Saturday, July 23, 2005

Burger Kings

When it comes to a juicy beef burger, fast food just doesn't cut it.

The latest player in town, Carl's Jr has
its large double burgers topped with cheese, bacon, guacamole and more. But somehow it all still boils down to the beef.

And I like mine medium, thank you.

So a good burger place should be judged on whether they ask: "and how would you like your beef to be done?"

Unfortunately that is where Handlebar falters. It doesn't ask.

Handlebar, located at the rustic Gillman Village, is one gem of a joint.

Don't be intimidated by the Harleys sitting just at the entrance, step on in, for its not tattoo-only entry.

You can park your ass on picnic tables outside or you can opt to sit inside where there's plenty to look at. But outside's nice and breezy, and what can be better than dinner under the stars (provided no one's smoking and it's not too hot, of course says miss prissy)

It depends on which way you're facing though.

Face Alexandra Road and you're still in Singapore. A towering office block's just
opposite and cars whizz by.

But face the eatery and you might just forget you're in the tropics and imagine yourself somewhere in middle america.

However, when it comes to eateries, no matter how nice the place is, or isn't, it's really all about the food, isn't it?

Start your noshing with some popcorn (thankfully the salted kind - who ever eats the caramel corn?) and some buffalo wings.

But don't have more than a nibble, because the portions are sizeable.

The burger has a choice of toppings including cheese, bacon and chilli. Or you could just have it plain.

It's a fairly large beef sandwichand people have been known to do the oddest things like eat the burger with a fork and knife. (It's the same as eating a pizza with utensils - what's the point?)

I prefer my burgers this way - remove the tomato slice and lettuce and eat those first. Then, squirt some ketchup and some mustard on the patty and spread around with the top half of the bun, to make sure it's all nice and covered. The place said half of bun squarely on top of the patty. After which, squirt more mustard and ketchup on
the plate for the fries. Now pick up your juicy burger (with your hands, mind) and enjoy!

(Tastes best with a Coke or a beer)

I've no idea if Handlebar does anything remotely sweet... I usually have no place for dessert after the burger.

Other burger kings include:

Seah Street Deli
- where I enjoy their California burger, which seems to have been taken off the menu now, but is really just a burger with some avocado on top (I can't resist avocado, unless it's in a shake).
- and where they have a winner in their spinach salad and chocolate cake.

Blooie's
- where you sit by this weird pond in the middle of an empty ghost-town of a Science Park
- and where they have these great paprika fries. (and if you ask for mashed potatoes instead of fries, they give you both, but the mash is free) Burgers are not bad.
- and also where they do not have milkshakes on the menu and for good reason because they really didn't know how to make a good one.

Jerry's
- i'm presuming it's good. I've only had their steak which wasn't too bad. But I can say for sure that those are some damn good buffalo wings! And spicy too.

Carl's Jr
- offers decent burgers conveniently and slightly cheaper than at the above places.
- they do serve waffle fries and their drinks are refillable!
- they even have a breakfast burrito but i've only been there once so i've not sampled the rest of the menu.
- but so far, not bad. (except for having to do
the foodcourtstare when trying to get seats)

Let me know if you can add to the list.
I hear those at Dubliner's are good and so are those at Hard Rock but I havent been to HRC since secondary school and the closest I've been to Dubliner's is to take the bus from the bus stop outside.

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