Burger fans worldwide always made sure to stop by Shake Shack in the US during their travels to give their delicious burgers a try. Shake Shack started out as a hotdog cart from 2001 to 2003 and only secured a permanent kiosk since 2004 in New York City. When Shake Shack started their expansion throughout Asia, you could spot endless pictures on Instagram of people having their burgers in Korea, Japan, UK and finally Singapore.
My first experience with Shake Shack was in Seoul and since I do not eat beef, there was only the shrooms version and I wasn’t exactly impressed. So when they opened their first ever outlet in Jewel in Nov 2019, it never came across my mind to join in the crazy long queues. Since then, Shake Shack has opened their 5th outlet at Vivocity this December.
Since the latest outlet was in my neighborhood, I decided to give it a try and the biggest factor was the availability of a chicken burger on their menu that swayed my interest in giving the chain a 2nd try. Preparation were in place for safe distancing and crowd control just one day before the opening.
I was ushered into the queuing line after my temperature was taken and I was surprised that there wasn’t a long snaking queue and it took me only a 10 mins wait to get to put in my orders. I guess with 5 outlets, the novelty has worn off for most.
You have the option to place your orders via these order kiosks or via the counter if you prefer human interaction.
You just need to place the orders, get a buzzer from the side, scan the QR code of the buzzer for your order and make payment and you are ready to go.
We were ushered to our table by the service staff to prevent unnecessary crowding and standing around the areas and to make sure that safe distancing measures are followed. The entire space is brightly lit and similar to the one I have visited before where you see the Shake Shack all over the world marketing video playing on their TV wall.
For those who prefer an outdoor experience can go for the seats that are under their romantically lit verandah.
We waited for 10-15 mins before the buzzer rang and we collected our food from the side counter. We ordered 2 sets of chicken burger with extra sauce on the side as well as 2 different flavours of milk shakes.
All sauces are given by the staff instead of the self service stands which are closed during this period.
The milkshakes have a very thick consistency and is very creamy but I find the flavours a bit lacking. I could taste the strong vanilla ice cream flavours but as I ordered the strawberry milkshake, I was disappointed I could hardly taste the strawberry. I have had some very good milkshakes in the States and they are totally worth the calories but this is not it. Those who likes pure vanilla shakes would probably like this.
The best part of my meal is probably the crinkle fries as they were all golden crispy even after I finished my burger. I am personally a big fan of crinkle fries so I might be slight bias but I really loved the crispy texture with a marshy soft inside with every single fry.
They provided these very cute wooden picks where you can eat your fries with sauces without getting your fingers oily and dirty. The cheese fries comes with a side of melted cheese sauce which is very light with just enough cheesy flavours to give your fries that additional oomph. Comparing the cheese to Nacho cheese, this version is much lighter in both flavours and consistency.
The chicken burger came with a crispy fried chicken breast patty, shreds of lettuce with a drizzle of buttermilk herb mayo. For the price of the burger, I felt that the construction of the burger was quite inadequate with just the basic patty, vegetable and sauce. At first glance, the buttermilk burger from M looks much more luxurious.
Taste wise, the burger buns were nicely buttered and grilled on one side so you get that slightly buttery flavour from the bun. While they were soft enough, the buns were not exactly fluffy enough. The chicken patty was extremely crispy as you can heard the crunch while biting into it and the meat was still juicy and succulent enough although it was chicken breast. The lettuce were slightly limp and the sauce was quite limited so I was glad we ordered additional sauce on the side with no additional cost.
Overall, I am not overly impressed by Shake Shack just like my visit in Seoul but to be fair they are well known for their beef burgers and I do not take beef so my review can only be for reference for non beef customers. While the burgers are not impressive, they are quite tasty and can be another choice when you are craving for fast food and I absolutely loved their fries and would probably go back just for them.
Address: 1 HarbourFront Walk, #01-163/164 Vivo City, Singapore 098585
Operating hours: 11 am to 10 pm
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