The Handburger @ 313 Orchard

Remember our Burger Hunt outing, after sharing the post with you on Burger Bench & Bar(read more HERE), now let me continue to share with you our 2nd stop of the food hunting at "The Handburger" which is located at the end corner at Basement 2 of 313 @ Somerset.

3 best friends, Anna Lim, Andrew Chan and Benedict Leow who want to offer quality, artisan burgers that are priced reasonably so that everyone is able to enjoy them regularly, own “The Handburger” restaurant. Other than burgers retail, they are also the owner behind the popular western soup restaurant known as "The Soup Spoon" that has varies outlets in Singapore.

Since we have just finished our 1st hunt over at "Burger, Bench & Bar", we decided to order something more unique over here. After going through the menu, the few of us (Alice, Lobster, Alvin & I) agreed on this "Tandoor Chicken Burger" and "Duck Confit". I love the Indian Tandoor Chicken so I have much higher expectation on this burger.

According to the menu the chicken thigh is cooked in tandoor style that is marinated in yogurt, cucumber, red onions, hand cooked masala sauce, mint mayo. It is then topped with sweet mango chutney on some coral lettuce and tomato and sandwich together with toasted spinach and Parmesan bun. The greenish bun does look appealing to us but the taste of the tandoor chicken was kind of plain perhaps of the sauce and overall it does not really suits our liking. But for those who don't really like the strong Indian spices taste, you might wish to give it a try at S$10.80 each.

Duck Confit Burger is something rare to be found in most common burger outlets so it is worth to get a set of this. They actually grilled the whole boneless duck leg confit in handmade orange sauce then topped with baby snow pea sprouts and mandarin orange on a bed of coral lettuce and tomato together with the toasted caramelised bun. The duck itself is very tender when bite and it combines very well with the handmade sauce and orange topping. Recommend to try this if you have eaten too much of chicken burger.

You can create a set meal with either S$4.00/S$6.00 top up for extra side and drink (ice lemon tea/hot green tea) together with a burger of your choice. So for this set, we choose the "The Works Burger" that consists of 100% New Zealand ribeye beef patty that weights 150g, this patty is nicely grilled and topped with battered onion rings, crispy bacon, sunny side up egg, sauteed basil pesto mushroom, sweet onion jam, cheddar cheese and etc on a bed of coral lettuce then sandwich with toasted caramelised onion bun.

Can you imagine when you bite this burger, it will be burst with all kind of flavour such as juicy beef, onion, runny egg yolk, cheese and etc. For beef lover like me and Alice, we do agreed that this beef patty is far much more better than the previous one that we have tried especially on the seasoning and sauce that makes a great different. As for the side, we have a Caesar Salad to go with the burger while drink, we top-up extra to have the Lychee Mint Crush instead of the usual ice lemon tea.

Lychee Mint Crush is definitely a very interesting drink. The sweet fragrances of the lychee and the refreshing cool mint blend together with crush ice ineed makes this a great choice to go with those burgers. Most of us are guess what are the ingredients blended in it which makes it taste so addicting. Some mention about kiwifruit and cucumbers, but I will leave you to try this out on your next visit to the outlet. A glass of this cost cost about S$5.50 which is good enough to share between two person.

This restaurant also offer some Kid's Friendly meal for either "Mini Mister Meal" or "Mini Miss Meal" where you can choose between Cheeseburger or Fish Burger to go with chunky fries, buffalo winglets, a cup of freshly blended apple juice and a cupcake for dessert. All these only cost you S$9.50 per set which I am sure your kids will love these combination. But somehow or rather, we find they should change the drink to something else instead of fresh apple fruit because tends to oxide before consume which makes it look rather not appetising to the kids. (Above is the "Mini Mister Meal" with Fish Burger where you can find a slice of lovely lotus root in it)

This is something new to us, sweet burger which they known it as "THB Dessert Burger" which sandwich a 70% dark coverture chocolate patty filled with macadamia nuts, topped with apple crem cheese filling on a bed of butter icing and strawberries with fluffy donut bun. We love this, the chocolate patty is so rich and fragrant that it makes you crave for more. If you like chocolate and with something special rather than the usual meat patty, I suggest you go for this S$6.50 dessert burger with a cup of tea or coffee.

Overall we have a great time on our second food outings for this Burger Hunt event. But however we did not managed to try the 3rd places which is included in our schedule at Ice Rockz, located at Scape because they are running out of rice patty when we get there. So I guess, we have to go back another time or perhaps another BURGER OUTING!!! Our next outing will be something more exciting so do stay tune for our outing updates in September.


The HandBurger
313 Orchard Road
#B2-17/18/19
313 @ Somerset
Singapore 238895
Telephone: 6509 6214
Website: www.thehandburger.com

Opening Hours:
Daily: 11.30am – 10.00pm

Note:

1. You can read more related posts on this outing at Misstamchiak, Amanda and Lobsterpaints site too. Stay till for our next outing updates in September challenge ourself on eating "Crocodile Paw".

2. Or you wish to take a look at more photos on Cuisine Paradise Fan Page Album HERE.

Burger Bench & Bar @ Cineleisure Orchard

Last month we have our 1st Blogger's outing at Chef Daniel's Kitchen @ Illuma (click HERE for post) where everyone of us share some great time together. And this month, we have organised a Burger Hunt on 14 August 2010 as our 2nd outing event. Initially we have planned to try out different burgers from 3 places along Orchard area but end up we only managed to set our taste buds for 2.

This post I will share with you the 1st stop of our Burger Hunt which is at Burger Bench & Bar opened by ex-lawyer Willin Low, owner of Wild-Rocket, Wild Oats and Relish. This store was located at level 1 of Cineleisure Orchard since last year December and it has another name known as "B3" which derived from "Burger, Bench & Bar".

They have 8 different flavour of burgers that you can choose from the range of Beef, Pork, Poultry, Fish and etc. And if you feel like having something extra, you can also try some of their yummy snacks such as russet potato crisps and golden chicken wings. For this outing, we have ordered 6 different burgers and 2 snacks from their menu to try out.

I am sure if you like Japanese Food such as Sashimi you would have tried Wasabi before. This is "Sasame Wasabi Butter-Fish Burger", deep-fried fish fillet which is cripsy is crispy and burst with juicy flavour when bite. The fillet sits on top on some some shredded cabbage and top with chef special wasabi sauce which is combined with some addition of mustard and roasted sesame seeds. And according to one of stuff, they adjusted the original level of spiciness after feedback from some customers which cannot take the "spicy kick" from wasabi so this burger is still manageable for kid who can take a bit of spicy food to consume.

Soft-shell Chilli Crab Burger is a new items on their menu which cost S$8.20 with a rather huge piece of soft shell (from the photo) sitting on some shredded cabbage and top with some paste. From a glance the paste look like sort of similar to normal tomato paste but it is actual chilli crab sauce but some of us who tried it comments that the sauce is actually too overpowering which covered that taste of the soft shell crab.

The look of this "Saute Mixed Mushroom & Cheese Beef Burger" seems to tasty and juicy from the photo. When Alice and I tried it, we find the beef patty taste rather ok with it's seasonings and mushroom topping. But it is not those kind that you will go "WOW".

I have tried a few Curry Chicken/Pork Katsu Don before, but the idea of combining a Japanese dish into burger this is the 1st time I have saw and tried. The "Japanese Curry Chicken Katsu Burger" at B3 cost S$7.90 each which is pretty reasonable for the price to have the same ingredients sandwich with 2 slices of bread inside of rice. But you might be surprised with the taste of the sauce which is not what you usually have in your Katsu Don dish.

Compared to the above Mixed Mushroom & Cheese Beef Burger, this "Cheese Burger With Mayonnise & Sundried Tomato Relish" taste much better with it's sundried tomato relish. This is slightly cheaper which costs only S$7.80 but the overall taste is much better if you love "Beef Burger".

Amanda wish to try this "Grilled Chicken Burger With Relish & Jalapeno" which look pretty healthy due to the grilled chicken breast meat and Jalapeno toppings that makes it look less greasy and light, this cost S$8.50 each. Each mouthful, you can taste the tender and juicy chicken meat chew together with the tangy relish and spicy jalapeno.

This is one of their signature side dishes that are freshly made from their kitchen instead of those usual pre-packed potato chips. Their hand-cooked russet potato crisps are surprisingly crunchy and filled with an authentic potato taste that you can’t resists on nibbling more on those chips.

Snack number 2, we ordered two plates of this "Golden Chicken Wings with Chef Gino's Deadly Chilli Sauce" that comes with 6 pieces serving per plate at S$5.00 each. The wings taste a bit spicy itself so if you cannot take spicy food then don't go with that dipping sauce. But with that extra chilli sauce, it will definitely enhance the taste more.

After the meal, we tried this "Gourmet Dark Chocolate Soft Serve Ice-Cream" for dessert. According to their poster, this is the 1st Home-made soft serve Ice-Cream available in Singapore. A cup of this will cost you S$3.00 and it's pretty worth it for it's rich chocolate taste too.


BURGER BUNCH AND BAR
8 Grange Road
#01-02
Cathay Cineleisure Orchard
Singapore 239695
Telephone: 65- 6737 9947
Website: www.wildrocket.com.sg

Opening Hours:
Mon - Thurs: 12:00pm - 11:00pm
Fri - Sat: 12:00pm - 2:00am
Sun: 12:00pm - 11:00pm

Note:

1. You can read more related posts on this outing at Misstamchiak, Amanda and Lobsterpaints site too. Stay till for part II on "The Handburger" post soon.

2. Or you wish to take a look at more photos on Cuisine Paradise Fan Page Album HERE.

EwF by Everything With Fries

EwF by Everything With Fries restaurant has a new fast food outlet located at Orchard Central, level 1. While shopping around that area last week, we decided to drop-by and tried out some of their items that I have read good reviews on.

The overall decoration of the outlet was bright and comfort with white furniture like school tables and chairs. They have giant chalkboard menu display at both inside and outside of the outlet whereby the customers can have a better view of their items. From the menu, you can either "make a meal" of your choice @ S$11.90 for a set of "burger/sandwich + soft drink + choice of fries" or you can just pick up any items from the menu itself.

While queuing up for the order, I have saw a few customers ordering Curry Fries @ S$2.90/pack but I did not get it because I was afraid that it might be spicy for Rey. So I decided to get an extra pack of Original Fries apart from my "make a meal" set. While looking at this "Original Fries" above, I was puzzle at first glance because of the "powders" on it which I thought it might be the curry fries they have took wrongly.

We will kind of disappointed with the “Original Fries” as it taste too soggy perhaps it had being left there for too long before our order. And it really taste “Original” even with those “powder” so almost ¾ pack of the fries are left there untouched. (note: All fries cost S$2.90/pack)

I have ordered a "make mine a meal" set that comes with a burger, drink and fries for S$11.90 which is quite a good deal for a meal. Since it is a rainy afternoon, I decided to go for a hot drink which I settle with "Hot Butterscotch Milk" which taste great like "popcorn" fragrant according to my boy.

My choice of fries is "Sour Cream and Onion" which taste much more better the "Original Fries" above. This pack has being freshly fried and it is still hot and crispy while served.

Now comes to the main course, I have being wonder on which items to choose since they have 6 different choices on the list from "4 burgers and 2 sandwiches". Instead of going for their EwF Super Burger which sounds and look great, I decided to try their low-key item which is this "Lamb Burger".

If you just order the Lamb Burger itself, it will cost you about S$6.90. Accordingly to the menu, this burger is marinated with middle eastern spices, cooked then topped with garlic cream cheese, tomato concasse and caramelised onions. So while looking at this, I expected the burger to be juicy and fragrant rather than dry and lack of sauce in it. So I guess this will be my last time trying their Lamb Burger.

While eating half way through our meal, we happened to notice that someone at our next table are having some delicious looking dessert which I curiously enquire with them about it. So after hearing food reviews from them, I also grab a box of this "Nutella Slice" which cost S$3.50. And I assured you that this is indeed a very rich and delicious dessert if you love chocolate. Rey finished almost 3/4 of the slice leaving only 1/4 for me.

Although the burger that I had did not turn out to be what I expected but I am still glad that they have some great dessert, drink and fries. Perhaps I shall drop by their main restaurant at 458 Joo Chiat Road to try out more of their other dishes.


EwF by Everything With Fries
181 Orchard Road
#01-24/25
Orchard Central
Singapore 238896
website: www.everythingwithfries.com

Opening Hours:
Sunday - Thursday: 11:00am - 10:00pm
Friday - Satursday: 11:00am - 11:00pm

Arteastiq Tea Lounge by MARXX

Talking about Mother's Day which falls on this coming Sunday, 09 May. What's on your mind to celebrate or pamper your mum for the time and thoughts that she has spent on you. No matter what is your budget like, I am sure she will appreciate the thought that count. So why not taking this opportunity to pamper mum with some refreshing English Floral-Tea and unique tea-snacks while some time off during your shopping trip.


Arteastiq is a very new tea lounge located inside a furniture boutique called Marxx at the Mandarin Gallery. The place was furnished with colourful designer chairs and sofa that brighten up the area. You can also enjoy good view of orchard road from the tall glass window.

There are a wide range of Tea Menu from English floral teas such as French Rose or Earl Grey to Chinese and Japanese and fruit teas like Pomelo, Lychee or etc. Beside these they also served alcoholic teas such as Cointreau Menta Lemongrass or Choya Pear Tea which is only available after 5pm.

Since both mum and I love floral tea, we ordered both our set from the English Floral Tea menu. The one that I had above is the Earl Grey with Lavender Tea which black tea that is blend with a light scent of Lavender that smooth my mood of the day. Each set of tea served with a complementary snack that varies from set to set which could be dried cranberries or sweet wafer biscuits or etc. Both our floral tea set are comes with almond wafers which mum enjoy so much and yet at a reasonable price of S$6.90 each set.

Mum prefer something light so she order her favourite French Rose Tea which is light and refreshing. The romantic rose scent really add extra fragrance to the atmosphere too. Each tea set is served on a gold-handled wooden tray, with unique design tea pots and cups. Like eg. Mum's rose tea set was served with a rose print tea cup and plate which add extra presentation point to the set.

Along with the tea sets we also ordered one of the recommendation Teasers item known as "Trinity" which offers a taste of three items in smaller servings. Our picks are: Knight Without Armour (crab salad served with volvant), Lust (chilled drunken sakura chicken with wolfberries) and Hot Naked Top (spicy jumbo top shell with chilled mango achar) which cost S$8.90 for any three items. Out of the 3 items mum loves the spicy top shell because it taste great with it's Q texture and the combination of sweet and sour mango achar.

Overall this is a great afternoon tea session for everyone of us. Even my little boy who don't drink tea enjoy the atmosphere and cosy environment of this little cafe that located at a corner of this unique furniture boutique. Em... perhaps next round I shall try some of their cold tea and wagyu beef which we missed out today. So if your mum loves afternoon tea, why not give this a try and let her experience another way of tea-time rather than the usual normal "coffee-break".

A Day At The Cathay Shopping Mall

Recently I received an email from Nuffnang regarding this "The Cathay Blogging Contest" which starts from 02 February 2010 – 14 February 2010. And the main purpose of this contest is to blog about how you plan/spend a day at Cathay shopping mall. Since mum and I was on the way around Somerset area to run some errands, we decided to head our way up to Cathay Mall and have a look. So far, I have not being to the new Cathay building ever since the closures of the old building in 2000.

We took the MRT from Somerset station and arrived at Dhoby Guat. From there, you can take "Exit A" which will brings you to The Cathay, Wesley Methodist Church, Singapore Management University, Hotel Rendezvous and etc. And at the entrance of the MRT station along the main road, you are able to see "Cathay Shopping Mall" just right across the road near the traffic junction.

While walking towards the Cathay Mall, mum started to share with me some of her childhood stories and those days when she was helping her uncle to sell peanuts outside the building during her teenage days. So imagine she had seen so much changes of this building from her era till now.......

Since we reached about 10.30am, most of the shops are still not opening. In this case, we decided to explore the basement area which seems to be like a food paradise....... (Being a food blogger, it's very nature for me to hunt for "FOOD" stores in the mall as my 1st propriety). As usual, mum can't do without her morning coffee time at her favourite hangout, "Ya Kun" which located at #B1-23 that is in between the traditional handmade noodles store called "Mian Mian Ju Dao - 面面俱到 " and "New York Pizza".

At a glance, there are about 10 different Food stalls located at the basement area which provides wide varieties of choices from Asian, Western to Japanese cuisine or even light meal for those who wants to cut down on calories. While looking around, I saw the menu from "The Indulge" which known for it's fusion of Asian spices/herbs together with western ingredients and flavours. And from the menu, those photos of the dishes look really good and appealing. Maybe one of these day, I shall bring my foodie friends along to give it a try.......

Em.... Just a minor reminder, in order to avoid disappointment, most of the food stores there opens from around 10.30 or 11.00am onwards unless you wants to pop-by Ya Kun for breakfast which they opens around 10.00am.

After morning tea, we went up to level 1 of the mall which gives us a very refreshing outlook compare to the old building that is still vivid in our memories. Since Chinese New Year is around the corner, the mall is also decorated with special Chinese New Year decoration in order to bring out the atmosphere.

Cathay mall consists of 7 level of food, retails and entertainments outlets and on level 1 you can find some boutiques, optical shop, information counter, ATM machine and etc.

From a far corner, I was attracted to the interior display of this shop due to a high flying shark which is hanging down from the ceiling. I was amazed by the so called "Hollywood" design which I think will interest my boy if I will to bring him along. Mum also thought that this might be a souvenir outlet or so until we saw the special logo on the name above the door-way showing.... "Billy Bombers" which is a American style restaurant @ #01-11/12.

My last impression of Billy Bombers was about more than 8 years back before my boy was born. And the Bright Red Leather Cushion Seat is still vivid in my memories. Now when I look at this newly decorated outlet it really brings back a lot of my dine-in memories with Billy Bombers......

Around the mall, you will be able to pick up "The Cathay Restaurant" pamphlet on Chinese New Year promotion which consists of a few set of menu for your selection. According to Mum, Cathay Restaurant can be consider at one of the best Chinese Restaurant in Singapore during her era. It is located at #02-01 and the dinning hours are from 11.30am to 11:00pm but the restaurant will close for lunch break/preparation of dinner between 3:00 - 6:00pm. Mum was suggesting perhaps, next round we can come and sample their lunch/dinner menu.

There is another interesting place to hang around on level 2 which is "The Cathay Gallery" that is located at #02-16. Here it showcases the history of the Loke family and their various business interests in Malaysia and Singapore from the mid 1800's till now. The Cathay Gallery is open to the public from Mondays to Saturdays, 12:00pm to 8:00pm, and is closed on Sundays & Public Holidays. Admission is Free, so it will be great to bring along kids to show them the founder and history of the Cathay organisation as well as showing them those olden days cinema seats and tickets. I am sure this will bring back a lot of wonderful memories for the older generation(ie. like me and my mum) or a new experience for the younger one like my boy.

Next while scanning through Level 3, I found this interesting shop known as "Three3Three" which occupy 4 units spaces from #03-04 all the way up to #03-07. Guess it is a trend to use "3" as either shop/building name :) And since, mum was looking for a table lamp for her new house, we decided to explore around the shop. You can find all sort of latest design items available in the store, and mum was keen to come back again with my brother to seek for his opinion on other items that look suitable for the living room.....

And along the same lane, mum's attention was being attracted by a unique display around the corner of the shop called "Forest & Tree" which located at #03-02. At her first glance she still thought it might be a shop that sells kiddy stuffs because of that cute "girl in lamb outfit". But when we went near to the store, we realise that it is actually a lifestyle concept shop that features a nail salon and retails merchandise. After browsing through the store, we both agreed that it's a great place for pampering our nails as well as grabbing some interesting gifts for special occasions.

Out of all the stores in level 3, mum and I was interested in Inahamani @ #03-08/09/10 which provides wellness and beauty from within. This store give us a very peaceful and relax feeling that make us very curious of the services they provided such as hydraulic gym and oxygenated lounge. Mum told me that she will be delighted to book an appointment with them if I were to win the Cathay Blogging Contest :p (have to cross my finger on this)

Level 4 are suitable for kids, Teens and Young Adults where they can spend hours of time in E2Max@The Cathay located from #04-18/19/20 on the latest games and accessories. Or if you need to have some extra workout to burn those accumulated fats during Chinese New Year season, perhaps you can take up a lesson or so at Fitness First @ #04-05 to keep fit.

Em... for young ladies who wants to doll up yourself with pretty dresses, maybe you will be fascinated by this store @ #04-09 known as "Black Alice" which is a Lolita fashion store specializing in selling Gothic and Lolita dresses, clothing, accessories and merchandise.

After exploring around the mall from Basement to Level 4, it's time for us to sit down and have a quick bite. Since we don't really take heavy lunch, we decided to stop by Starbucks @#01-05A for some drinks and cakes. While chatting, I told mum that today I am so happy and honour to have her to do this blog post together with me. And I knew that she is also very excited about it.......

There are still so many stores that we didn't really explore but I am sure Cathay Mall is place that has something prepared for everyone. Do do drop by one of this days with your friends, or family to experience the new Cathay Shopping Mall...... Or perhaps, you might want to join "The Cathay" Facebook page (www.facebook.com/thecathay) to get updated with latest promotions, events, contests & giveaways!