Resto Review: The Butchers Club Burger
Out of the many quests that fall upon us in our food-hunting escapades, finding the best burger in Singapore has gotta be one of the toughest. But alas, we might’ve just found a top contender – a ‘White Castle’ that recently took residence in the heart of Clarke Quay.
Inching towards the contemporary tunage of Disclosure and Schoolboy Q, we entered The Butchers Club Burger and shook hands with Head Chef, Matt Dick, who hand-picked the choons himself with his past expertise as a music journalist. Today, you’ll find him manning the kitchen of a franchise that’s patted the backs of patty-lovers in Hong Kong and Bali. We walked past the bar-top kitchen where one can watch the team of chefs mincing and grilling meats on the spot, and gazed upon the centrepiece of the 100-seater establishment. Huge slabs of beef rested behind a two-door fridge, meticulously dry-aged between seven and 30 days, sporting distinctive hues of crimson and ebony. We were told that the dry-aged process rids the cuts of rump, chuck and brisket of excess moisture, resulting in a patty with more natural flavour. As burger junkies who like their meats juicy, we admit we were sceptical at first as we feared a product that’d be dry and leathery. Boy, were we absolutely wrong.
The Butchers Club Burger
Biting into The Butchers Club’s Signature Burger ($20) – sinking our teeth into a 160-gram Black Angus grain-fed beef patty – the juices that gushed into our mouth were chock-full of meaty goodness, even dripping messily onto the table. We should probably warn you here: don’t expect a civilised, tidy meal here. Forks are intentionally not provided, forcing diners to tackle its burgers with their hands – the only way a burger should be eaten. Without too firm a grip, we had no problems keeping the stack of maple syrup-glazed bacon, caramelised onion spread, white cheddar, pickles and tomatoes intact. Essentially, this was a simple, elegant burger that tossed gimmicks out the window. And if you ask us (even with cheese oozing all over our face, #sorrynotsorry), they nailed it.
Officially, the Signature Burger is the ‘only’ burger you’ll find on the menu; with a product this scrumptious, that’s really nothing worth complaning about. But turn your attention to the sign hanging discreetly above the kitchen, and you’ll discover The Butchers Club Burger’s secret menu that teases unconventional mish-mashes of tastes and textures. For one, the Wu Tang Style ($25) fuses American and Asian cuisine – the beef patty is fried in sriracha, and clumped with cheese, kimchi, kewpie mayo and tempura sweet potato. We particularly fancied how the tangy, spicy kimchi provided a shrewd substitute for traditional pickles, with the tempura sweet potato adding a satisfying crunch you’d expect from lettuce. We’d rap more praises about this bombshell of a burger, but hold up, ’cos there’s simply more to be said.
Vegetarians aren’t excluded from this party for the tastebuds; the What Food Eats ($23) sees to that with a chickpea patty topped with fried halloumi, lettuce, tomato and spicy Greek yoghurt. But instead, we opted for a different alternative to beef. Turns out, this place whips up a wicked fish sandwich too. At $24, the Captain Ahab was a much lighter load with its panko-breaded ling fillet, with homemade tartar sauce and spicy coleslaw. Despite having the fluffy texture of cod on the inside, the NZ fillet still held its own against its beefy counterparts with a thick, crunchy exterior. We also have to add that The Butcher Club’s Duck Fat Fries ($8) – as grossly unhealthy as it sounds – is a surprisingly delicate side despite being triple-fried in duck fat. Lightly salted, these sinful wedge-shaped tidbits are piping hot, so watch your tongue!
Unfortunately by this point, we were too stuffed to conquer the Double Happiness ($38) – a decadent double patty stacked with double cheese and the works between two grilled cheese sammys. We’re fully aware that that sounds completely bonkers, but it’s not gonna stop us from giving it a shot the next time we swoop by this joint. With some of the most delectable burgers we’ve had in a while, you can bet we’ll be demanding our membership with The Butchers Club Burger pronto.
The Butchers Club Burger, 3A River Valley Road #01-01B, Singapore 179020. Open Sun-Tue, 12pm-12am, Wed-Thur, 12pm-2am, Fri-Sat, 12pm-4am.