June 2013

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JUNE2013ISSUE 16

10 BURGER VOCABULARIES | 4Burger terms burger fansshould know.

SINGAPORES BEST BURGERS| 6A compilation of Singaporesbest burgers.

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eMagazine

A P UR PL E S AGE MONTHLY PU BLIC ATION

Founder & Publisher

TONY SEOW

Editorial Advisor

SHIRLEY KOK

Editor in Chief

TIDA WETWIJITTRAKAN

Cover image by

JONES THE GROCER

This issue was inspired by someone

I once knew who collected burger

pictures. He was so determined to

fill up his Facebook album with 200

burger pictures from every joint

possible in Singapore and other

Southeast Asian countries that hetraveled to. Initially he wanted the

album to embrace only one burger

from each joint, but eventually gave

up because it was quite impossible

to find so many burger places,

especially in Singapore. Every week,

it was his mission to try one new

burger with his best friend and it

became something he really looked

forward to. I always anticipated his

feedbacks and was always delighted

to find that some famous joints are

really mediocre, and some hidden

gems were surprisingly fantastic.

This issue hardly has 200 pictures,

but I had the chance to relive the

burger hunt and chose only the best

of them for you to consider trying.

If its any particular sentiment that I

feel about this issue, its gratitude.

Gratitude for such lovely creations ofevery person with a burger passion

that decided to offer it to us, and

respect for that talent and patience

involved in the process of creating

the perfect burger. Heres a toast to

all the beautiful seasonings, cheeses,

lettuces, and sauces involved in this

stacked juicy goodness.

Burger Hunt

Tida

Editor in Chief

Burgers by Jewel Caf and Bar

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FUN FACTS 4

10 BURGER VOCABULARIES | Think you are a true burger

fanatic? Find out how many burger terms you know.

SPECIAL FEATURE 6

BURGER COMPILATION | 8 of Singapores best burgers we

think you should try.

A STORY TO TELL 18

MAN, FOOD, & TECHNOLOGY | A juicy interview with software

entrepreneur and food writer Jon Yongfook Cockle.

PICTURE THIS 22

SUMMER OF COLOURS | Purple Sages most vibrant

decorations with spectacular details at your service.

HEALTHY LIVING 24

SALT | One of the most incredible gift by Mother Nature, but

can we do without it?

T A S T E | J U N E 2 0 1 3

CONTENTS

18

22

24

6

4

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04

tenburgerVocabularies

SLOPPERA burger smothered in red and

green chilies.

PATTY MELTA buttered and fried burger with a

patty, sauted onions and cheese

between two slices of rye bread.

AUSTRALIAN BURGERWith minimum ground beef, this

burger includes beetroots, grilled

onion, and sometimes cheese,pineapple, and a well-done fried egg.

There are many

disclaimers of the

origin of burgers.

Once called

hamburger, many

individuals and cities

in the USA haveclaimed they created

and named it after

Hamburg, Germany.

Origins aside, here

are some burger

vocabularies if you

are a burger-fanatic.

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FUN FACTS 05

SLIDERA very small burger patty

sprinkled with diced onions

and sometimes cheese, served

on an equally small bun.

SLUGBURGER

A traditional Northeast Mississippidelicacy with a patty made from

beef or pork and an extender like

soybeans, deep fried and served

with mustard, pickles and onions.

STEAKBURGERA burger made with higher

quality meat, such as ground

steak or other lean beef.

LUTHER BURGERA burger or cheeseburger

prepared with one or more glazed

doughnuts in place of a bun.

LOW CARB BURGERA burger that uses large pieces

of lettuce in place of a bun.

JUICY LUCYIn Minnesota, USA, this burger has

a cheese slice placed inside the

patty instead of on top, causing it

to melt and ooze out once bitten.

KUBIE BURGERIn Alberta, Canada, this is aburger made with a pressed

Ukrainian sausage.

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01HUMMERSTONSBRUNCH BURGER280 grams USDA Grilled Beef Patty, Applewood-

Smoked Bacon, Caramelized Onions, Tomato, Fried

Egg, Greens, Fresh Jalapeno, Hummerstons Fries

and Spiced Tomato Chili Aioli

Another fabulous burger, Hummerstons

impresses with their largely stacked juiciness.

The applewood-smoked bacon, fried egg, and

jalapenos gave the burger a distinct smokiness

and texture that tastes like breakfast, lunch,

and dinner goodness all in one.

$25.00 HUMMERSTONS

06 BURGER COMPILATION

of the best burgers in Singapore.

BurgerCompilation.8 Burgers one of the simplest forms of comfort food aroundthe world popularized by junk food chains, can be one ofthe most enjoyable meal to order. When done right, these

beauties are a wonderful gourmet chow. Here are some of

the best that you can find in Singapore.

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02THE BBURGER160g Dry Aged Beef Patty, CaramelisedOnions, French Comt Cheese,Capers

and Garlic Mayonnaise.

Created by the Michelin Star Chef

Bruno Menard, the popular burger

has got all the basics right and is

very juicy. For those with a rich

palate, the burger could use a little

more salt and pepper.

$19.00 &MADE

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BURGER COMPILATION 09

03USDA PRIMEBURGER280 grams USDA Prime Beef

Patty, Cheddar Cheese, Sauted

Mushrooms, Lightly Toasted Bun,

Steak Fries.

If you are looking for a less-is-

more burger, Mortons Steak

House does it best. Besides

great steaks, they are also

known for their simple yet

mouthwatering burgers. There

are also choices of Swiss or

Crumbled Blue Cheese for the

stronger palates. For a more

complex burger, add sauted

onions and crisp bacon as well.

$35.00MORTONS STEAK HOUSE

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04DE BURGBURGER200g Australian Striploin Patty, BBQ

Sauce, Cheese, Grilled Crispy Bacon,

Grilled Portobello, Salad, Tomato

slice, Onions, and Mayonnaise.

As decadent as its reputation,

this coffee shop burger joint

never ceases to blow the

mind. Their patty is absolutely

unadulterated no herbs, no

spices, no binding agents, and

the Portobello mushroom adds

tremendous juiciness to thesignature burger as well. Make

sure you say hi to Andrew, the

passionate creator of De Burg if

he is around.

$18.50 DE BURG


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05THE ORIOLEBURGER180g US Angus Patty, Cheddar

Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Onions,

Hand-Cut Chips, and Tomato Relish.

Besides being one of the best

looking burgers, this burger

tastes beautifully smokey. The

tomato relish complemented the

attractive dish brilliantly, giving

a sweet sensation to the salted

angus beef patty. One of the best

parts was the hand-cut chips thatwere crisp on the outside and hot

and fluffy on the inside.

$25.00 ORIOLE


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06AUSTRALIANWAGYU BURGER200g Premium Australian Wagyu Patty, Bacon,

Gruyre Cheese, Truffle Mayonnaise, Pickles,

Mustard, Bois Boudran Sauce, Caramelised

Onions, House-Baked Bun.

The beautiful burger is flawless and

seasoned with fragrant herbs and spices.

The truffle mayonnaise and bois boudran

sauce brought out a great balance of

flavours savoury, and mildly sweet

flavours of the patty, alongside crunchy

vinegary pickles, and sweet and savoury

caramelised onions.

$26.00JONES THE GROCER


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07CUSTOM MADE

BURGER

150grams Homemade Premium

Beef Patty, Homemade Barbeque

Sauce, Aged Cheddar Cheese,

Portobello Mushrooms and

Homemade Bun.

When food is cooked out of

love and passion, one can

always tell. This burger tasted

and looked quite like passion

itself. The flavours were rich

and well balanced with added

Portobello mushroom that gave

it the extra juiciness.

$15.00 FAT BOYS

BURGER COMPILATION 15

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08

OMG!BURGER

Stack of Crispy Bacon,

Luncheon Meat, 150g

Beef Patty, Cheddar,

Lettuce, Onions,

Tomatoes, and a

Sunny-Side-Up.

Adrian, the owner,

had gone through

many types of

luncheon meat to

find the perfect one

to complement this

burger. A fantastic

meal anytime of the

day, try the OMG for

a crisp and crunchy

burger that drips

with luncheon meat

and beef patty

flavours something

you probably havent

tried before.

$20.00 JEWEL CAF AND BAR


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The unique name has beencirculating around Singapores ber

savvy crowd fashion shows, womens

magazines, mens magazines, the

hippest parties in town. The first time

we spotted him was at Art Stage 2012,

Marina Bay Sands in his sleek black

blazer and clean-cut, slightly grey hair,

a colour only George Clooney and

Richard Gere have been able to pull

off so far. The name is Jon Yongfook

Cockle a software entrepreneur who

rose to popularity in Singapore within

just two years.

He accomplished his first success in

2008 starting an online recipe portal in

Japan.

It got quite popular and it was just a

place where you can share recipes, he

said, It got featured in TIME magazine

as one of the best websites in 2008. In2009 he sold it. But it didnt end there.

The second time round, he had joinedCookpad which flourished into one of

Japans biggest technology company.

They were basically doing what I was

doing on a much bigger scale, he

continued with a sense of seriousness

something we arent so used to when

it comes to talking about food.

Compared to the magnitude of his

pensive look on Instagram, he was

actually rather soft spoken and relaxedin person. His tweets, on the other

hand, are quite contrary to his real-

life personality, translating into suave

remarks of human behavior, technology,

food trends, and at times even parodic

opinions of his individuality.

As we waited for our fourth burger of

the day to arrive, we finally moved onto

the topic of burgers itself.

What significance do burgers have inpop culture? We asked.

Burgers seem to constantly be in

a renaissance, being reinvented or

refined. I think its because a burgeris a really simple canvas for creation -

fundamentally its just meat in a bun,

so as a chef you can riff off that quite

easily. Burgers are close to our heart

because they are probably one of the

few forms of food that you eat as a

kid that you can still justify eating as

an adult, since adult versions are

easy to find. I dont eat fish fingers or

alphabet pasta anymore as an adult,

but I certainly go out of my way to seek

good burgers!

And how often do you cook?

I try to cook a few times a week actually.

And it depends. If I am dieting or I am

really watching what I eat, then Ill cook

almost every day so I can have complete

control. Right now my gas is broken. So

everything I have been cooking is in my

Le Creuset crock pot. When I feel like

Asian food, I cook curry or rending; and

when I feel like Western flavours, I cook

stew, soup, pulled pork, you know.

When it comes to his favourite things

to eat, he prefers anything he would

be too lazy to make himself like soup

dumplings, dim sum, and xiao long bao.

I make gyoza at home a lot. He added.

I think in the last few decades weve seen food and cooking get

adopted by men as a tactic for attracting women. It wasnt always

this way. Now though, it means ones skill at cooking is often looked

at in a subtly competitive way, as men already do with their clothes, or

their jobs, or their karaoke skills. I think this is a net win for everyone,

it means women get treated to nicer food and men learn more about

how to cook well.

- Jon Yongfook Cockle

MAN,FOOD &TECHNOLOGY.

A STORY TO TELL 19

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20 A STORY TO TELL

So what is the most memorable thing

youve ever eaten?

Good question, he replied. One

dish he still vividly remembers was at

the Australian Chef, Luke Mangans

restaurant called Salt back in Tokyo

where he used to live.

It was a layer of many things. At

the bottom, it was a very crisp and

thin pastry with sweet and savoury

onions in it. The second layer was a

big roasted fig which was really oozy,

sweet and tart, and on top of that

was a perfectly salty, naturally oily

piece of mackerel. The combination of

everything in that dish was awesome.

But they switch their menu around

every week or so. He seemed to

love the topic and continued withanother experience he had. I was at

this place called Bo Innovation before

they got their Michelin star. My date

didnt show up. She wasnt a very

nice person. But it turned out to be

of the best meals of my life. I had a

budget for that meal so I got the more

expensive meal for myself. The wine

I had was fantastic. And I had their

molecular Xiao Long Bao - this little

sphere that was filled with Xiao Long

Bao broth. It had an edible polymer

and when you put it in your mouth

it bursts. It was delicious. He then

continued to tell us that he is no longer

into fine dining food these days. Now,

I prefer much more rustic food. I am a

big fan of hawker food so I will go out

and seek, lets say, the best wanton

mee. Best wanton mee Ive ever had

was at Old Airport Road. Therere two

there and theyre both great. Or the

one at lavender food centre which

is probably my favourite. Very long

queue though. But worth it.

How did you start cooking anyway?

I started in 2006-2007 when I was

back in Tokyo. When you are living

alone then you want to learn how to

cook right? When your love interest

comes over, you want to be a good

cook. You want to be able to take

care of the girl you are dating because

you dont want to be a lazy bum

who doesnt know how to maketoast. Actually, I got into it because

of Gordon Ramsey who at that time

wasnt as sensational as he is now.

He had his peak of being a character

of himself when he is doing Hells

Kitchen. He also had a show in the UK

called the The F Word where he got

celebrities in and cooked with them.

It wasnt about his temper at all even

though he had his occasional temper

tantrums. But he is a perfectionist and

he cares about what he does. Before

that it was more about his pursuit

of perfection. If you are a creative

person I think you will understand

that psychology. For the first time, I

actually thought this is a chef I can

relate to, and I can actually look up

to. I read his back story and its easy

to be impressed by the guy because

he worked really really hard to get to

where he is right now.

We were impressed at how he

casually answered all of our questions

and took generous bites of the burgersat the same time. As he bit into his last

burger, we proceeded with our last

question:

Share with us some cooking tips?

You need the basics. In terms of cost

benefit ratio, the most you can improve

your food by doing the least work is

just by having the basics done right.

Dont buy cheap table salt. Buy proper

salt. Same goes for pepper. Have good

seasoning. Pay a few extra dollars for

good salt. You can taste the difference

immediately. The same goes for olive

oil. You dont need to have 15 different

pans as well. You just need one good

pan. Like a cast iron pan - something

that can transfer heat evenly across

the surface and yeah just by having

those two things, the quality and taste

of your food will improve a lot by nothaving to do too much.

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BURGER DIRECTORY 21

TASTE JUNE ISSUE DIRECTORY

&MADEPACIFIC PLAZA #01-04/05/06

9 SCOTTS ROAD SINGAPORE 228210

TEL: 63482838

JEWEL CAF AND BAR129 RANGOON ROAD

SINGAPORE 218407

TEL: 6298 9216

JONES THE GROCERION ORCHARD #04-14

2 ORCHARD TURN SINGAPORE 238801

TEL: 6884 5597

ORIOLE COFFEE96 SOMERSET ROAD

SINGAPORE 238163

TEL: 6238 8348

MORTONS THE STEAKHOUSEMANDARIN ORIENTAL SINGAPORE

FOURTH STOREY 5 RAFFLES AVENUE

MARINA SQUARE SINGAPORE 039797

TEL: 6339 3740

DE BURG119 BUKIT MERAH LANE 1

SINGAPORE 151119

TEL: 6666 6666

FATBOYS18 MOHAMED SULTAN ROAD

SINGAPORE 238967

TEL: 6735 8840

HUMMERSTONSROBERTSON WALK

SINGAPORE 237995

TEL: 8428 1620

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24 HEALTHY LIVING

The single creation by mother nature that makes yourfood more delicious than you ever thought possible.Salt

It absolutely baffles me when I sample a burger that

has little or no seasoning. It made me realize how

important salt is when it comes to the patties. How

can you not put enough salt on your patty? I once had

a crunchy fresh veggie sandwich. It was walnut bread

with onion slices, tomatoes, coriander, cucumber,

capsicum, mango ginger (this was spectacular),

lettuce, and Gouda cheese. The only seasoning it

had was pink Himalayan salt. And I tell you it was

the best sandwich Ive ever had in my life. The salt

brought out the best flavours and fragrance in each

and every single vegetable in that sandwich, and the

toasted crunch of the bread made it perfect. We had it

on Christmas eve and ate it while watching Inception.

It was one of the most memorable Christmas eve Ive

ever had.

For some reason, I wasnt ever able to replicate that

sandwich again. But one thing I know is it made merealize what amazing things salt does to your food.

Being exposed to many types of cultures and religions

growing up, I was exposed to all kinds of diet. Recently,

it was all the types of fasting done over festivals, the

equinox, and astrologically powerful period. That was

when I also came across this diet.. A diet far worse

than fasting The Salt-Free Diet.

It is a powerful one detaching your mind from the salt

in your food. The body goes into so much of distress

when there is no seasoning in your food. The mind

also starts to find other things to hold on to whether

it is the lemon in your buttered rice, or vinegar in your

salad. It makes one realize how much we are attached

to the senses in our body.

It boils down to the truth we dont need salt to survive.

Trying the salt-free diet makes you break boundaries,

habits of eating unhealthy food and adding salt to the

familiar flavours of your favourite dishes. Eliminating

sodium from your diet flushes out the toxins in your

body and allows your kidney to rest from the hard

work of salt-flushing. After a months time, you start

to realize how strong your mind can be. The willpower

of abstaining from salt gives you a new sense of

determination that your body is stronger than you

think it is, and so is your mind. You can now enjoy the

subtlest of flavours in anything and there is a newfound

sense of appreciation for every single dish you try. The

worst thing is...you also realize how much of junk you

have been eating your whole life. You become more

aware of your body and are able to identify what yourbody really needs not just cravings of the mind. Your

body feels light, and your conscience is cleared.

So the question is how game are we to try this diet?

One would wonder why anybody would put themselves

through the distress of conquering the mind through

diet restrictions. But if you could overcome the mind

with such focus, you would realize how much more

you could achieve in your life as well. Like I heard

somewhere before Every little thing you do is a

reflection of how you view life. So take the challenge,

go the extra mile for your mind and body, and tell us

how amazing you feel afterwards.

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June 2013