The Handburger

The Handburger, the newly opened burger chain has differentiated itself among the other competitors through it's uniqueness. As a modern casual restaurant appeared these days, the place is nicely decorated with wooden furniture, dominated by light brown and white, to make the diners feel cozy. Flipping the browned papers in a clipboard, I found myself reading through the vast amount of creative burger creations. They've got unsual stuffs such as duck confit burger, tandoor chicken burger, vegetarian kakiage burger, to name a few.

My favourite part of the burgers lies in the bun. While the recommended bun flavour for the patties was written in the menu, we can also choose the bun we preffered. I had the stuffed portobello burger with spinach and ricotta bun and chilled tomatoes. I would say that it was incredibly good. There were bread crumbs on top of the veggie stuffings which went along greatly with the grilled portobello.

I wasn't satisfied with the chilled tomatoes that came with my burger. Stuffed with coleslaw, it has failed to impress me. Then I saw my favourite thing in the menu: sweet potato fries! For the price, it was really worth it, since the portion can feed 2-3 people.

Another additional side, onion rings. It was pretty ordinary but I should mention that they have great dips. I think it was mixed with some garlic or onions, scruptious!

The works burger, as the name suggested, will make you work harder to eat it. It was a tall stack of beef patty, sunny side up, onion rings, sauteed mushrooms and bacon. I don't really fancy a burger with any eggs on it but this one was quite ok.

Every table seemed to be having this drink: lychee mint crush. The blended fresh mint leaves gave that fresh combination to the lychee, making it a perfect companion to the heavy meal.

Though we were full, we couldn't resist for some desserts. The list might be short, but the prices aren't more than 5 bucks. I was too curious of how they'd be and had the warm sticky banana pudding and it was surprisingly good. Despite the price, it came in a pretty huge slice and accompanied by vanilla ice cream and strawberry compote.

The handburger has a fresh idea about foods but I think they could do better with the services. Value for money, it was definitely up. I left with 98% full stomach that I skipped my dinner for that day.

The Handburger

252 North Bridge Road

#B1-77/78 Raffles City Shopping Centre

Tel: +65 6334 4577

Relish: In The Search of A Good Burger

Remember that post about Robin from "How I met your mother"? How I went around to try burgers in Singapore? Well I think the search of a good burger ends here at Relish. They had all it takes to make a good burger: perfect buns, flavourful patties and crispy fries that are nicely presented. The plus mark would be given to the ambiance, as the place is very laid back and cozy for lunch, dinner and brunch.

Ok, since this is my first time having their beef burger (Yes, I've always had their other items), I opted for the non-ordinary one: Blue Cheese + Pear Burger. I would say that it's very creative; using blue cheese in the patty, poached pears and walnut butter. They came together nicely, giving me that "wow" sensation.

The Mexicana Burger is one of the new items in the menu. Beef patty topped with bacons and chili beef, giving a wonderful Mexican touch. Apparently, you can switched the fries with some onion rings, but of course they added some extra bucks.

As for usual, I can't skip the hand made onion rings. I like it very much; the batter has that flavour, crispy on the outside without using the bread crumbs.

Relish is currently having some promotions. The 2 best from what they offered are Wednesday and Friday. Ladies night in Weds and free onion rings on Friday. Unlucky enough, we weren't there on Friday. But it doesn't matter, it's totally worth it.

Relish by Wild Rocket

#02-01 Cluny Court (next to Serene Centre)

501 Bukit Timah Road
Singapore 259760
Tel: 67631547

Billy Bombers

This would be those times where I craved for a good burger after watching a particular series of "How I Met Your Mother". I blamed Robin for that. On the back of my mind, I certainly knew a place I could easily get that: Relish. But I wanted to try my luck at a new burger experience that day, so I took myself to Billy Bombers. Burgers were originated from America, so this American dining deserved a chance, right?

The menu consisted of typical American foods: fries, onion rings, grilled meats, aaand burgers! For starter, we shared a basket of onion rings and fries. The choices available are quite limited, we could see that there are baskets of this fried stuffs on other tables too.

Despite the unusual name, the Obama Burger came out rather normal. The onion rings on top of the patty gives that extra crunch but unfortunately the patty ifself is lacked in juiciness. If you are an original ( I mean the traditional ) burger eater, there are shakes you can order to accompany the burger too.

I picked the Naked Gun and I put on some clothes on the chicken: American chilies and jalapeno. The tender grilled chicken is too oily for me, but the chilies are divine. People should add them to their burgers to give that extra flavours (and meat? =P). All in all, I'm still longing for that perfect burger. Could Lily, Marshall and Barney help?

Billy Bombers Classic

2 Handy Road

#01-11/12 The Cathay

Tel: +65 6735 5381

Riders Cafe: with the horses

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This place is cool. I'm not talking about the weather, but rather the ambiance. They said that the greens are good for your eyes, so here I am, in a perfect gate away from the busy city. Rider's cafe is located in Bukit Timah Saddle club, which is famously known for the horses. Sitting here, you can see the horse grazing and even smell them a little as you sip your drinks and have lunch.

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The stable seen from the balcony

Have you meet my friends, Mocha and Latte?

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It was a humid and sunny day so we had some ice-cold coffees too cool our body down. This authentic building is not air-conditioned. The large windows and high ceilings keep the fresh air ventilated.

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The outdoor seating's
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Rider's burger ($14)
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Chicken club sandwich ($15)

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Strawberry shortcake ($10)

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Now, this is cute. Unlike the ordinary strawberry shortcake that we've usually bought from the bakeries, theirs is presented in a cup: smooth custards with big sweet strawberries and biscuits, topped with whipped creams and crumbles. I like the sweet berries but since I don't fancy creams at all, it's not going to be one of my favourites.

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The foods are usual, nothing really outstanding but I love the place very much. They have brunch available on weekends and the menu is really tantalizing. A simple warm breakfasts to start your day-off at this homely and laid back place, I'll surely coming back soon.

Rider's Cafe

51 Fairways Drive

Bukit Timah Saddle Club

Singapore 286965

Tel: 6466 9819

Website: http://www.riderscafe.sg/

Chili's

What makes a good "nachos"? Crispy, cheesy, and a little spicy corn chips paired with refreshing dips.. Though it didn't came with guacamoles, these nachos ($13.90) from Chili's are superb! Covered with very generous amounts of cheese and spicy seasonings, I was really glad that I picked them from the appetizer's menu. The moment they arrived, I munched nearly three quartered of them down.

BBQ ranch burger ($18.90)

Whenever A sees bacon and cheese burger on the menu, he attempt to order it. It seems that it always looks good to him. Chili's version, however, doesn't satisfy him as much as Relish did. Size wise, it's obviously too big that he couldn't even finish it.

The grilled salmon with garlic and herbs ($29.90) looks great on the picture, but the reality says a different thing. The rice taste very weird, almost like eating foods straight from the can. Nevertheless, the salmon is very tender and I love the way they balanced it with some veggies.

nThough we were exceedingly full, we said yes when the waiter asked if we would like some desserts. Among all the other options, the molten chocolate cake ($16.90) looks the best. But alas, it was totally disappointing. Topped with the hard chocolate shells, the ice cream was too creamy and sweet. We found that the cake was too dry and large. There's no melted chocolate at all; I suspect that it was because of the ice cream. They were using chocolate sponge cake filled with chocolate chunks instead of baking the flour less chocolate cake half-done.
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For me, there will be no second visit, at least for the short period of time. We might come again only for the nachos though. This chili isn't that hot.

Chili's
#02-23 Tanglin Mall
163 Tanglin Road
Singapore 247933

Relish by Wildrocket

It's not a secret that I love brunch and a sunny lazy Sunday is a perfect day to go for it. I've heard so much (and also read, from other blogs of course) about Relish, lots of people reviewed that they have really nice burgers.

A ordered the bacon and cheese burger ($19). Every burger here comes with the fries. The beef patty is very thick, tender and has juicy flavour. I warn you, by the time you try this you'll stop going to Carl's Junior, Burger King, or other fast food joints which serves burger in Singapore. Though it might be more expensive, it's absolutely worth more to go for. For dinner, they have an option for the beef patty on the burger. If you feel hungrier, you can opt for the 180 grams of patty instead of the usual 150 grams.

I had the smoked salmon, scrambled eggs and cream cheese bagel ($18). It was a true indulgence, I've never eat salmon bagel this good. Toasted just perfect, the bagel has a crisp outer but still soft inside. The rocket leaves give a balance flavour to the creamy eggs and cream cheese. And I love the crispy diced potatoes, they're amazing! I would certainly prefer this compared to the usual fries. This item is only available for weekend brunch, so I need to wait for a week for another bite. (;p)

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I saw that they have several sweet items for brunch and some desserts too. We were quite full and decided to go for some ice cream from Island Creamery next door instead. I will certainly come back to try their burger and of course, the dessert next time.

Relish by Wild Rocket
#02-01 Cluny Court (next to Serene Centre)

501 Bukit Timah Road

Singapore 259760
Tel: 67631547