with Alice, who was an absolute star.

Alice handled my concern with such professionalism, empathy, and efficiency. She listened attentively to the issue, took ownership of the problem without hesitation, and promptly arranged for the missing item to be delivered to me. Her friendly demeanor and dedication to ensuring my satisfaction were truly remarkable. It's not often you encounter such a high level of care and commitment over the phone.

Of course, I also have to rave about the Mozza burger! It's consistently delicious – the perfect combination of a juicy patty and that incredible mozzarella. It's a definite winner.

Thank you, Zark's Burger, and a special thank you to Alice, for turning a frustrating situation into a positive experience. Your outstanding customer service, coupled with your fantastic food, will definitely keep me...