Relish

Dad and i were driving along the Bukit Timah roads when i chanced upon an orange "relish" atop Cluny Court, alerted him and we happily turned in for a hamburger fix.



We may not be one of those kids-go-gaga type of burger fanatics, but i sure approached the food with great anxiety. How could the second brainchild of lawyer-turned-chef Willin Low go anywhere too wrong right? And indeed, the place already struck a positive impression.



The eatery's unadorned white walls and high ceiling drew a youthful welcoming vibe, just as unintimidating as their simple menu.Adding just a bit of fun is a wall mural filled with squiggles of cartoon drawings of cows, pig and a chicken. Quite an entertaining insert.



There are just three salads, three side orders, 10 burgers and three desserts- to go along with a beverage list. Picking off this single-sided menu board was not much of a dilemma for me since half the range was beef-based. Then, i spotted the... charsiew burger. ahah this one practically called out to me.


Bacon Cheese Burger ($19)

The wait for Dad's burger was quite significant as he wanted his beef patty well done. This was the basic classic of meat patty, cheese, bacon strips between burger buns.


Char Siew Burger ($19)

Then came my order. The BBQ char siew pork open burger turned out to be unlike any char siew I've eaten- i knew red was not right but black wasn't any prettier.

To nitpick, it had failed to meet the local charsiew characteristics. A major identity crisis lied in this East-Meets-West creation, struggling to find a hit spot between its hawker roots and a gourmet status. However, i still thought i could relish it up with much ease- the soft-bone pork made things really tender while the meat proved a flavoursome addiction.

As i was nearing the end of my open-faced focaccia, something hard hit on my teeth. A plastic-chip-in-homemade-bread sounded gross but a delight to the bill- that sedap charsiew fella became a full subsidy.

A blessing in disguise.

So Relish boasted the concept, the appeal and the flavour but missed to instill a distinct identity on its diners. Plus, the price is an anti-climax (unless you are as lucky as me).

Relish
501 Bukit Timah Road
#02-01 Cluny Court