Bloody Beautiful Burgers

@newubinseafood newest venture, @garanggrillexpress, sees a departure from New Ubin’s signature Mod-Singapore cuisine to burgers and grilled meats. So far, from what I’ve sampled, the grilled meats such as the steak & lamb leave much to be desired, but the burgers are downright delectable.⠀
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If you’re looking for something a little extra, the Guacamole & Lime Smoked Burger ($17.50+GST) won’t do you wrong. It contains all the elements of the smoked burger, but with guac & a dash of lime added in. The guac is creamy & quite spicy, which does go well with the smoked beef patty, but the lime does obfuscate the meatiness of the burger. Also, I wish there was more of that surprisingly spicy & enjoyable guacamole on the burger. I could appreciate this Guac & Lime Smoked Burger for what it was, but burger purists might wanna skip this one.⠀
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Thanks for the invite, @thatfoodadv & @garanggrillexpress!

@newubinseafood newest venture, @garanggrillexpress, sees a departure from New Ubin’s signature Mod-Singapore cuisine to burgers and grilled meats. So far, from what I’ve sampled, the grilled meats such as the steak & lamb leave much to be desired, but the burgers are downright delectable.⠀
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Even their basic Smoked Cheeseburger ($14 before additional GST) is rather remarkable. Garang Grill’s burgers reject the modern trend of the thin smashburger in favour of having an colossal chonker of a patty that’s done to your liking. And I was enthralled by the perfect medium rare on the patty, which gave it an incredible tenderness. It’s salted well, but the extra smokiness layered on the patty gave this burger extra depth of flavour. Slap on some American cheese for creaminess & extra saltiness, extra sour pickles for a little zing, and pile that all onto a soft square breadroll, and you have a tasty burger.⠀
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Thanks for the invite, @thatfoodadv & @garanggrillexpress!

I have no clue as to how I missed @shakeshacksg Black Truffle Burger last year, but I sure wasn’t gonna miss it this year. I was prepared for truffle, and I made it double for $17.50. A standard Shackburger has its components of lettuce, tomato and proprietary Shacksauce substituted off for black truffle mayonnaise, crispy shallots & arugula.⠀
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Is it just me, or have Shake Shack’s traditionally thin smashed beef patties gotten tastefully thicker since my last visit? Each patty in my double burger was phat, and my burger was stacked. Thickness aside, the beef lived up to the standards expected of the Shack. A gorgeously caramelised crust overlaid with melted Swiss cheese forms the exterior of the patties, while the innards were delectably juicy despite being grilled to well done.⠀
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There were many complaints about the dire lack of black truffle mayo last year, but I’m pleased to announce that the mayo is more than sufficient this year. The mayonnaise is utterly imbued with the flavour & scent of black truffles, and it blesses the breathtaking burger with its earthy, heady aroma. The crispy deep fried shallots were a great addition for the crunch, but their greasiness was the straw that broke the camel’s back, making the burger too rich to handle.⠀
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Or it would’ve been without the inspired inclusion of arugula into the mix. The natural bitterness & pepperiness of the arugula sweeps all that creamy, fatty richness from the beef, cheese, greasy buttered bun, fried shallots & truffle off your tastebuds and readies them for round two.⠀
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Yes, The Shack’s Black Truffle Burger is indulgence redefined and will give nutritionists an aneurysm, but it’s Christmas, and it’s Wideboi Winter. Go treat yourself to this brilliant black truffle burger multiple times before it vanishes at the stroke of midnight on 31 December.

As unbelievable as it sounds, I have never sampled @commonmancoffee food for myself. Yes, it’s an iconic Singaporean café, and I have never dined at one. Until recently, that is, and it wasn’t even for brunch.⠀
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Instead, I opted to have their Smash Burger ($28++) for lunch. Contrary to the name, the single patty was actually respectably thick as opposed to the traditionally thin patty of a smash burger. The patty was well done, and boasted a gorgeously charred crust all around, while still maintaining juiciness within. The ground beef had been mixed in with bone marrow, which explains how moisture had been retained inside the burger despite the doneness. The pure fat of the bone marrow deepens the beefiness and enhances the juiciness of the already superbly seasoned beef patty. ⠀
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Together in concert with the melted cheddar cheese, the beef & cheese make for one hell of a tasty burger. The sweet onion jam injects a caramel note of sweetness into the fiesta of rich, meaty, salty flavours for a little extra complexity. The beetroot barbecue sauce that had been spread on the toasted buttered brioche buns was exciting, with an earthy zest that could only come from beetroot mixed in with the molasses flavours of barbecue sauce. Unfortunately, there was a dire lack of the beetroot barbecue sauce, and I only got to taste fleeting flashes of it in the smash burger.⠀
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The herbed fries on the side were just as outstanding as the burger, and even threatened to steal the show on occasions. Each fry was like eating a tube of supremely savoury mashed potatoes that had been coated in a thin, crisp batter and deep fried. The herbs & heat of paprika simply added to the absurdly addictive allure of the french fries, and the spuds were gone in short order.⠀
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Sure, thirty bucks for a burger is excessive, but Common Man’s Smash Burger is an all star guaranteed to smash mouths.

@alteregosg Mega Burger ($34++) comes with a mega price tag, but the burger has the size to match the asking price. Just look at the size of the thing! Two mammoth beef patties are topped with cheese, bacon and lettuce before getting. sandwiched between two dense brioche buns.⠀
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I love burgers, and this big boi burger had me satisfied. The beef was adequately seasoned considering just how gigantic the patties were, and the patties retained their moisture well despite being grilled to medium well. The cheese was beautifully melted and added a rich creaminess that bound the salty bacon & beef together to the soft, dense brioche buns.⠀
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While this was a tasty burger, I do think it has a little room for improvement. The beef patties could be seared on a much higher heat, as there wasn’t much browning on the beef. Additionally, the buns weren’t toasted quite enough. Still, Alter Ego’s Mega Burger is guaranteed to provide mega burger bliss.⠀
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Thanks for hosting us, @alteregosg & @burpple!

@shakeshacksg new New York Steakhouse Burger sounded extra promising, so I made my pilgrimage to the best fast food burger chain in Singapore to wrap my jaws around this promising burger. The NY Steakhouse Burger (double patty, $15.90) is a regular smashburger that’s been beefed up by the addition of grilled portobello mushrooms and crispy deep fried onion strings, and sauced up by horseradish peppercorn mayonnaise.⠀
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The combo of beef, crispy onion strings & mushrooms takes me back to the good ol’ days of American steakhouses like Sizzler & Ponderosa, where the steaks would be smothered in a heaping helping of fried onions & mushrooms. Here at Shake Shack, a burger is the one getting smothered instead, and it is utterly glorious. ⠀
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The delicious smashed beef patties are glued together by melted white cheddar, and the slices of portobello mushrooms give the beef an even more satisfying chew and a deeper, earthier umami flavour. The fried onions were absolutely inspired, as their crunchy qualities stood out in a burger with nothing but soft textures and kept your palate from experiencing textural fatigue. The onions were a delectable combo of sweet & salty, further exalting the already intense flavours.⠀
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Unfortunately, the horseradish peppercorn mayo was a flop. While I did detect a smidge of horseradish in the sauce, along with a notable pepperiness, it lacked the pungent taste and intense heat expected of horseradish. As such, the burger’s greasiness did get out of hand at times, and I had to rely on swigs of the Shackmeister Ale to cleanse my palate. I really wish that the Shack was more bold with the horseradish, its spiciness & strong flavour would have been perfect for this burger.⠀
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Still, apart from the dissatisfying mayo, I’d still stake good money on this steakhouse burger.

@hambaobao has been on on my radar for five whole years, but the cosmos always intervened somehow. Initially, it was the far flung location, then they closed down, and then when they reopened in Jalan Besar, there were newer and more exciting dining establishments around. Enough procrastination, I finally decided to get myself a Hambaobao.⠀
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Their superstar is the Crispy Pork Belly, which now goes at $9.50 nett a pop, and it made perfect sense why at first bite. Five exceedingly chunky slabs of roasted pork belly are drizzled with hoisin sauce, spicy English mustard and tucked between two halves of a burger bun and garnished with slices of Japanese cucumber. There’s so much pork belly, and it’s pretty damn delightful. The rind is severely crunchy, and every bite will result in a slightly deafening crunch as the roasted skin simply shatters. The meat is salted quite simply, but that’s the raison d’être for the hoisin sauce.⠀
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The sauce is the ideal amplifier for the fatty pork belly with it’s deep, fragrant umami and tangy sweetness. The fragrance of the spices in the hoisin sauce are the perfect perfume for the simply seasoned pork too. The delectable heat of the English mustard restrains the fattiness & saltiness of the pork & hoisin, and the cucumbers provide even more crunch and a refreshing cleansing of your palate.⠀
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The stunningly soft burger buns offered no resistance as I bit into it but I did, for the first time ever, find that the burger buns were too small to contain the meat between. I expended most of my energy futilely trying to hold the burger together, and it got real messy real quick. Cutting a pocket into the bun like it’s a pita would definitely help, but there’s no denying that this Crispy Pork Belly Hambaobao is a damn near perfect burger.

@mcdsg has dropped their new Singaporean burger just in time for National Day, and this year it’s a Laksa Delight Prawn Burger ($11 for the full set). McDonald’s set a pretty high benchmark with last year’s Hainanese Chicken Burger, and the Laksa Delight is a worthy successor.⠀
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The prawn patty is the same one used in the Hokkaido Shrimp Burger a while back, and the texture is acceptably firm. A fried egg is the prawn patty’s plus one to bulk up the burger, and in typical McDonald’s style, it’s fried until all the yolk goes solid which isn’t the best. However, what is the best is the laksa sauce spread on the top bun. ⠀
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The laksa sauce is remarkably authentic, loaded full of spices and flavours everyone expects from laksa: spicy, umami from the dried shrimp & shrimp paste that goes into the spice mix, the pungency of turmeric, the fragrance of galangal, and the richness of the coconut milk. McDonald’s laksa sauce is one of the richer renditions out there, easily able to put many actual laksas out there to shame. The only disappointment with this burger is that there isn’t nearly enough luscious laksa sauce to satisfy me.⠀
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It’s quite impressive for a global burger chain to capture the essence of a beloved local dish like laksa and apply it splendidly to a burger. While their mascot may be a clown, @mcdsg does know a thing or two about good food.

@harryssingapore is a Singaporean institution, and they’ve come a long way from being a jazz bar with affordable drinks to offering beautiful burgers like their limited edition Martell Bullet Pepper Wagyu Burger ($27++, I believe). What sets this bacon cheeseburger apart from its peers is its special bullet pepper sauce that’s been jazzed up with the addition of @martellofficial cognac, concocted by the new head chef of Harry’s.⠀
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The dummy T H I C C wagyu beef patty is incredibly juicy, but I personally felt that the beef within was ground up too finely. The texture felt more akin to a paste that had been compressed into a patty, like a fishcake. I reckon it would benefit the burger if the beef was ground coarser, giving you the familiar chunky bite & mouthfeel of an excellent ground beef patty.⠀
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Texture aside, this burger was brilliant. The bullet pepper sauce was piquantly peppery, injecting a great deal of fire into the burger. Unfortunately, due to the strong, spicy pepper flavours, the Martell that went into this thick sauce was completely overshadowed. Oddly enough, this sauce wasn’t notably salty, and most of the savouriness actually came from the two beautifully browned bacon rashers.⠀
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This bullet pepper burger is definitely a sumptuous gourmet burger, and biting the bullet has never been so painless & pleasurable. Many thanks for hosting me, @harryssingapore & @burpple!

I’ve had @fiveguyssingapore before, and felt they came up short of the Shack in the satisfaction department. However, after applying @nusfatclub revolutionary hack of adding a beef frankfurter onto my bacon cheeseburger for an additional two bucks, I’m seriously reconsidering that statement.⠀
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The last time I had the bacon cheeseburger ($17), I found it to be a tasty burger, but it didn’t leave me with any desperate cravings for a second helping. This time, however, with the all beef hotdog, oh boy oh boy it was sensational. The strong smokiness of the hotdog fused flawlessly with the smoky bacon rashers, and the smokiness carried over well to the decently juicy & greasy patties. The added smoke & salt turned out to be the missing pieces of the puzzle. The burger itself was seasoned adequately but not amazingly, so it was always lacking that ‘dude this is awesome’ factor.⠀
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This time, however, thanks to the additional saltiness, smokiness & greasiness of that brilliant beef frank, the burger finally attained peak burger brilliance. The meatiness of the burger was absolutely off the chain, and each bite was supremely satisfying. It’s salty, greasy, meaty, sinful and absolutely sumptuous. It’s a soul satisfying burger done absolutely right. Add that meaty magnificence to my chosen toppings of lettuce, grilled mushrooms & onions, and sauces of BBQ sauce, mayo & relish, and I had an absolute world beater of a burger.⠀
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While I do wish I asked for more relish, this particular burger creation is near perfection. Oh yeah, I’m more than happy to let my wallet get banged by Five Guys any day.

Ever since that Korean burger chain abruptly upped and left the building, there hasn’t been a dedicated Korean burger joint in Singapore. Fret not good folks, for @bbbunsfordays is here to fill that void. Sure they’ve got the universal cheeseburger & chicken burger, but what you’re really here for are those burgers spiced up with Korean flair.⠀
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Their BB-Bul-Go-Gi burger is the logical conclusion of marrying a cheeseburger to Korean culinary heritage. When it comes to Korea and beef, bulgogi was the inevitable outcome. This big bad bulgogi burger is loaded down with a double portion of meat, because of course I ordered an extra helping of bulgogi beef. Go big or go home, people.⠀
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The American beef flank shavings were marinated in bulgogi, which imbued the beef with all of its sweet & salty sapidity. The ballad of beef gets to tango with thinly sliced white onions on the grill until it all gets captivatingly charred during the hot & heavy mating. Then, the awaiting brioche buns that Bbburgers are so proud of (rightfully so) are slathered with some mayo, dressed modestly with a leaf of lettuce, and used to barely contain the avalanche of divine bovine.⠀
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Unfortunately, you can have too much of a good thing. The brilliant bulgogi beef got overbearingly sweet & salty in equal proportion, and the caramelised onions offered no respite from the onslaught of flavour. I found myself wishing for something sharp and/or spicy to stem the tide, like some kimchi in the burger instead of lettuce or even pickled radish. This burger is delicious, for sure, but it will run amok if it’s left unchecked.⠀
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Aside from that minor improvement that could and should be made, this BB-Bul-Go-Gi burger is a certified 🅱️adass 🅱️ig 🅱️oi 🅱️urger.

Burgers hold up passably well to the rigours of delivery, and nothing quite beats the comfort of burying your face in between two fabulously fat & lusciously lubricated buns in the comfort of your own home. My previous encounter with @burgersbywolf a few years back wasn’t the most pleasant, but they got this chance to make amends via @grabfoodsg.⠀
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Comically enough, the Apex ($26.75 before discount for fries, drink and the whole shebang) from the cloud kitchen actually fared better than the burger I had in person at the Suntec City outlet. Yep, these obscenely obese wagyu beef patties were actually sufficiently seasoned this time around! Oh yeah, the Wolf Burger remontada is on.⠀
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To be honest with y’all, I dismissed Wolf Burger’s description of the Apex burger consisting of ‘a thick juicy wagyu patty’ as pure baloney, but as you can quite clearly see I was wrong. No falsehoods here, so no party is gonna ask you to take it to the grave. Actually, come to think of it, there really wasn’t any need for me to slap on another patty for and extra five bucks-wait, what nonsensical blasphemy am I blurting out? No, of COURSE I HAD to make it a double AND add turkey bacon, duh!⠀
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The terrifically T H I C C wagyu beef patties were cross examined for nine seconds, not nine hours, and they were demonstrably juicy and brilliantly beefy. However, as you can see, the consistency when it comes to cooking the patties is suspect at best. One patty came marvellously medium as requested, but the other wasn’t just well done, it was ‘congratulations’. Both were undoubtedly juicy, yes, but consistency is key.⠀
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The aged cheddar was totally eclipsed by the behemoth beef patty, but it did add an umami creaminess to the burger. I thought the burger could’ve used more of those sweet caramelised onions and a couple of crunchy lettuce leaves, but this 🅱️ig 🅱️oi 🅱️urger is still categorically brilliant.