biG cravings
cravings Burgers are the blue jeans of comfort food.
Bun
Annette Tan
Appétit I
t used to be that two allbeef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onion on a sesame bun were all a burger needed to impress. Today, however, it’s hard for the hamburger to stay humble, as gourmet burger restaurants proliferate across the world, each offering a high-grade patty, to-die-for bread and all manner of upscale ingredients in between. The blame often falls on French chef Daniel Boulud. Boulud started the trend in 2001 with the db Burger at his db Bistro in New York City. For a gourmet price tag of US$32 — almost certainly more than anyone else had charged for a burger till then — the db comprised a sirloin patty stuffed with braised short ribs and topped with a morsel of foie gras between parmesan-dusted buns. With that, America’s favourite fast food was transformed into high-end grub, and there was no turning back. Ten years ago, veteran New York restaurateur Danny Meyer redefined the fast-food experience with his burger chain Shake Shack at Madison Square Park. Decked out in sleek, stainless steel, the restaurant churns out burgers that are
32
Borneo.Insider’s.Guide
worth lining up for (which is what diners must often do – sometimes for up to an hour). With their soft buns, gooey American cheese and custom-blended patties made from beef supplied by meat masters Pat LaFrieda, Shake Shack burgers have become a benchmark for aspiring burgers meisters around the world. With outlets at Singapore’s Turf City and Wisma Atria, Omakase Burger is widely regarded as the city state’s answer to Shake Shack. Owned by former banker Cheng Hsin Yao, Omakase’s burgers are made from US Department of Agriculturegrade beef, which is first rolled into a ball and then smashed onto a hot grill. Delectably moist on the inside, with an appealing thick char, the patties are topped with a tasty slice of American cheese and set between soft squishy buns that absorb the meat’s delicious juices. Three Buns is the latest burger restaurant to hit Singapore, and chef Adam Penney — who is well known for creating some of London’s best burgers at Patty & Bun — dishes out a mean (though miniscule) Baby Huey burger that sent hipsters flocking to the restaurant when it opened in June this year. As Rebecca Bent wrote in her 2004 cookbook Burgers: “Burgers are the blue jeans of comfort food”. And as everyone knows, classics like denim never really fade.
