Shake Shack Burgers - We find out what's the fuss about

Shake Shack Burgers have been making waves since they first started in a kiosk in New York in 2004. Since then they have added many stores in North America and around the world. They now have two stores in Hong Kong – in IFC and Pacific Place. In Singapore, their impending arrival seems to be eagerly awaited. According to the Straits Times, they are expected to open their first Singapore store in the Jewel at the Singapore Changi Airport later this year (Burger joint Shake Shack to open at Jewel Changi Airport) . We decided that we had to try one while we were in Hong Kong recently to see what’s the fuss all about.

Shake Shack Pacific Place is their second outlet in HK. It is set up like the typical fast food restaurant except that it looks more grown up with no bright colours or animal mascots all over the place. It is almost corporate like with sterile white, beige and wood surfaces. The routine is the same. Order and pay at the counter. Find a table and go collect your food when your buzzer sounds.

It was a full house when we were there in the evening but the crowd thinned by the time we were done. It is best to arrive late (after 8.30 pm) to avoid queuing.

Here are pictures of the Shake Shack HK menu. It is a straightforward menu with not too many food items to choose from. I noticed that the Hong Kong Exclusive item is milk tea shake. I wonder what will be the Singapore exclusive item. Chendol shake?

We ordered just a couple of basic items – the crinkle-cut fries (HK$27) and the Shackburger (HK$50). The things used at the store are quite minimalist – simple paper containers for the food and plain aluminium trays to carry things around.

The Shackburger was quite small, the size of a McDonald’s fillet-o-fish. The bun had the same texture as well. There were decent amounts of tomato and lettuce which were arranged evenly. It looked like a burger with a toothy grin. How was the taste of this much talked about burger. I would say that the taste of this burger was good. But not jaw-dropping good. The beef pattie had a good beefy taste and had a smooth texture. It is probably more “refined” than a typical fast food burger in terms of taste, more comparable to those served in a restaurant than at a fast food place.

The beef patties are said to be made from “100% all-natural Angus beef, vegetarian fed, humanely raised and source verified. No hormones or antibiotics – EVER.”

As for the fries, they look great with the crinkle cut look. But its taste was not much better than the ones from McDonald’s. What we like in particular about them is that they were not salty (either they were not salted or so lightly salted we did not notice).

All in all, we can say that the Shackburger is indeed a good burger. We like the way the meat blends in with the rest of the vegetables, the bun and the cheese. But we would probably not stand in a long queue for it.