Potato Head Folk - Three Buns Kitchen

In a nutshell
Fudz: Potato Head Folk - Three Buns Kitchen (Level 1)
Cuisine: Gourmet burgers
Location: 36 Keong Saik Road, Singapore 089143 (Tong Ah)
Dial: +65 6327 1939
Interweb: http://www.pttheadfolk.com/

The story
I have not been posting. My job takes precedence when it comes to all other aspects of life, including my number of sleeping hours. This is a common situation for people who are at my age. Our life priorities are fucked up.

More work lamentations ensue when I met Cheryl for a Friday lunch. We had not seen each other for days and it felt like weeks. We made very good one-to-one therapy for each other.

It was Cheryl's birthday eve and I wanted to give her a treat. The Lokal does not serve food after 3pm so we trotted a few streets down to Keong Saik from Neil Road, hoping for some signs of atas food joint. She usually asks for McDonald's but Keong Saik is too hip for fast food outlets. If you want fast food, you go to Parkway Parade. It's haps but it's not hips.

I was on the phone when we were ordering at the cashier and what happened next was that Cheryl ended up paying for everything. I scored a free meal from a birthday girl just by yakking on the phone. She said it's my belated birthday treat and she's not particularly time-sensitive.

I guess I have to treat her in December in order to get onto the program.

Tong Ah is one of the quaintest blocks of establishments you can find in Singapore. We can still get our good ol' kaya toasts down the same road but one can't help feeling a little nostalgic to see the business being replaced by a popular bar and restaurant that hailed from Bali.

The burger joint offers 10 types of burgers on their menu. Since it's our first time at the local outlet, we took tentative baby steps and opted for Baby Huey.

Baby Huey S$20

From the picture, you can tell that the bun was well-toasted for that gratifying sensation when I took the first bite. What pleased me even more was the beef patty that was grilled medium well and I could still see a bit of pink in the meat. With the combination of sweet onions, cheese, lettuce and spicy mayo, the burger is juicy and altogether delicious.

Sorry, no photo of the glorious beef patty. I could not take any photos after the second bite. My hands were covered with grease and sauce and I had mayo all over my face. I used at least five serviettes to finish this burger. Not exactly environmentally friendly but there was no way you can eat this burger with decorum. I feel like a Pamy at that point in time.

House Fries

No burger is complete without fries. We hardly finished half of it because the burger had dominated the bulk of our tummy. You can opt for Naughty Fries if you like chilli.

Wing-Its

The wings were a bit of a disappointment despite its beautiful appearance. The meat was tasteless and the sauced coated skin was tough and chewy. The cut chilli, spring onions and shallots did little to enhance the taste of the chicken wings.

So I have nine more burgers to go before I become a full-fledged Potato Head.

You can download their menu on their website.

Oh mai!

In a nutshell
Fudz: Omakase Burger
Cuisine: American
Code: Layers?
Location: 200 Turf Club Road #01-05 Bukit Timah Singapore 287994
Dial: +65 6763 2698
Interweb: http://www.omakaseburger.com/
Email: -
Damage: $25
Taste: Nice patties
Ambience: Almost like a fast food joint but with more space
Service: DIY - order and collection

The story
Zu Wee and Rahmat are the strongest advocates when it comes to eating out of our staff canteen. We've been to Burger Shack a number of times and wanted to try somewhere new. I'm not a fan of burgers and sandwiches but I follow the two of them like a lost puppy when it comes to splurging on food.

Most people do not get the name. Not because they didn't wiki on it. Its meaning does not apply to how you order your food. The menu is there. You don't tell the order counter 'Omakase!' You have to make your own choices among the straightforward list of items on their menu. It could be an initial concept they thought before - for daredevil customers to leave it to the chef to prepare their burgers. Maybe it's too difficult to carry this out in Singapore because we are quite fussy when it comes to how we want our food. You decide. You eat it. Okay?

Also the name misled me into thinking that the brand hailed from Japan. It's actually from America.

Deluxe Cheeseburger

After biting into it

When I said that I want it medium rare, I had it medium rare. They did a great job with the beef patty. The layers of each burger fused together to create a sublime combination and every bite gives as awesome party in your mouth.

Their burger costs approximately three times the price of any burger in a fast food joint but I think I can go without eating a burger twice to eat this one once.

Their selection of fries made us a little excited. I love fries.

Cheese fries

Truffle fries

Sweet potato fries

The sweet potato fries surprised us by surpassing the regular favourites of cheese and truffle fries.

I like it that they pay attention to the different components of a burger, which makes it a wonderful meal and not just another burger to fill the stomach.

Wild Relish

In a nutshell
Fudz: Relish by Wildrocket
Cuisine: Mod Sin (coined by the founder), short for Modern Singaporean. Supposedly a focus on burgers but I got deviated.
Code: Fine Casual
Location: 501, Bukit Timah Road, #02-01, Cluny Court; 1 Maju Avenue #02-07, myVillage, Serangoon Garden
Dial: 6763 1547 (Bukit Timah); 6634 3422 (Serangoon Garden)
Interweb: http://www.wildrocket.com.sg/
Email: relishburger@gmail.com

Damage: $30-50 per pax
Taste: Old favourites with a Singaporean twist
Ambience: Wood and aluminium chairs... and very few vintage furniture
Service: Quick and good

The story
... comes in three parts. I've been to Relish three times before I decided that it's time for a review. 

The 1st Visit

We were supposed to read in a cafe, an attempt to be bookworms outdoor. However, I left the Kindle in the car. I could only study the menu. Flo relegated her bookworm self to an iPhone game player. We stick to plans like expired post-its.

Due to the late, odd hour, we didn't order a real meal.

Chocolate cointreau - one of the better milkshakes around

Thick-cut fries that cut the chase

Late night snacks should always be this good... even if you're not doing any serious reading.

***

The 2nd Visit
My perverted producer's birthday. She was on leave but we called her out to have a birthday lunch together anyway. We were about to finish eating when she finally arrived. It's the thought that counts.

Parmesan wings

The parmesan wings are good for seconds. When you share a plate with a large group of hungry people, you're lucky if you can grab one. This calls for another order and another and...

Ram-Lee burger

The Malays know exactly what they want in a burger. They came up with the hugely popular burger that is being replicated everywhere. It's usually saucy and greasy. Relish does a decent job in achieving that.

Portobello mushroom tofu burger. No carbs, except the fries!

Grilled chicken

Aubergine linguine

Pine nuts usually go very well with pasta. It is something to crunch on amidst the softness of flavourful aubergines and tomatoied linguine. You know you've grown up when you learn to love eating eggplants. If you still hate it, really, it's time to grow up.

Hae bee hiam spaghetti

I only eat hae bee hiam spring rolls during Chinese New Year. Yun Yun said that this is awesome stuff, so I'm giving her the benefit of a doubt and tell you that it is. It's time for me to grow up, you say, but meanwhile, I'll think about it.

Mojito

Dark lava chocolate gateau

If you're a non-chocolate lover like I am, there will be one day out of the entire year when you crave for something like this. It can be any day just before your menstruation period. Satisfy that craving before you turn into a chocolate-raging monster. 

Just saying.

***

The 3rd Visit
A friend who lives in the same neighbourhood as you do comes in handy for short-distance food ventures. In this occasion, she manifested as Amy Tan, an old school mate from my Mass Communication days.

Breakfast platter

Relish serves all-day breakfast on weekends. Few people care about breakfasts on weekdays. The rest are preoccupied in beating the rush hour. I'm not keen about baked beans but in other words, the breakfast platter looks heavenly. (Note: Amy opted for mashed potatoes instead of sauteed mushrooms.)

Benedict

Relish is generous with their servings. The rocket leaves in the eggs benedict come in harvestful. The waiter gave Amy two wedges of butter when she asked for some to slather on a single piece of muffin toast. Two very well-done poached eggs were on my favourite English muffins but unfortunately, I'm not a fan of crispy bacon. They taste like dry bak kwa after a while. It's my personal preference to smoked salmon. 

I appreciate that the waiter asked me what sauce I wanted for my fries. Ketchup is the only way to go. Chilli sauce is for chicken rice, people.

Other good breakfast items include cream cheese bagels, homemade pork and apple sausage patty burger, etc.

Milo and horlicks marble cake

Amy said this dessert tasted 'traditional'. We grew up drinking Milo, Horlicks and eating marble cake from the neighbourhood cake shop. Relish had brilliantly combined all the three items together. No brainer, you think. Bet you wish you thought of it first. Then again, how many of us know how to bake?

I would like to think about what had happened to Milo and Horlicks' understated brother, Ovaltine.

***

Local flavours get entwined in this food establishment that is for once, not in a hawker/food centre setting.