Meet 4 meat has been around for several few years now, one of the established next generation of hawkers. As I understand it, its a business run by two friends, one of whom used to be a chef in a variety of restaurants over the years. This is important, because from what I have anecdotally been told, the quality from this stall can depend on whether the ex-chef is in the kitchen or not when you visit.

I have been watching this stall from afar for several years, without ever feeling the inclination to try. Mainly, because hailing from a western country, eating western food from a hawker does not excite me, I cook this at home after all.

Tonight was an exception, a spontaneous drinking session with some kakis was organised, and I had yet to eat dinner. Now I am not in my 20’s anymore, laying a solid foundation on which alcohol can be absorbed into the bloodstream is vitally important for any chance of a hangover-free morning.

The menu is quite extensive. Its not your ordinary hawker western fare, but a more atas restuarant quality menu; steaks, ribs, sides, and even beef wellington. Tonight I felt like a burger. Sadly, they had run out of buns, so I had to choose the wellington burger, instead of my preference for a regular cheeseburger. The wellington burger, similar to a beef wellington is a beef patty wrapped in pastry.

Let’s start by listing all the positives:

• the burger contains a lot of protein, it comes with two patties, that have the great texture of quality minced beef
• the cheese is smoked, which gives the burger a nice complexity
• the fries were decent
• its probably the only wellington burger in Singapore

But then there were things I didn’t like:

• for such good quality beef, it would have benefited from being cooked less, served at medium or medium-rare
• the patty disintegrated while I was eating it, seemingly held together by nothing
• the pickle was pretty average and hard to incorporate into eating with the burger. the burger was too basic, meat, cheese, pastry, and it needed the pickle or some acid in a sauce to cut through all that fat
• the price is steep, at $17 I can get a cheaper burger at shake shack or five guys

I should add, the burger did its job and soaked up the tiger beer, but I cannot see myself ordering it again. Maybe I’ll have to try the grilled meats instead next time.

Price: $17.00

Coffee shop: Brunners Coffeeshop
Address: 228 East Coast Road (corner Jago Cl), Singapore 428925
Hours: 12pm – 2:30pm, 5:30pm – 9pm (closed mondays)