Did you know that there is a homegrown label for gourmet burger/sliders? BurgerUP may be familiar to some (especially those who frequents Punggol Waterway) and perhaps to many of us, the name may yet to ring a bell. BurgerUP is a local player in the fast-food market specializing in gourmet burgers/sliders.
So what maketh a gourmet food? Wikipedia defines
gourmet as
"a cultural ideal associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterised by refined, even elaborate preparations and presentations of aesthetically balanced meals of several contrasting, often quite rich courses. The term and its associated practices are usually used positively to describe people of refined taste and passion. Gourmet food tends to be served in smaller, more expensive, portions."
Smaller portion is definitely correct, and gourmet is often associated with premium ingredients and a somewhat laborious processes in getting the final product.
At $9 and $10 nett respectively, BurgerUP Express at Northpoint City South Wing is serving customers the White/Black Series Value Meal. A single gourmet slider (ala-carte) is priced at $4.80 and $5.50 for the White burgers and Black sliders. Hence, the value meal will get you two sliders (White - Fish/Chicken, or Black - Lamb/Beef), a drink and a fries.
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| White and Black Series Burgers, with sides of mushroom and fish |
Though gourmet, do not expect cutlery like fork and knife and plates for the burger. It is still served in paper boxes typical of burger takeaways. As all sliders are made upon order, so one will need to allow about 15 to 20 minutes of wait time before the order is ready.
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| ingredients are listed on the sticker |
Was excited to see lamb on its menu, and that'll be the first target. The sliders are about 3 inches in diameter while a normal burger would be around 4 to 4.5 inches. Basic ingredients in all of its sliders would include melted cheddar, coral greens and a slice of tomato. For Black series, the handmade buns are charcoal buns while the White series, has handmade sesame buns.
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| 65gms of lamb patty slider (Black series) |
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| lifted to reveal fried emmental cheese |
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| easy handling with one palm |
The patty was thick and jus was oozing from the burger. Do eat it while it is hot, as that'll be the best time to get the crisp of the fried emmental cheese contrasting texture with the juicy lamb patty. A hint of bitterness from the fried cheese. Not much gameyness in the patty and that made it tough to discern whether it was lamb! Liked that they had kept the sauce to a minimum, and the flavours in the slider matched well.
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| thick, juicy lamb patty |
If you don't like red meat, how about white meat then? Fish slider that's made out of the best part of the fish (no, not the cheeks as the yield is low) but the mid-part of the fish. Dory that's deep fried to a brown crisp, and one that was able to maintain its crispyness even after 15 minutes. The fish slider is the only slider that does not have the fried emmental cheese.
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| Fish Slider (55 gms) with sesame bun, mayo, tomato, coral greens, cheddar, tartar sauce |
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| lovely fillet |
The chicken patty is made up of minced chicken thigh meat, kneaded with cheese and cooked till a moist juicy center is formed. The chicken patty has an interesting texture and a nice flavour.
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| Chicken Slider with cheese center |
Also tried the sides such as fried mushroom and fried fish bites. Liked the fried mushrooms as it was a huge juicy mushroom goodness!
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| Fried mushrooms |
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| lovely shrooms |
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| fried fish bites |
Last but not least, the beef slider which is said to be the favourite amongst many. Expect nothing but thick meaty patty made of the fine cuts where Chef Alvin has mastered the art of lean to fat ratio. The chuck meat gave it a firm enjoyable bite.
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| Beef Slider (Black series) with its creator, Chef Alvin in the background |
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| BurgerUP Express counter |
The Black and White Value Meal series offers good value. With just $10, one could enjoy not just one gourmet sliders but two! (plus a drink and a side). BurgerUP Waterway is halal certified and BurgerUP Express at Northpoint will be following suit. They are also expanding into our neighbouring country so look forward to BurgerUP overseas!
Thank you Beth and Freda for the invite, and Chef Alvin and BurgerUP Express for hosting the tasting.
BurgerUP Express
Location: Yishun Northpoint City South Wing #B2-113
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