MOST people associate the rise of the hamburger with 1950s American diner culture, but it appears the Chinese were making hamburgers way before that — perhaps more than a thousand years earlier.
The rou jia mo originated in Xi'an in central China and comprised flat bread and pork cooked slowly for eight hours in 20 herbs and spices.
Xi'an-born Tina Hao has introduced the burger to Sydney, opening Mo Burger shops in Campsie and Hurstville Central shopping centre.
It is believed the burger was started by the Fan family as a packed lunch for a soldier going off to war.
His wife boiled the meat in such a way to make it tasty and to keep for a long time.
It went on to become popular street food in Xi'an and later in other parts of China.
It is said that when an empress from Beijing travelled to Xi'an she liked the burger so much that her patronage made the Fan family famous.
Ms Hao came to Australia in 2007 and missed the taste of home.
"I tasted other rou jia mo but they weren't the same as in my home town," she said.
Luckily, she knew someone who worked for the Fan family and was able to get the recipe.
After taking on a business partner with food industry experience, Ms Hao quit her job in logistics to devote her time to promoting a bit of Xi'an culture.
Mo Burger at Hurstville Central offers pork and Peking duck burgers, but there will soon be more choices on the menu such as beef, chicken, smoked fish, marinated egg, tofu and vegetables.
Donovan Moodie, the director of Cerno Property Services, which manages Hurstville Central, said Mo Burger was a welcome addition to the wide selection of food options on offer at the centre.
"By plucking this dish from the streets of China and bringing it to Hurstville Central, Mo Burger is offering shoppers a truly unique opportunity to experience Chinese street food," Mr Moodie said.
Mo Burger is near the Forest Road entry of Hurstville Central, around the corner from Coles.
