Burger Quest 2015

Burger 2: Huber Butchery, 7/10

The Experience

just twelve hours after the Bergs letdown, i went down with josh to Dempsey to visit Huber’s Butchery. time was tighter than Topman’s Spray-on Skinny Denim, so we skipped daintily over the queue like frolicking fawns by having the burgers to go on the bonnet of my dad’s 17 year old antiquemobile.

where last night’s burger was like a nervous kid going to prom with twelve corsages, pointy shoes, and a tweed waistcoat that clashed with his rented tux, Huber’s humble offering was James Dean in a white tee with Levis.

from top to bottom:

the sesame bun was gently toasted and buttered, the onions cut thinly and sweetly caramelised (though i still prefer xtreme caramelization that turns them brown), and the Gruyere cheese enveloped the patty in a warm, melty embrace. i really like it when the cheese is done right 😊 the bacon was crispy, but imo there should only be one meat starring in the burger*, which brings us to

the simple salt-pepper-Chuck patty!! which was just like the rest of the burger – solid, but not quite spectacular. Chuck is mostly cut from the cow’s shoulder, aaaand you can taste that. it reminded me of the Roadhouse patty, but tougher, and it’s only fair to add here that my favorite patty to date is a tender short-rib blend.

in all, this was a very simple burger in concept and execution. no frills, no secret sauces or unique meat blends – it is your quiet project work groupmate who doesn’t say much but gets the job done and is reliable all the way through. a decent series of bites for 16.50, and i can understand why it would appeal to purists.

7/10 for what it’s trying to do (the fries are scraggly thin and passable)

*not forgetting the pancetta exception, and my love for portobello add-ons 💕

the first burger that i tried was from Bergs, and it came recommended by

– thehoneycombers

– lifestyleasia

– mariefranceasia

– the comments section of ladyironchef :o

this is how it went down:

The Experience

After seeing all the food-blogger pictures of suspiciously unmelted cheese, I really should have known better. The BFB is the stand-out burger on the Bergs menu, promising 400g of prime patty along with a truckload of condiments, and they certainly delivered on that count. When the burger touched down it had a heft to it, and peering in, the mixture of condiments seemed to have been seized off shelves in a dollar-shop closing-down sale.

There was the usual lettuomato, but also pineapple, AND beetroot, and an egg, and onions (not caramelised????), which was confusing. What was clear though was how tough and flat the patties were – two discs of seemingly unflavored meat that were charred dry at the edges. Their mistake was pressing the patty too flat, so you could say that they

“spread themselves thin”

heh. The aoli sauce was nice, the bun bland, and at the end of it all i was 20$ poorer and terribly disappointed at the first pit-stop on my SG burger quest. I honestly cannot imagine anyone eating this once, then thinking “i’d like to have it again!!”. The ingredients were o k individually, a haphazard mess together, and I can’t help but think that the poor cow died in vain.

(after getting back home and letting the burger settle, i have this to add:

– i could have gone with a smaller burger. that might have worked out better. but why have the most expensive burger on your menu be such an unpleasant eating experience?

– the staff serving us were friendly and attentive, so props to them for that.

– the ingredients weren’t stale or poorly cooked or anything of the sort. it’s just that.. you can’t save a bad cake with icing, and the patties were really really poorly done and way too flat.

on to Burger 2: Huber's Butchery!)