Hipster food stalls in hawker centres are all the rage these days, so it was so surprise when I stumbled upon I Love Burger Lah! in Ghim Mo Food Centre. The Muslim-owned stall sells unique and novel burgers and fries.
Just take a look at the quirky menu, with all the food magnets and post-it notes. Don’t you think atas-sounding burgers like the King Delish ($4) fit perfectly into a hipster cafe?
Whiles brainstorming for innovative food items, somehow Zi Char was thrown into the mix. And thus, the Har Cheong Gai Burger ($4) was born.
A Carl’s Jr. burger came to mind when I saw the size of it. I could only hope the flavours would match its size.
With the bun about the size of a one egg frying pan, I half expected the Har Cheong Gai patty to be of a monstrous portion as well.
It was… not that massive, but was quite reasonably portioned. The chicken patty was juicy and I appreciated how the skin remained crunchy even with hickory BBQ sauce poured over.
Each bite had just the right amount of flavour, with a palatable prawn paste taste and a sauce that was mildly sweet with a faint smokiness. I could also taste a subtle sweetness which I was later informed comes from maple syrup.
It was a truly well-thought-out burger in terms of flavour and I highly recommend it.
Behold, the Golden Fortune Lamburger ($4.80). Unfortunately, its taste doesn’t quite do justice to its name.
Chocked full of lettuce, I could barely see the thin patty sandwiched between. It was quite a handful and I admittedly had trouble finding an angle to bite into the burger without getting smushed in the face by lettuce.
I suggest eating the burger with utensils as it may get pretty messy. The patty had a pronounced slightly gamey lamb taste, which may put some people off, but I really enjoyed how soft and moist it was.
However, I couldn’t quite detect any taste from the cheese. I found that this burger paled in comparison to the Har Cheong Gai Burger, losing in size, taste and presentation. The one redeeming factor, however, was its flavourful lamb patty.
What’s a burger without fries? If I were you, I’d order these next two dishes together: King Delish ($4.50) and Cheese Fries ($4). Just look at the portions though! I felt like I was about to dig into one of those food challenges.
I started with the fries and loved how it had just the slightest tinge of spice from the chilli powder. The cheese was also pleasantly mild and tasted like a better version of the kind you get with nachos.
My only gripe, however, was that they could have been more generous with the cheese, as once I finished the top layer, the bottom pieces were a little dry.
I then tacked the main event. Each bite of the burger was filled with a rich yolky goodness accentuated by a housemade sweet sauce and a little spice from chilli powder. A prominent taste of cumin seeds cut through and lingered.
I was completely caught off-guard; you wouldn’t think that beef patties would taste so heavily of herbs and spices. The taste was rather peculiar but it was definitely a good kind of peculiar.
Now I didn’t come here just to try some cheese fries, I came knowing that I Love Burger Lah! serves up some pretty fancy fries. You’ll find sides such as Salted Egg Fries ($4), Truffle Fries ($5) and even Salted Caramel Fries with Himalayan Pink Salt ($4).
My simple-mindedness zoomed in on the longest and most fancy-sounding fries, so of course I went with the Salted Caramel Fries with Himalayan Pink Salt.
The pile of fries came glistening in caramel syrup, and it was hard not to wolf down everything at once. The fries weren’t too salty and the syrup had just the right amount of sweetness.
Though the fries were a tad dry and hard, I’d still choose this flavour combination over normal fries. The taste was rather mild but pleasant, and makes for a good side dish if you ask me.
All in all, the food was pretty good and if I haven’t already stressed this enough, the portions are quite large. Plus, literally everything on the menu is under $5!
I Love Burger Lah! has definitely nailed the Har Cheong Gai Burger, and I can see myself going for that when I need a change from the usual burgers.
Expected damage: $4 – $5 per pax
