Ex-Omakase Burger Head Chef Now A Hawker Selling $7.90 Beef Burger

Local burger chain Omakase Burger announced last week that it will be closing all of its five outlets in Singapore on Oct 27. The chain, which specialises in American-style gourmet smashed beef burgers, is going on indefinite “hibernation” due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

But you can still enjoy a similar OB-style burger — at a wallet-friendly price — at Bukit Timah hawker stall Burger House. The joint was opened last April by Terry Tan, 42, who used to be the head chef at Omakase Burger. “I was the pioneer batch when they set up at Turf Club,” he tells 8days.sg.

Terry’s stall is at the al-fresco rooftop hawker centre in Beauty World, a charmingly old-school spot that looks like it was frozen in the ’80s.

According to Terry, he left Omakase Burger “four or five years ago” after it moved into multi-stall food enclave Picnic, which was opened by the same owner. As he had an interest in food production, he volunteered to be stationed at the production kitchen to produce ingredients for the enclave’s stalls. “But it wasn’t my idea of what production should be, which is to concentrate on producing [the ingredients] and leave the finishing work to the stalls,” he says.

As Terry had always wanted to open his own business, he decided to take the plunge and become a hawker. “[Becoming a] hawker is the cheapest way to start, and to see if I can expand from there,” he says. In the future, he plans to “open a production [facility] producing [burger] patties and let people run it for me”. He shares, “I will use manual manpower instead of machines to make the patties, because I believe in handmade food.” His fastidiously neat stall’s patties are currently grounded by machine, and formed by Terry by hand.

There are just four a la carte burgers on the menu: Beef ($7.90), Chicken ($6.20), Mushroom ($6.90) and Truffle Mozzarella Cheese Burger ($9.90). Customers can top up $2 for a side of fries and a cup of lemonade to go with their burger. Terry also makes a unique off-menu Portobello Mushroom Burger ($11.90) for his regulars, which consists of two portobello mushrooms sandwiching a beef patty, melted cheddar, tomato slice and lettuce. But you’ll have to preorder at least two days in advance, as Terry says he will have to source for large portobello mushrooms at the market in order to make the burger.

Instead of the US beef that Omakase Burger uses, Terry’s grilled beef patties are house-made with “New Zealand beef parts”. It’s still tender and juicy, tucked between fabulously soft, fluffy (though margarine-smeared) buns that Terry blowtorches before serving, though we would prefer our patty to be salted more. Our beef burger could also benefit from a tangier dressing like ketchup-mayonnaise, which would perk up the plain patty, lettuce, tomato and cheddar stack.

The $2 add-on for a set is worth it; for that price, you get a small portion of crispy shoestring fries fried a la minute and a refreshing cup of lemonade. Is this burger set a perfect substitute for Omakase Burger? Nope, and don’t expect it to be, since you’re paying hawker prices. But for a hawker Western stall burger, this is more than decent.

A fried mozzarella patty drizzled with truffle oil nestles between warm buns with lettuce, tomato and mayo. The melty mozzarella cheese patty oozes tantalisingly when we bite into it, though like the beef burger, a piquant sauce would give this more oomph. Still, a very delish burger that you wouldn't expect to get at an old-school hawker centre.

Instead of a whole mushroom, the Mushroom Burger here comes with a deep-fried minced mushroom patty that’s mushier than what we’d have liked. We say order the more shiok mozzarella or beef burger (ask for more salt on the patty for the latter).

Address: #04-42 Beauty World Food Centre, 144 Upp Bukit Timah Rd, S588177

Tel: 9753-7859

Opening hours: Open daily 11am-8pm (last order 7.30pm)

Photos: Yip Jieying