Address: 115 Amoy Street #01-03 Singapore 069935

Nearest MRT: Telok Ayer (Downtown line)

Cuisine: Western, burgers

When my friend led me to the back alley of Amoy Street, it felt dodgy as I was expecting our dinner place to be in a more prominent area. This hidden gem is located along the narrow Gemmill Lane, beside a high-class Spanish tapas bar, which connects the more famous Club Street to Amoy Street. On the outside, a neon sign of a burger and beer glass sits beside a heavy iron door.

Pushing the door gently, we walked along a small passageway and voila it was a happening bar area, with a raving crowd on a Friday night. I instantly fell in love with the vibes of this new place, as if I had teleported from Singapore to New York.

The menu was simple. How complicated can burgers be anyway? The most basic item is the single patty burger. You can customise your burger by adding different ingredients to it: cheese, bacon, jalapeño, or make it a double patty. We ordered a single party cheeseburger medium rare ($17.80) each. The doneness was chosen so that we can taste the quality of the meat and don’t worry, it would not be soaked in blood. Vegetarians would also be able to enjoy the burgers because there are options for them such as Portobello ($15). Fries are available as add on for $5.50, cheese fries for $10.

Over at the bar counter, there were several taps built into a wall, with a brief description of each type of beer. It makes me want to try each and every single one of them. The bartender was nice enough to let us try one or two of the beers, before we decided to order them. I settled for the Snow Monkey while my friend chose the Kasumi, as both of us enjoy IPA, with a slight tinge of bitterness.

Our burgers were delivered to us after 10 minutes. Since this burger bar functions like a fast food restaurant, the items given are all disposable and also environmentally-friendly as no plastics were involved. The beef patty looks pale but with the melted cheese, actually taste so good. The sesame buns were lightly toasted and paired well with the patty. It can be comparable to the steak at some of the better steakhouses. As for the paper bag, it was a cost-effective manner to buy a stamp and stamp it on every paper bag instead of printing the logo in colour. People would throw away the paper bag anyway.

We were satisfied with our half pints of craft beer, with varying shades of amber. Beer and burger do complement each other. Thanks to the Entertainer offer, we enjoyed a 1-for-1 burger. Otherwise, the price of the basic burger would be equivalent to a main course meal in a proper restaurant, with nice cutlery and better service.

If you like to experience a slice of New York at Amoy Street and enjoy some burger with your pals, then head over to Burger Bar New York. The burgers are delicious, but I do not foresee myself eating burgers every week. I need more variety in my diet.