Burger Shack

After having a few bad experiences with expensive and seriously overrated burgers, I was a little apprehensive about hot spots of burger joints that have sprouted up across the island. Carl’s Junior has often has been the place I’ve gone to satisfy that occasional burger craving since I know there will be no surprises and their fantastic fries are one of my favourite.

Burger shack was surprisingly good. When it comes to burgers, classics are what I like. Here everything is made to order, so depending on the time of the day the waiting time can differ. I liked the way the burger squished together in my mouth - a soft bun, a juicy patty, homemade tomato relish and some obligatory vegetables for a balanced meal; or build your own burger with additional cheese, bacon and beef patties, purely optional. Nothing I will go nuts over but something that I will come back for.

Burger Shack
#01-01 King’s Arcade
559 Bukit Timah Road
Tel: 6466-3477

Hamburgers at Relish

Relish
#02-01 Cluny Court (next to Serene Centre)
501 Bukit Timah Road
Tel: 6763-1547

Here’s more about eating hamburgers. I recently headed down to the chic casual burger bar Relish to see if I’ve found the place for burger craving emergencies.

It didn’t quite do it for me. I had the signature wild rocket burger with sun-dried tomato relish and arugula. Hamburger versus hamburger, sure the patty was generously thick, the cooking was spot on with the medium-rare and it had great texture and mouth feel when chewed on but I didn’t get an ounce of the transcendent char-grilled beefy taste that I was looking for! Not to discount the sun-dried tomato relish or the Sarawak pepper sauce which was delicious but I still have beef about the patty and my semi-hot fries that seemed to have spent too long on the pass.

Maybe I don’t belong in a gourmet burger bar or maybe when it comes to hamburgers or maybe I am a hamburger purist or simpleton (I’m not sure which), but it is really simple, all I really really really want is a really tasty no fuss hamburger where I can taste that it is good beef (no Kobe or Wagyu required), it was cooked deliciously pink to order and served with fresh lettuce, tomatoes and squirts of ketchup and mustard. Fries optional but preferred.

Burgers and how I like them

I have a strange relationship with hamburgers. I never crave them as a comfort food but when I do spot one on a menu, I occasionally have a compulsion to order it even though it might not be what I really really want.

Whilst I never crave them, I still find the need to find a good burger joint for emergencies. The good news is that I’ve found one the horrible part of that news is that it isn’t on the same continent as my regular home address.

Just a short walk away from the Albert Cuyp market is where I think is the best place to roll up your sleeves and to bite into in Amsterdam: Burgermeester.

This smallish, narrow and unassuming shop makes fine burgers. The good people that operate this place are really friendly so that makes the burger eating a happy experience. And in case you were wondering, they serve side salads and milkshakes as well, but the focus is really on the burgers.

Once you’ve sized up the burger menu, narrow your choice down to your favourite three and then I recommend ordering the mini trio plate that way you get to eat all three of your choice burgers. And don’t forget to ask for the burger of the month. Every burger is made to order, so if you go during the busy hours a wait is expected.

I tried the plainest of them all, the beef burger. It was good. They use mainly organic ingredients, implication: good, fresh and happy ingredients = tasty burger. For their beef, they make their patties with Blonde d’Aquitaine beef. After the process of being chopped, shaped and grilled, what emerges is beef patty that is juicy and flavourful, fantastic for burgers. My first bite and to my delight had me reaching across the table for the napkins to save the beefy dribble from hitting my clean shirt. It was nothing grand in this crazy gourmet burger era where Kobe, Wagyu, foie gras and truffles are now its frequent bedfellows, but it was a thing of basic beauty.

Burgermeester
Albert Cuypstraat 48
Tel: +31-206-6709339

Burger binge at Carl's Junior

I’ve been dreaming of a good juicy burger for about 2 weeks so as a follow-up to my burger binge in NYC, I did venture out to Carl’s Junior. I gathered a few never-been-Carl-Juniored before people together for a collective virgin outing to this fast-food burger joint that is known for its comparatively huge burger portions. In this case, size does really matter. For its prices, the burgers seem relatively huge, but in reality I think the only thing that is upsized are the burger buns. The meat patties are relatively thin, moderately juicy but too small to stand its own against the two large bread walls it lies between. The only way around this is for you to order a double patty burger, which means it will cost more and it might be too much for one to stomach.

We sampled a range of burgers—chilli cheese burger, guacamole bacon burger, super star with cheese, portobello burger—along with the whole shebang of sides. This is my verdict: among the sides, I liked the onion rings best, the chilli fries were too salty and the deep fried zucchinis were nothing to shout about. And the burgers, well, let’s just say it didn’t give me enough return of investment to get me to go back. I’m off burgers again.

Burger Binge in NYC: The cheap, the hidden and the disappointing

Our visit to the land of McDonalds, Burger King, Carl’s Junior and White Castle would not have been complete without biting into a few juicy burgers. I will first confess that I’m not a big fan of burgers. I grew up associating burgers with Mc Donald’s and let’s admit it: we don’t really know what is in that stuff. This trip has made me slightly more open to the thought of burgers and maybe I even venture out to Carl’s Junior some time this year. What makes a good burger? "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun?" I don’t think McDonald’s was too far in identifying the basic elements of the burger—bread, patties, cheese, sauce and its condiment. As for me, the two most important elements are the beef patty and the bread and the others are up to interpretation. Our burger binge in NYC covered a fast food joint, a hole-in-the-wall burger diner and an expensive famed burger.

The Cheap: White Castle, Cheeseburger, Price: Less than $1 per burger



Why did Harold and Kumar go to White Castle? Sometimes nothing beats cheap and good. This historical burger joint, established in 1921, have been serving small-sized burgers with proportional price-tags. The bun was soft and the beef patty was surprisingly juicy with a pickle and ketchup and mustard added to taste. If I remember correctly, the smallest meal set starts with 4 burgers and if you are up to it, you can purchase a crave case of 30 burgers. The only thing to watch out for is that they are made fresh, when soggy, they can be disappointing. The other thing that we tasted that I would recommend having while you are at White Castle is their deep-fried clam strips.

The Hidden: The Burger Joint, Cheeseburger with the works, Price: Less than $5



Tucked away behind a grand velvet curtain in the posh Le Parken Meridien Hotel hides this most unexpected hole-in-the-wall burger joint. Named the Burger Joint, identified by its neon burger signage, this place is straightforward about what it serves, burgers, cheeseburgers, brownies, milk shakes, beers and fries. Know what you want before you get to the counter, with ketchup and mayonnaise or without pickles or either everything. Present your burger request to the cashier when you get there if not be prepared to take a hike to the back of the queue. This small burger joint packs a steady after work dine-in and take-away crowd and the burger states why. The best part of the burger joint is that everything is made to order. The hot steamy bun soft without a hint of staleness and the patties are substantial, meaty and juicy, nothing beats freshness. Enjoy with a house milkshake or plastic cup beers.

The Disappointing: DB Bistro Moderne, The Original db Burger, Price: $29



For a whopping $29, The Original db Burger consist of a Sirloin Burger filled with braised short ribs, foie gras and black truffles, served on a Parmesan bun & with pommes frites. Sounds like the mother of all luxury burgers, no? Well, it reads like a song but in reality it all bark and no bite. The tall burger’s thick braised short ribs patty was bordering on being dry and other than the rich tasting short ribs, you would be lucky if you could taste a hint of foie gras or black truffles. I only found the foie gras after about 4 bites and that was my last taste of it. Other than the burger, the rest of the food (we had the lobster bisque, frog's legs and stuffed pig’s trotters) was average and expensive, and the service was terrible. Save your money, this place is worth a miss.

The Burger Joint
118 W 57th St (between 6th and 7th)
New York, NY 10019
Tel: (1) 212-245-5000

DB Bistro Moderne
55 W 44th St (between 5th and 6th)
New York, NY 10036
Tel: (1) 212-391-2400

White Castle
525 8th Ave
New York, NY, 10018
Website: http://www.whitecastle.com/ for other locations