Entree Kibbles: Five Guys - Hand-cut French Fries, Hand-formed Burgers and Milkshakes with Multiple Toppings! @ Plaza Singapura [Singapore]

Friday, January 01, 2021

Five Guys - Hand-cut French Fries, Hand-formed Burgers and Milkshakes with Multiple Toppings! @ Plaza Singapura [Singapore]

It seems like there are many burger joints in Singapore nowadays; aside from the famous Shake Shack, another international burger brand that hits the shores of our little red dot would be Five Guys!

Its first branch at Plaza Singapura was opened for business in late 2019 and as expected, the queue was insane; to the point I decided to wait till the hype dies down before I were to check it out.

One year of wait it took me and even then, I played safe by turning up just when it started its daily operations at 11.00 am. There was just three tables that were taken when we stepped in but it wasn't significantly crowded anyway when we left an hour later.

Accolades proudly displayed on the walls although I wasn't that acquainted with foreign newspaper and magazines. Oh well, different countries, different taste buds and with over 1,500 branches worldwide; I think it would be worth a try.

Self-dispenser for soft drinks; due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you would need to get the help of the friendly service staff on standby to help to dispense your drink. The key draw, however, is that you get free refills! This would be one major pull factor if I were a teenager!

Free peanuts were said to be given before the pandemic; sadly, it's suspended till further notice. Maybe it's best for the store to remove the stickers or at least put a "not available at the moment" to avoid any disappointment.

The eye-catching counter that comprised of cashiers and kitchen! As you can see, it's a fast food restaurant rather than a restaurant; similar to Shake Shack, pricing was more at the restaurant level though.

Expecting a simple menu, I was confused with section under "all toppings free"! While you can opt for 'all the way' for the basic mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, pickles, grilled onions and grilled mushrooms, there were six other options that you are free to pick and while I know how hard it is to hard a burger with too many toppings, the kiasu Singaporean soul in me would want as many as possible!

Five Guys Shake - Same goes for their milkshake where you can free to choose any from ten toppings like vanilla, strawberries, oreo, chocolate, banana, salted caramel, cherries, coffee, peanut butter and malted milk. Faced with a dilemma on what I wanted, I sought the help from the service staff instead.

She recommended no more than four toppings as anything more might result in an overly sweet milkshake. Like a student listening attentively to a teacher, I eventually decided on strawberry, peanut butter, salted caramel, no whipped cream and to include complimentary bacon bits; an interesting twist I was looking forward to trying!

From the top of the milkshake, it didn't look like it has all the toppings; I was anticipating a beautifully crafted milkshake adorned with strawberries drizzled with peanut butter and topped with salted caramel and bacon.

Turned out it was quite delicious even though the deal-breaker was the crunch of savoury bacon bits; never know it would be such a perfect combination! Do note that it's sinful and towards the end of the beverage (as you can see above), the generous amount of bacon bits might just turn you off.

Our burgers and French fries were packed in a paper bag; quite eco-unfriendly as I have no intention to bring the food home. And I do prefer a tray for ease of photography and tidiness.

Large Fries - at S$11, it's expensive French fries alright but there were a few things to note; they were hand-cut from raw, natural potatoes, not your typical frozen and processed fries, and they were all cooked using "pure, no-cholesterol, 100% peanut oil"!

While I am not a potato fan, I do enjoy French fries! Jovyn loves the fries (five guys style) whereas I am a cheapo at heart as I prefer the processed, unhealthier ones from McDonald's as they are much crunchier. And one thing, Five Guys doesn't serve chilli sauce; I shall bring my own kimball Thai chilli sauce if I ever revist.

In case you are interested to know, the potatoes were from Bourman, Poortvliet, Netherlands. Well, since I don't eat much potatoes, I wouldn't know which place grows the best potatoes suitable for frying!

Five Guys Burgers - as far as burgers are concerned, it's a straightforward four basic options; hamburger, cheeseburger, baconburger and bacon-cheeseburger. All the basic options come with two beef patties; hence, if you prefer a single patty, go for the "little" options like little hamburger.

Jovyn went with the hamburger! Not that she insisted on the two beef patties but her mom prefers not to eat carbohydrates and just wanted one patty on her own. In the event you are like my sister, you can also opt for bun-less option; not my cup of tea though as one of the main reasons for craving a burger was the taste of the bun!

Remember the toppings?! I had a hard time deciding and for my own little baconburger, I requested for only mayo, onion, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions and grilled mushrooms. Low risk taker, definitely.

Pictures of my little baconburger; to be honest, I enjoyed it very much. Ingredients were all fresh and hand-formed beef patty was juicy and so delightfully tasty with a bit of crunchy, almost burnt bits on the edges!

The price of S$13 (or S$11 if you go with the little hamburger) might be too high, especially when you can get a gourmet burger for just about the same price or slightly higher. To me though, it's always worth a try and I must say the Five Guys did an amazing job with the basic, unassuming hamburger. *pocket is burning*

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Jovyn really loves the fries!