MEATLiquor, the famous burger chain hailing from UK has arrived in Singapore, on the coveted hills of Duxton. As its name suggests, there will definitely be MEAT and LIQUOR in there, and SIN just stands for Singapore.
Amongst the many food establishments in the area, MEATLiquor will be difficult to miss with its striking appearance at a strategic location, and its loud (really loud) music. I was still afraid that I would have a hard time searching for them, but guess what? They were the first place that caught my attention once I arrived upon Duxton Hill. Loud, is what I would describe the appearance of MEAT liquor, because they simply barged their way through into my line of vision.
There are ample of seating both indoors and outdoors. I’d very much have preferred sitting on the outside for the better lighting, but mostly, to escape the really loud music, which can get VERY uncomfortable at times, and really difficult to hold a conversation in. However, I liked the graffiti littered amongst the ceiling and walls of the dimly lit interior, which make it feel like a different place all together.
See what I mean on this virtual tour here!
On Google Virtual Tours, contact The Red Marker
The Food
I particularly liked the menu of MEATLiquor because of how straightforward it is. I am not really a fan of really comprehensive menus, so this one takes the cake for me, and is certainly very helpful for someone who is as indecisive as me. In the month of June, you will be able to roll a die upon the presentation of the bill, which would allow you to enjoy a 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% or a 100% discount of your bill. OMG right? But okay you still got a 33.33333333% chance of paying the entire bill.
We ordered a total of 3 burgers, 1 Bit and a Bob. Bits and Bobs simply means an assortment of small items, and in this case, it just means SIDES AND APPETIZERS! Read my blog can learn more English, please read more often ok? HAHA!
1. Sambal Fries ($10++)
Well.. This was the best out of the lot. I’ve seen it a couple of times on Instagram but have always found it difficult to imagine the taste of this. Do not expect the authentic Singaporean kind of sambal taste, because you won’t find any. The sauce in this had a little spice and tasted cheesy, which made it REALLY addictive. The addition of fried shallots, elevated the dish as it provided the extra texture and flavors. I thought having the fries altogether with the sauce, and egg was ABSOLUTELY DIVINE.
Be sure to mix the dish well though, because we were a little dismayed to find that the fries were entirely naked underneath the 2 sunny side ups!
2. Gunpowder Soft Shell Crab ($14++)
Your good ol’ soft shell crab served with a watered down version of Tobasco sauce, renamed as their Chili sauce. Nothing to shout about, I thought $14++ for this was a little too expensive, although there are remnants of crab meat in there, but nope, not gonna waste my money on this!
On to their signatures -The Burgers. We went for a beef, chicken and the mushroom burger just to get a taste of how they are like!
1) Dead Hippie ($22++) – Beef
Double mustard fried beef patties, dead hippie sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and minced white onions.
The dead hippie sauce must be really dead because I didn’t taste any thing different at all. The first bite into this burger tasted so familiar, my palates were exclaiming “Ah, Mcdonald’s I’ve missed you so!!”. This tasted exactly like how a double cheese burger from McDonald’s would taste, and I thought McD’s may have served a bigger burger, and softer buns.
2) Dirty Chicken Cheeseburger ($19++)
After our experience, with the Dirty Hippie, we questioned whether this would taste exactly like a Zinger burger, since they seemed like they are heading along the slippery slope of selling us fast food burgers at inflated prices. The verdict? I preferred a Zinger Burger from KFC, ANY DAY. The fried chicken in this lacked flavors, and it could do better if it was more moist. Yet another underwhelming burger, and $19++ for this? No way. No freaking way. I’d rather go to KFC to grab a Zinger burger, upsized with Cheese Fries, and feel more satisfied, than paying for this burger. Oh, I’ll still get some change to put into my piggy bank.
3) Halloumi and Mushroom Burger ($16++) For that price, I would expect A HUGE JUICY PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM sitting atop the bun, but nope. The Halloumi (goat + sheep’s milk – a type of brined cheese) was WAY too salty. There were 2 portions it in the burger, decorated with the tiny mushrooms, I was not too sure whether it was the salt, or the overwhelming dryness of the entire burger that kept me thirsty for the entire night.
A Mushroom Swiss from Burger King please.
Closing Remarks
As you can already tell, I wasn’t impressed by the food AT ALL. Except for the sambal fries. The burgers were nothing but a major let down. All 3 burgers lacked flavors, and the Halloumi burger felt as though it was put together without much thought. Probably because they think no one would ever order a mushroom burger at MEATLiquor. I think I would need a lot of liquor to drown out the disappointment I experienced with the food served.
Besides the food, we did not quite enjoy the ambience as well. Despite the pretty graffiti, the indoor seating had music blasting at volume 90 throughout our entire meal. It was tough to hold a conversation, and probably an AWESOME place for shy people on their first dates, as you can just eat in silence, because there’s no point to talk at all. You probably would have to shout over the music to make yourself heard.
It would be the utmost consolation for me if the service was good. Nada. Yet another big, fat red cross on my check list. They have at least 8 servers loitering in the restaurant, but there seems to be a need for at least 3 of them at the entrance to get a puff at any one time. While the rest simply stood along the bar tables with their only duties being, serving out food from the kitchen and clearing tables. Mind you, I don’t think that deserves any of the 10% of the service charge. We didn’t even have any water initially and had to ask for them, and even after we finished the water because of how dry the burgers were, we didn’t get any refills. Asking them for a refill, was a wish that was never granted, despite the place being not even close to full house. Moreover, I do not appreciate being responded with curt replies when we asked for cutleries as they conveniently forgot about them.
Remember the opening promo that they had? While spinning the die in the bowl, I genuinely wished with all my might that I would get the face that reads “MEATLIQUOR” because I was very reluctant to pay for such overpriced food, and EXTREMELY poor service. Indeed, even Lady Luck agreed with me on that point, and we left without paying a single cent. No, not even a tip.
I would have considered leaving some, but the server who gave us the die got so pissed off with the outcome, his entire demeanour towards us changed. Well.. Would you have left any tip?
How to get there?
99 Duxton Road
Opening Hours
Tuesday to Friday: 5pm-2am
Saturday: 5pm-3am
Contact
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/MEATLiquor-SIN
Instagram: @MEATLiquorSIN
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