Wok In Burger: Salted Egg Fried Squid & Other Zi Char Dishes Served In Burgers In Bukit Merah

Barely a handful of weeks old, Wok In Burger is creeping on to local foodies’ radars, all thanks to its family-owned zi char stall, Keng Eng Kee Seafood, that decided to branch out to create zi char burgers.

The parent stall is located in Bukit Merah within the same coffee shop (merely a few metres away) so patrons can try out the new stall should they be curious enough, otherwise, they can stick with the regular zi char dishes.

The menu is rather lean but kept interesting enough that will make you want to rally up a few friends so you can try a wider selection. The first on our list was the Salted Egg “Sotong” Blur-ger (S$9.80), stacked with large deep-fried rings of squid that’s been slathered in salted egg batter.

On the menu, there’s a single chilli symbol next to the item, indicating it to be spicy. But I couldn’t detect any heat at all. I do, however, have to commend them on an egg-cellent salted egg batter that was sufficiently salty, sweet and peppery.

My first taste of Marmite was many years ago, and I know for a fact that after that single incident, I swore to myself I’d stay far away from that wretched spread. The chef convinced me that their Marmite Chicken Burger (S$9.80) wasn’t anything like Marmite on its own.

With the help of a healthy dose of honey (among other ingredients), the Marmite failed to be potent. Instead, the sticky sauce was sweet, savoury and carried traces of soya sauce.

I loved how generously-sized the patties were, and in spite of having to succumb to an avalanche of sauce, the batter stayed crispy and the patty was incredibly juicy and tender.

Speaking of an avalanche of sauce, you’re going to want to pour out all the chilli crab sauce on to their Chilli Soft Shell Crab Burger (S$15). Accompanied by two chilli symbols in the menu, I was expecting a fiery kick on the first bite.

In reality, it was a slow burn. But, oh baby, that chilli sauce was amazing! It had just the right balance of sweet and spicy, with a distinguishable tomato base.

Again, the soft shell crab was incredibly fried to an addictive crunch, and the portion was arguably one of the bigger whole soft shell crabs I’ve seen in a burger.

The only pork burger I tried was the Pai Gu Wang Burger (S$9.80). Katsu-fried and smothered in a sweet and sour sauce, I loved how tender it was. The only setback was that the sauce lacked a punchiness that one would expect from a tangy condiment.

Just for kicks, the Salted Egg Soft Shell Crab Burger (S$15) was also presented, and needless to say, it was just as good as the first burger. However, if I had to recommend between the two, I would say go for the fried squid one simply because of its novelty and I felt a lot more satisfied from it.

Although most of the menu here is burger-centric, you won’t be let down by its sizeable portions, great flavours and economical value. It also helps that the block in which the coffee shop is easy to locate, in spite of the surrounding area being an industrial region.

I’m keen to return to actually try out the zi char dishes at Keng Eng Kee Seafood itself, just out of curiosity. But if someone asked me where in Bukit Merah I’d go for burgers, I wouldn’t hesitate to mention Wok In Burger.

Expected damage: S$10 – S$15 per person