Lim Zhee YenQuestion: If the owner of a popular ice cream shop decides to open another store, what would it be?
Answer: Why, a burger joint, of course.
Wait, what?
Yes, situated at the first level of King’s Arcade, 2-month-old Burger Shack is ice cream café Island Creamery’s newly acquired savoury sibling.
UrbanWire visited on a weekday around 4 pm, and was shortly followed by a large group of students. As the store is located near a number of institutions such as National Junior College and Nanyang Girls’ High, diners looking for a quiet experience should probably visit on weekends to avoid after-school hours.
Still, Burger Shack was clearly designed as a hangout for school-goers. Handwritten scribbles and little doodles decorate the restaurant, and together with the clean, white interior, present a fun, casual atmosphere. There’s even a photo printer where you can print your “cam-whoring” photos and leave happy memories on their wall.
Half-expecting to be greeted with a menu of buns sandwiching ice cream slabs, UrbanWire was pleasantly surprised to see an assembly of 8 burgers ranging from good ol’ ones with New Zealand beef patties to fusion kinds drizzled with Japanese okonomiyaki sauce [sweet and tangy dressing on Japanese pancakes].
Despite the variety, the BBQ Pulled Pork burger ($6.20) easily sailed its way to the top of the don’t-miss list, with mum’s-famous-recipe sauce lavishly lathered on a generous mound of flavourful pork strips. The pulled pork was moist but not nauseatingly greasy as some “moist” (but really just fatty) pork is.
Coupled with soft homemade buns and crisp lettuce, this delightful masterpiece of a burger scores an effortless ‘A’ with UrbanWire’s taste buds.
The Original burger ($5.70), however, didn’t quite make the cut.
One thing about Burger Shack’s buns is that they’re slightly bigger than the ones you’re used to at McDonald’s or Burger King. It would only be natural to expect an increase in the proportions of the meat patty, right? Except that there wasn’t any.
The beef patty was, in terms of size alone, the identical twin of McDonald’s beef patties, not to mention that it was rather dry. Savoury and slightly tangy, liberal amounts of sauce and mayonnaise was its only saving grace.
Thank goodness, a bite into the Grilled Chicken Caesar burger ($6.20) erased most of the previous disappointment.
Creamy Caesar dressing with enough sourness to accentuate the sweetness of succulent flame-grilled chicken, fresh greens, and fluffy buns will compel you to finish every last bite.
To the health-conscious who’d still like to have a presumably fat-loaded burger, the menu offers Vic’s Portobello Mushroom burger ($6.20). However, unless you’re a true health nut, you may be unable to get used to the relatively bland taste.
For desserts to complete your meal, there’re warm brownies ($2.40 each; $4.80 with ice cream) or you can take a 5-minute walk to Island Creamery instead as there are very limited flavours served in Burger Shack.
All burgers on the menu are ala-carte, but there’s an offer of adding $3.20 ($2.50 for students) for a set meal consisting of shoestring fries and a canned drink. There’re also add-ons such as cheese and bacon available at an additional $1.50 each.
For rice-lovers, Burger Shack offers to trade burger buns for garlic butter rice. It comes with a cute little square of butter atop the rice, and the garlic fragrance whets your appetite – only to disappoint it on your first spoon. Simply put, it’s white rice with the aroma of garlic, and the butter contributes only to the aesthetics.
Food is served in the sort of metal trays you’d find in mini toaster ovens. At Burger Shack, it’s self-service so you’d have to make your way to the counter when they announce your order number.
With a relaxed ambience and reasonable prices, Burger Shack will be a definite hit with students as Island Creamery is. Be sure to give their BBQ Pulled Pork burger a try when you drop by!
Address: 559 Bukit Timah Road, #01-01King’s Arcade
Contact: +65 6466 3477
Opening Hours: Tues to Sun, 12pm – 10pm (last order 9pm)