Opened in late 2023, Pingu’s Burger has quickly established itself as one of the prime burger spots in town, priding itself on 100% beef patties and carefully selected ingredients sourced from local Vietnamese farmers.
While the premises itself are quite humble, Pingu’s truly lives up to its claim:
“Like eating at a friend’s house”
As one of our team members gave Pingu’s an on-site visit with his family, he ran within five minutes into two other well-known Bitcoiners, zero upfront coordination required.
The orange people have spoken: Pingu’s is one of their favorite burger spots in town.
Is it any surprise, given that Pingu’s was co-created by a true-blood Bitcoiner?
One of the expected results:
Seed oils? Banned from the premises.
All cooking is done with natural beef tallow—the way fries are meant to be prepared if you care for your customers.
And don’t skip the ice cream—made with honey, as it ought to be.
We had a chance to catch up with Gabor Magyar, Co-Founder of Pingu’s Burger, to talk about his journey to Saigon, Bitcoin, and beef burgers.
BV News: What brought you to Saigon in the first place and when did you make the decision to plant roots in Vietnam for good?
Gabor Magyar: About 5 years ago, I came to South East Asia with a one-way ticket. Vietnam was the third stop, and I enjoyed the vibes of Thao Dien, which is like a mixture of all the benefits of a friendly little village and a bustling 24/7 city with all its conveniences. I just slowly got stuck here, without many plans, going with the flow and following my instincts.
BV News: When did you discover Bitcoin and what made it “click” for you? How did your perspective on life change following the discovery of Bitcoin?
Gabor Magyar: My dear friend Ivan introduced Bitcoin to me around the time I arrived here. I already felt the problem of inflation and the leaking fiat store of value, and had been instinctively buying more scarce assets. But they were all inconvenient, just giving me extra headaches. Through Bitcoin educational speeches, podcasts, books, and videos, I quickly understood the root problem of our current world and converted everything into Bitcoin. Since then, I sleep well. 🙂
Bitcoiners also taught me how to live more meaningfully and healthily. I unlearned all the mainstream brainwashing and ended up on a beef-based diet. As a side effect, my body changed a lot. I lost all my fat without any effort, and since then, I feel (and look) healthier and more energetic than ever (at age 46).
BV News: End of last year you and your wife decided to open a burger spot in Thao Dien and Pingu’s Burger was born. What gave you the inspiration to go ahead with the venture and did you always possess an entrepreneurial inclination?
Gabor Magyar: My wife was already selling burgers online, and I fell in love with her recipes (too). We decided to move the kitchen to Thao Dien to reach a more relevant foreign audience. I am the co-founder of a creative design and advertising agency in Budapest, which I’ve been running for 13 years now. Through that experience, I learned how to build small systems that work, and we applied the same principles to Pingu’s Burger.
BV News: The ultimate foodie questions: What makes a good burger? And what is the general philosophy behind Pingu’s Burger?
Gabor Magyar: I think there is no secret here, and it is not complicated at all: just use the right ingredients freshly handpicked every morning from the local market, follow the traditional recipes, and skip all the harmful modern BS (like flavor enhancers, preservatives, seed oils, etc.).
Almost sounds like Bitcoin, right? We don’t skimp on the ingredients, we don’t do anything flashy; all we do is honest work with love.
The general philosophy, I would say, is to make fast food as healthy as possible while keeping the shop atmosphere friendly and the service fast and professional.
BV News: What were some of the best moments so far in your journey and what are your plans for the future in regard to Pingu’s and your entrepreneurial activities in general?
Gabor Magyar: The best moments are all the positive feedback we receive, seeing Bitcoiners and other people I look up to visiting our shop, and simply the satisfying, meaningful work that comes from giving people quality food that makes them happy and full. 🙂
For the future, it’s simple—similar to HODL. We’ll have one shop only, maintaining consistent quality that aligns with our core values.
BV News: What are the core values of the Bitcoin community and Bitcoiners which you think are the most valuable? And what changes driven by Bitcoiners you hope to see brought about in the real world in the years to come?
Gabor Magyar: Bitcoin might be the only global movement based on 100% truth. Hence, it spreads the truth and opens eyes one by one.
By understanding the aligned incentives that will move it forward no matter what happens in the fiat world, I truly believe this is humanity’s hope for a fair and better world.
A global commerce based solely on values—not connections—provides equal chances for everyone to learn and do what they truly love, access to true information that helps make the right decisions, and a future-proof tool to store the value of our work.
Currently, humanity is increasingly off track, and Bitcoin will slowly push us back to the path of real growth—a growth that serves people, not the “elite.”
I hope other venues will follow, and soon we might see more and more “seed oil-free restaurant” stickers at entrance doors, next to the “Bitcoin accepted here” sticker, of course. 🙂
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Hungry now?
You can visit Pingu’s Burger on site at their location in Thao Dien (…and maybe chat up your friendly neighbourhood Bitcoiner!) or check out their menu and order online for delivery.
Chúc ngon miệng!
