[Media Invite] BurgerUP Express @ Northpoint City South Wing #B2-113

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.

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.

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.

65gms of lamb patty slider (Black series)

lifted to reveal fried emmental cheese

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.

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.

Fish Slider (55 gms) with sesame bun, mayo, tomato, coral greens, cheddar, tartar sauce

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.

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!

Fried mushrooms

lovely shrooms

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.

Beef Slider (Black series) with its creator, Chef Alvin in the background

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

Website: http://www.burgerup.com.sg/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BurgerUpSG/

$100Gourmet June 2016 - Kentaro & Keisuke @ Lewin Terrace

Finally decided to give this a try. The $100Gourmet series is a monthly ongoing affair where an award winning overseas chef will fly in to Singapore to pair up with two Singapore-based restaurants to create a collaborative 6-course meal. Priced at SGD100++ per ticket for Citibank cardmembers.

Took a  look at the menu and decided to go for Chef Kentaro Torii and Chef Keisuke Matsumoto's collab at Lewin Terrace. First time to Lewin Terrace and also a first in trying the creations of the two chefs. Expect Italian and French Japanese fusion from Chefs Kentaro and Keisuke.

valet parking

path leading to Lewin Terrace

Chose the 1.30pm seating and the sun beating down on us. Lucky to have requested for indoor dining in the cool airconditioned comfort.

looking outside

indoor comfort

looking forward to the 6-course gourmet dining from Chef Kentaro and Chef Keisuke

fusion of east-west cutlery

Had their namesake cocktail, the "Lewin Terrace". Sweet and refreshing but first time having a cocktail served in such a glass. Haha!

Lewin Terrace cocktail @$18++ - Sake, Yuzu Ju, Sakura Syrup

First course was the "Hassun" or small selections of amuse bouche. Lewin's Chef de Cuisine, Chef Igarashi was on-hand to explain about our first course. There were 6 small items presented. There's Agu Okinawan Pork Rillettes & Onion Tartine, Amakusa 'Buri' Yellowtail Carpaccio, White Asparagus and Truffle Marmalade, Broad Beans Espuma & Pecorino Romano, Mozarella Pannacotta & Tomato and Kumamoto Shrimp with Provence Herbs. This platter of amuse bouche was crafted by both Chef Kentaro and Chef Keisuke.

Hassun (amuse bouche) - (front) Agu Okinawan Pork Rillettes & Onion Tartine and Amakusa 'Buri' Yellowtail Carpaccio

Since Chef Igarashi didn't say which one to start with, I went with the ones from the bottom row. Particularly enjoyed the yellowtail carpaccio, broad beans espuma and the mozarella pannacotta. The least enjoyed item was the shrimp. It tasted rather peculiar!

White Asparagus with Truffle Marmalade

(left to right) Mozarella Pannacotta & Tomato, Broad Beans Espuma & Pecorino Romano

The broad beans fragrance and flavours were good, with lovely mild pecorino cheese taste towards the end of the mouthful. The pannacotta was lovely with its wobbly 'sticky' texture, combined with salty bits of ham (I think?) and sweet tangy tomato.

Next up, was the Foie-Gras & Corn Velouté. Velouté is a French word and means "a white sauce made from a roux of butter and flour with chicken, veal, or pork stock". This dish was the creation of Chef Keisuke Matsumoto. Served in a large bowl and with a thin layer of custard-looking velouté sitting right at the bottom of the bowl. Kind of zen. 

Foie-Gras & Corn Velouté, with soba seeds

do you wonder how the Foie-Gras & Corn Velouté taste like?

The first mouthful brought on a smile. Now I understand. It was like eating an upside down sweet corn crème brûlée. The foie-gras must have been infused into the pudding, and each bite brings about a smokey, slight savoury and sweet crunchy sensation wrapped in silky creme pudding. What a lovely dish!

After the teasers, now it was time for something more substantial. Chef Kentaro's Tagliolini. When this dish was brought out, our attention fell onto the Kumamoto Noble Scallop with its interestingly, brightly coloured shell. "Natural colours." We were informed. So cool to see bright orange and purple coloured scallops shells!

Tagliolini - Kumamoto Noble Scallop, Mussel, Saffron Sauce, Bottarga and Lemon

The Tagliolini was topped with dried (or was it deepfried? Sorry, my memory is failing...) chopped parsley and rocket leaves for the herbed flavours. If you're expecting a burst of umami flavours... don't. It was a given that the pasta was cooked to the perfect texture. The small mussels were rather cute and lent a somewhat slightly briny flavour to the dish. First time having bottarga too. Bottarga is a delicacy of salted, cured fish roe. Hmm...it's one of those things that you either like or don't like.

Next, Chef Keisuke Matsumoto himself came to the table to present his creation; the Amakusa Sea Bream with Shiso, Tomato and Purslane. I must say that it is kind of rare to see Purslane used in restaurants. This plate has many components going in it; sharp herby shiso flavour, sweet flavours from leek, carrot puree and tomato, the slightly salty and bitter taste of purslane, and it was a pleasure to enjoy each distinctive taste profile as well as the overall harmony of those flavours. The sea bream seemed to be the blank canvas that drew out the rest of the flavours.

Amakusa Sea Bream

Next, was the highlight of the meal. Chef Kentaro's 'Steak & Chips'. Comprising of a succulent gorgeous-looking Kagoshima Wagyu Sirloin, and potato textures. I think the potato textures referred to potato done two-ways; fried potato squares and creamy mash. Served with two small ravioli-like parcels of cheese and pickled onion.

For this main course, Chef Kentaro himself was there to present his dish, asked us about the food and to put the finishing touch, of drizzling some beef jus over the juicy steak.

Steak & Chips

look at that juicy grilled Kagoshima wagyu steak

Yummy and satisfying. Grilled Kagoshima wagyu, I liked you a lot! Such a charming dish. 

If the Sea Bream dish was like a walk in the park where one could leisurely spot a squirrel, pretty flowers and birds chirping, the Steak & Chips was more like going to an amusement park and head-on straight to the rollercoaster! 

Soon, it was the last course of the meal, the desserts. It was as pretty as a picture. Assembled to resemble  a tree, it felt like summer.

Miyagi Strawberry Two Ways

White Chocolate, White Balsamic Vinegar and Passionfruit (Chef Kentaro's Italian sweets)

Baba Bouchon, Bee Pollen, French Rum (Chef Keisuke's French sweets)

And, we had coffee with our desserts.

coffee @$6++

Overall, quite an interesting experience. Service was good and we enjoyed our food. Thank you to the Chefs and staff of Lewin Terrace. And thanks dear friend for your company.

Lewin Terrace

Address: 21 Lewin Terrace Singapore, Singapore 179290
Website: http://lewinterrace.com.sg
Contact: 63339905
Business Hours:
Monday to Sunday
Lunch: 12:00pm – 03:00pm (Last order at 02:00pm)
Dinner: 06.30pm – 11:00pm (Last order at 09.30pm)