Handburger

My super long overdue post from the night before my Kelong trip (can't believe it my sister actually wants to go to a kelong after her exams!!). Was trying to rush this post yesterday night, but then I was too tired to finish it :/ Plus, it's distracting me from writing my dreaded personal statement that my entire working life will hinge on... Handburger is set up by the same people who started the Soup Spoon, but that's probably where the similarities end. There was a half page article on the Handburger quite some time ago in the Sunday lifestyle section, and I've finally gotten down to trying it. Waffle Vegetable Crisps ($3.80)
Thin cut waffle crisps of a mixed of freshly cut potato, sweet potato and taro

Personally, I really disliked the dish. Other than the sweetish sauce (which was really delicious, and goes very well with fries), which was the saving grace of this dish, the vegetable crisps tasted horribly burnt. Though I must admit that they were very addictively crunchy (makes me think of Ruffles with Ridges).
What impressed me was that when we decided that it was inedible since it was so burnt, and informed the waiter, who returned it to the kitchen. He then informed us that the chef would be cooking us another batch. When the second batch came back, served personally to us by a very apologetic chef (see the picture, it still looks as burnt) and tasted burnt, we decided to 'leave it' after a few nibbles, and not to complain. After all, it was $3.80 split amongst the 3 of us, and they had already made the effort to cook another batch. It was a pleasant suprise when the bill came, and we found that the restaurant had waived the charges for the waffle vegetable crisps. Talk about a pleasant suprise indeed:)

My Chicken Caesar burger ($12 something)
Baked chicken breast wrapped with bacon, fresh mozzarella, sauteed basil pesto, mushroom, handmade caesar dressing on a bed of romaine lettuce, tomato on toasted sundried tomato with olive bun

I found the chicken breast a bit too dry and hard for my liking, but it was definitely not lacking in any flavour, especially since it was wrapped with a rasher of crisped, streaky bacon. I particularly enjoyed the juicy sauteed mushrooms, which were infused in a creamy and buttery sauce, as well as the fresh mozzarella cheese and aromatic pesto. The olive bun had the subtle salty taste of black olives, but the olive taste was not overpowering.

Pulled Pork Burger with Rustic Cornmeal bun (Around $12)
The pork shreds were moist and tender, and infused with a rich marinade. The pickled cabbage added a nice sourish tang to the pork, which would otherwise have tasted too heavy and meaty on it's own.

The Handburger Original ($13 something)

Their Original burger came with a beef patty, and is served on a caramelized onion bun.

The burgers at Handburger come with different burger buns. In fact, they even sell their burger buns (1 for $1.40, 3 for $3.80).

I'm not a big french fries fan, but the fries here are really good. Perhaps it's because I like my fries partially soggy. But these fries are the real thing - starchy strips of potatoes, with the skin on too. Sure beats the skinny, artificially golden or overly crisped fries from Macdonalds.

For people who don't mind a little rabbit food to balance out the unhealthy calorie laden burgers, opt for the chilled tomato stuffed with coleslaw. Delicious tangy and crunchy coleslaw stuffed into a poached, skinned tomato (which is rather big too - same size as my fist) drizzled with a beta-carotene rich carrot puree. This chilled tomato gives a nice zing and a refreshing tang to the oily, heavy main course.

For me, it's a hard fight choosing between the fries and the tomato - but no worries since the chilled stuffed tomato costs $3 for an alacarte order, I won't have to stress my poor little braincells thinking of which to order ;)Nutella milkshake ($6)

The highlight of this milkshake was the perfectly roasted marshmellows -they look rather unassuming at first, but once you take a bite, the crisped outer layer gives way to a gooey, strandy mess and, for me, the feeling that you get a barbecues when you roast your own marshmellows over the dying fire. The milkshake could do with way more nutella, but it's rather sweet already, so I suppose that more nutella would make it nearly impossible to drink without seriously stressing your pancreas.Lychee Mint Crush ($3.50)
Which had so many bits of lychee that it was quite a chore sucking the lychee bits through the straw. There's lots of fresh mint leaves in this extremely refreshing drink.

Service here was impressive - I was expecting cafe/bistro standard, but then I was pleasantly suprised by our waiter, who patiently took orders from 3 extremely fickle diners. I'll definitely be back, maybe to try their Prawncake burger as well as the stuffed portabello burger. And of course, I'll make sure I have space for dessert - I'm eyeing the Lemony Curd already!

The Handburger

252 North Bridge Road

#B1-77/78

Raffles City Shopping Centre

Tel: +65 6334 4577