There are some restaurants which you just want so much for it to be good. It could be the promising menu, interesting ambience, friendly staff or even just the photos of yummy dishes. Whatever it is, you just wish for the outlet to live up to expectations.
The Handburger, at the newly-opened 313@Somerset, was one of those for me. The cheerful, spunky staff, interesting menu and the fact that their burger buns were freshly made in their own bakery, got me psyched up even before I took my seat.
I had the chicken caesar burger, which came with an unbelievably large chicken patty, bacon strips, mozzarella cheese and their home-baked buns. While the first few bites were tasty, the toughness of the patty eventually got to me. It took me way longer to cut it than to actually eat the whole thing.
Plus, since I never know how to eat huge burgers at swanky outlets (well...swankier than your neighbourhood MacDonalds) and just copied what everyone else seemed to be doing (eating the parts separately with utensils as though it was steak instead of just grabbing the entire burger with the hands), finishing the burger proved to be a messy affair.
The meal came with square cut fries which, while made from distinctly higher-quality potatoes than thosee of fast food joints and had a more solid, less greasy taste, were unremarkable.
My friends’ burgers - The Works (basically a mashup of onion rings, patties and other assorted meat cuts lumped together into a sinfully oily pile) and the tandoori chicken burger - were also disappointing, with a lack of cohesion in the ingredients and providing an underwhelming gastronomical experience.
To top it off, our shared plate of calamari didn’t live up to standards too. While less greasy than those in some other restaurants, they were utterly forgettable and nothing to write about.
It wasn’t all bad though. The sweet potato fries (which you can order instead of the usual potatoes) were grease-free and tasty and the nutella marshmallow milkshake (with three roasted marshmallows) was delightful.
Still, for all the promise the outlet showed, not to mention their impressive food presentation and cozy ambience (with bench seats, no less), The Handburger faltered at the most important part - the patty in the burger.
Eating at The Handburger was disappointing and, for the price we paid ($25 per person), I’m sure we would have gotten better at one of the many other burger outlets popping up all over Orchard Road.
Fast Food Nation - The Dark Side Of The All-american Meal
Fast Food Nation : The Dark Side of the All-American Meal
