Burgers Worth Murder

Whereas the 𝗔𝘆𝗮𝗺 𝗕𝘂𝗮𝗵 𝗞𝗲𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗸 ($8), while enjoyable, didn't quite punch at the same weight class. Behind its multi-faceted show of spice and umami, the flavours didn't really shine through with the potency expected. But the substitution of chap chye for your usual leafy greens was an endearing touch, no doubt.

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Hambaobao are back! Trailblazing hawker burger pioneers who carved out a fusion burger niche for themselves, and drew in ferverous crowds lining up for their buns before their hiatus.

Candidly, I always found their burgers good but not worth the insane wait. However, this 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗽𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘆 ($8) at their new Jalan Besar space? Exceeded all my previous memories. Crazy crackle in the siew yoke that thunderously crumbled under toothy duress, almost like crackers collapsing effortlessly.

Imbued with the feisty kick of hoisin sauce and mustard, each subsequent bite intensified in addictiveness. Simply unadulterated and sultry texture porn — especially when paired with the fluffy, chunky bite of their 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱-𝗖𝘂𝘁 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 ($2.50)

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For those on the hunt for the best burger in Singapore, this will be one of the perennial favourites on many discerning burger aficionados' lists. I also number among their legion of diehard fans.

My first few experiences of their 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 ($25) elicited bursts of euphoria as my incisors sliced through those cloud-like brioche buns and immaculately mixed beef patty, flooding the palate with the most gratifying beefy bliss. On my last takeaway venture, I realised there was a change in recipe.

With the inclusion of feisty acidity from IPA-pickled onions, there was an intriguing flavour chemistry with the shio kombu mayo that was familiarly Big Mac. Do I like this luxe Big Mac as much as the traditional cheese burger rendition? Perhaps less, but it's definitely still a top top burger that managed to miraculously stay juicy and umarred from journeying home.

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The 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗯𝘂 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿 ($13) was a quirky concept well executed. How often do you say that about fusion burgers?
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Impressed by the slices of angus beef which were blessed with silky scores of fat embedded into their tender fibres, even if they were mildly chewy at parts. Great textural interplay of tender meat, crunchy onions, bouncy mushrooms — warmly hugged by pillowy brioche buns.
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Yakiniku sauce provided a sweet umami that was vibrant but not cloying. It was complemented flawlessly by mushroom earthiness, then punctuated with onion sharpness for balance.

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The humble cheeseburger is surely the best yardstick to judge a burger joint’s quality. Simple but well-assembled, their affordable cheeseburger ($9) was a delight.

The patty was juicy and well-grilled. Its flavour was deftly accentuated by other components, in particular the pickles possessed a striking meaty crunch and their tartness harmonised with the caramelised onions and the mustard’s tickling heat.

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Few burger bars leave my heart swelling with more than just cholesterol but @25degreesinsingapore is somewhere I always leave feeling full — both heart and stomach.
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Maybe not the best burger in SG, but my favourite at least. They just make it different here. Pillowy buns thiccer than any Kardashian's, combined with crunchy bacon, luscious caramelised onions and a hefty juice-loaded patty. Damn.
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And out of left field, an ensemble of sharp punchy gorgonzola and piquant thousand island gives the 𝗡𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗻𝗲 ($14) an exciting umami-laden profile.
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Of course, they aren't perfect. Having been more than 10 times — surely a personal record — they have inconsistencies. Hard for a feisty dynamite like this to be always flawless, but those times they assembled the perfect numero uno are still etched in memory.

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It's impossible to get seats at this @theworlds50best mainstay. So takeaways allowing me to try this 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿 ($20) was a silver lining in the bleak pandemic clouds.
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Set across black backing, the vivacious slaw bloomed like fireworks in the night sky. Likewise the burger illuminated the crevices of my palate with hearty flavours — a voluminous star radiating well-spiced flavours from its succulent pulled pork core.
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Cloud-like buns along with notes of spicy chipotle aioli, sharp cheddar and slaw piquancy rounded up its profile. Hardly complex but the earnest heartiness was a welcome beacon of warmth amongst dark skies ahead.
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❗𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗕 on indulgentism.com
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[𝙊𝙪𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙢 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙠] 𝘽𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙩 𝙀𝙣𝙙𝙨
📍 𝟮𝟬 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗟𝗶𝗺 𝗥𝗱, 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝟬𝟴𝟴𝟯𝟵𝟭
⏱️ (Daily) 11.30am-9pm

We should #supportlocal hidden gems in these times, so I'm strongly advocating for @25degreesinsingapore once again.
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When they are on top of their game, their 𝗡𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭 ($14) is still my numero uno — a thicc and juicy slab of patty embraced by pillowy buns, accented by beautifully caramelized onions. The gorgonzola and thousand island sauce added an one-of-a-kind spunk atop an irresistible umami overload. They are doing takeaway now too!
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[𝘽𝙪𝙜𝙞𝙨] 25 𝘿𝙚𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙨
📍 𝟮𝟬𝟬 𝗠𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗥𝗱, 𝗛𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗹 𝗚, 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟵𝟴𝟬
⏱️ (Daily) 7am-3am

Crowned "best burger", BurgerLabo has grown in both reputation and burger engineering ingenuity since my last visit. Most strinkingly, brioche buns are now sourced from bakery darlings Bakery Brera with palpable pillowy improvements.
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The flavourful 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿 ($18) patty delivered a sensual textural threesome — an absolutely pristine crust gave way to juicy succulence, then a slight crumbliness coated the palate full of rousing beef bits and fluids. The cheese and simple sauce built on it magnificently, but the bone marrow butter was honestly unnoticeable.
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A simple burger but built with cutting edge technology from the lab, which also translated to a steep pricetag, especially for its small make. Best paired with their intoxicating 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 (+$3) for a truly decadent experience.
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[𝙇𝙖𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙧 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙠] 𝘽𝙪𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙇𝙖𝙗𝙤
📍 𝟰𝟭 𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗱, 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝟭𝟬𝟵𝟰𝟱𝟰
⏱️ (Tues-Thurs) 5pm-11pm, (Fri-Sat) 5pm-2am; 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝑺𝒖𝒏-𝑴𝒐𝒏.

𝘖𝘬 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳, romanticise your cheap inflation-unadjusted food, but this $6 ($8 for double) 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿 will silence all the boomers faster than getting all their CPF money back — 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗹 no matter which time epoch you're in!
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No established kopitiam burger grill really scratched my itch for a good burger thus far, but this basically hit gourmet burger standard. Can it dethrone BurgerLabo? Understandably not, but for its quality and ridiculous price, this will make you instantly forget pretenders like Shakeshack.
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The obscenely juicy patty packed plenty of rich bovine flavours, and there was magic in its eloquently mixed texture — mildy crumbly but mostly tender with doses of fattiness, all enveloped in a beautiful char that infused some crisp.
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Dressed with simple sauce, caramelised onions (not too sharp or sweet) and cheese, then sandwiched between two fluffy and buttery buns, the simple setup provided a stage for the patty to star — and it 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘌𝘮𝘮𝘺.
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📍𝟯𝟭 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝘀, #𝟬𝟮-𝟵𝟯 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 & 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲, 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝟭𝟰𝟵𝟲𝟰𝟰
⏱️ (Wed-Sun) 11am-5pm; closed on Mondays and Tuesdays
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P.S. Heard queues times are outrageous, and in fact I waited a good 15 mins even when it was empty around 3.30pm on a Wednesday

This collab sandwich from Le Bon Funk was a delight, with a mound of crazily tender and savoury beef tongue, all cloaked in a herby Gibriche sauce (sort of like an egg-mayo salad sauce). The multitude of ingredients in the complex concoction and the beef tongue cumulated into an explosion of fascinating flavours and textures.

Every bite of the tender patty felt dense and full of juice. Then abundance of fresh crunchy vegies and fluffy sourdough buns gave it some earthiness and wholesomeness. The nice riverside location was just a bonus.