Have been wanting to give Empyrosis a go ever since I had heard about their existence — took me a while to get to them; they have since moved from Tampines to the air-conditioned food court at Blk 279 Sengkang East Avenue; a location that is indeed more convenient for me to head down. While the stall looks like your typical Western food stall in an air-conditioned food court serving up chops and grills, pasta and burgers, Empyrosis actually focuses on charcoal-grilled Western fare, and is also a “no pork, no lard” establishment that caters to the Muslim crowd.

Between the two items we had, the Signature Charcoal Grilled Chicken Burger was undoubtedly our favourite; it costs $8, but is one that has been thoughtfully put together and a fairly good burger that is being served up in a food court setting. Coming with a sunny side-up, tomatoes, lettuce and a charcoal-grilled boneless chicken thigh sandwiched between two buns, the buns were lightly grilled but were sufficiently light and fluffy. As one takes a bite further into the burger, the charcoal grilled boneless chicken thigh gives a savoury and meaty bite; chunky and reasonably tender, whilst hinting of a slight smokiness from the charcoal grilling process. Personally would prefer a stronger, smokier note to that, though it could be likely that they probably had concerns of it being too heavy for some; also possible that they couldn’t overdo the charcoal grilling to a point where it smogs up the whole air-conditioned food court given the environment it is in. The slice of tomato provide a refreshing burst and juicy bite, while the lettuce provides a wholesomeness to the burger to balance things out a little; the sunny side-up gives the extra “oomph” with its molten egg yolk that eagerly bursts as one takes a bite into the burger; all that while the fluffy whites and a crisp bottom provides for an nice textural touch — extra brownie points awarded for that. The fries here are also pretty well-executed; crisp and well-seasoned — enough to put some renditions served in cafes to shame.

While I wasn’t quite impressed with the Lemak Chili Padi Pasta with Mussels, it is probably correct that Empyrosis does emphasise on their charcoal-grilled items, which they do pretty well with. Other interesting menu items include the Unagi Burger with Kabayaki Mayo — the last time I ever heard of a Unagi Burger being served in a coffeeshop setting was from The Social Outcast; coincidentally also started from a coffeeshop in Tampines and moved on to do dish out even greater food at The Grandstand in its most recent move out of The Bedok Marketplace. Will definitely check that out when I do eventually make my return; a spot that residents around would appreciate having as a dining option in the neighbourhood!