This is indeed the year of famous burgers shops opening in Singapore.
Other than Shake Shack which launched at Jewel Changi Airport and soon at Neil Road; Burger & Lobster at Jewel and Raffles Hotel, Five Guys has arrived at Plaza Singapura.
Five Guys Burgers and Fries is a famous American fast casual restaurant chain with more than 1600 outlets, serving up hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, sandwiches and milkshakes.
Do you know that Five Guys was named “America’s favourite and most well-known burger brand” according to The Harris Poll’s annual EquiTrend Study?
The popular In-N-Out Burger was No. 2. Ouch!
Former US President Barack Obama is said to be a fan, and was caught on camera buying lunch at the Washington outlet.
Five Guys had humble beginnings and started out in Arlington, Virginia back in 1986 by the Murrell family, named because they had five brothers.
No freezers. No microwaves. No timers. No can-openers. That is one of their tag-lines.
They don’t use frozen ingredients and cook everything fresh from scratch; prep food daily to ensure freshness; don’t use automated cooking timers and rely on instinctive senses.
Over in Singapore’s outlet, pricing starts from $13, offerings include Hamburger ($13), Cheeseburger ($15), Bacon Burger ($15), Bacon Cheese Burger ($17).
For comparison, the price of the Hamburger in London is £7.25, which is about SGD13. (A search online on New York’s Cheeseburger price is USD7.79 = SGD10.54).
Well, Singapore’s prices are always on the expensive end, with the element of high rental and media hype.
At least all these come with double patty.
If you are a small eater, get the “Little Burgers”, and a Little Hamburger and Little Cheeseburgers in Singapore are priced at $11 and $13 respectively.
Buns are baked using free range eggs, beef is 120-day grain-finished from family-owned farms in Ireland and UK, and there will be two slices of American-style cheese between the two patties.
And you can choose the “All The Way” which means ALL TOPPINGS, which means anything from lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, grilled onions, grilled mushroom, ketchup, mustard to mayo.
Tell the cashier “all the way” if you want all of the above. Oh yes, the burgers are also available “bunless”.
Most people would ask for a comparison with Shake Shack.
Well, Shake Shack has the soft potato bun and a more asethetically pleasing package, while Five Guys has a moist, juicy (some say greasy) and beefy substantial meat patty.
Another highlight would be its Fries ($7, $9, $11) available “Five Guys style” or Cajun style which is cooked in peanut oil. Get the plain ones.
The potatoes are hand-cut daily, fried in peanut oil, and so do not taste artificial. Lightly crisp, with a good bite.
However, for weight-watchers, Time Magazine once reported that Five Guys’ French Fries contains 1,464 calories, and it was added to their list of “Top 10 Worst Fast Food Meals”. Oh-oh.
Talking about calories, the Five Guys Shake ($10) comes with or without whipped cream, and all mixed-ins (up to 10) such as strawberry, banana, cherry, peanut butter, malted milk and even bacon (!) are free.
I do know that people also go for Five Guys for the FREE FLOW of peanuts.
The usual stuff, Singaporeans will complain it is expensive then still go line up anyway, till the hype dies off…
Five Guys Singapore
Plaza Singapura Level 1, Unit #01-32/33/34C/35, Singapore 238839
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm (Mon – Sun)
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You will soon find out what Americans already know. Five Guys not too special. Ordinary fast food hamburger, that they will only cook over-done, on an untoasted supermarket bun. It’s ok lah, but nothing to go crazy about. Their fries however are excellent.