Exhaustive Burger Experience at Three Buns

Three Buns might have been there for more than 2 years when I firstly had my feet stepped into the venue. Yeah, actually I was so excited to visit it when it's just established. However, my sister went there first without me and that ended up making me keep delaying going there as I had to find a companion. Weeks passed and finally BAMMMM! 2 years already LOL. Nonetheless, call me lucky that Three Buns finally released some of their new menus and my foodie friends and I were invited to give them a try. So there I was, becoming the super late first timer *giggling*. 

Entering the venue, you would be amazed by what's behind the door because honestly speaking, I didn't expect it was that huge from the outer appearance. For me the design was uniquely remarkable, especially the mezzanine. Looking at the people sitting there reminded me of Char-Char, one restaurant in Seminyak Bali where the guests sat on the staircases facing the road and doing people-watching. So this was like indoor people-watching, what a distinctive idea! I would call this restaurant an art space as well since the overall arrangement beyond the mezzanine was so stunning for me. The kitchen which came in bus shape, the real plants all over the corners, the beautiful wooden furniture, simply every single detail amazed me. I once heard that it used to be very hot because of the semi-transparent ceiling which allowed natural sunlight ran into the venue. However, listening to the guests' complaints, they now made the restaurant fully air-conditioned, so let's say bye to get sweating. 

Having its outlets operating in Jakarta and Singapore, Three Buns mainly specialized in burgers. The guy behind the recipe, Chef Adam Penney, brought the idea from London all the way to Southeast Asia. Wondering how it looked like? Sit back, prepare your coffee, and enjoy the rest of the blog post. 

Baby Huey (IDR 90k)

120g prime beef patty, cheese, ketchup, pickles, and spiced mayo

   

If I recalled correctly in my memory, this burger was one of the most favorites from Three Buns. Yes I remembered at the first few months the restaurant was there and everyone posted about it, it was featuring this Baby Huey. Yeah you read it right, super attractive name. 

Actually, looking at the toppings, this was pretty much like cheese burger. Simple combination typically delivered there with beef patty, cheese, and pickles. I couldn't mention what's it in particular, but there's strong flavor from the pickles which didn't really go well with my palate. Fortunately, it was saved by the tender and luscious patty, so I guessed next time the first request would surely be 'no pickles please'. 

Burning Man (IDR 100k)

120g prime beef patty, smoked cheese, roasted jalapeno, ketchup, dashi mayo

If you had the spicy-tolerant taste bud, Burning Man might be what you wanted. Same as the prior one, but replacing the pickles with jalapeno. Yesss, that chili which has been well-known for being so hot. Combined with the dashi mayo, this menu brought out that mix of sour and spicy flavors to burn your tongue (in a good way for sure). Quite a decent option to try ;)

Fun Boy Three (IDR 110k)

120g prime beef patty, roasted portobello mushroom, miso garlic butter, double ketchup, truffle aioli, and cheese

  

Coming with different stuffing, this Fun Boy Three paired your beef patty with portobello mushroom. I was always a lame for Portobello Mushroom as I couldn't say no to almost any dishes containing it. Not being an exception, this burger was a delectable one with additional miso garlic butter, truffle aioli, and cheese. One of my most favorite among the three; presenting succulent taste, mind-blowing aroma, and beautiful mix of texture from the juicy patty, slightly crispy bun, and chewy mushroom. Yummmm!

Bellyfull (IDR 90k)

Steamed rice, den miso glazed pork belly, griddled daikon, cuciwis greens, sunny side up, fried shallots

Moving to the new menu I mentioned in prior. If rice burger's something already familiar for you, let me introduce you to Three Buns' rice bowl which came with the burger toppings. Yesss, exactly similar to the burger, just that the carbo part was changed to rice instead of buns; couldn't suit Indonesian taste bud better, could it? Don't misinterpret the name Bellyfull as something coming in gigantic portion that would make your tummy full. Instead, that Belly stood for pork belly, whereas for the Full, it might indeed reflect the generous portion for the toppings. Having the sunny side up perfectly runny, it's such a delightful taste having the yolk mixed with the rice and the big cuts of juicy pork belly altogether. Not to mention, the fried shallots which had been my all-time favorite toppings since childhood time. Extra extra joy there <3

Burning Man (IDR 95k)

Stir-fried rice, 100g aged beef patty, gochujang sauce, scallions, ketchup, dashi mayo, smoked cheddar

The rice version of the second burger I had. As said by its name, Burning Man, it indeed burnt your tongue with the hot flavor, but at the same time burnt my addiction to it. I was totally sold! So surprising that I loved loved loved this rice bowl version far better than the burger one, while I usually tended to picked buns than rice for carbo. So I guessed not much explanation needed here, you gotta try yourself :)

The Vanilla Guerilla (IDR 45k)

Dark chocolate brioche bun, vanilla ice cream patty, with hot salted butterscotch sauce

Having had much savory ones, sweet would always be the next. Hearing that this dark chocolate bun with vanilla ice cream stuffing was one of the most favorite, I didn't put any doubt to go for it. Well, in my thought that's so called totality. So being good in savory burger alone's not enough and thus they had to excel in the sweet ones as well. Three Buns proved it right; this dessert couldn't go better. It was super tantalizing with the extra moist bun and the luscious vanilla ice cream whose sweetness flawlessly balance the brioche bun itself. The butterscotch dipping made it become even far more hypnotizing. I loved it to the level that next time I guessed sharing shouldn't be an option *peace*. 

Cereal Milk Shake 

Before I had my first sip from this glass, I had been warned that this drink was addicting yet it's quite a heavy one, just like breakfast shake. Then I took my first sip, ignoring the warning, and oopsss, I guessed I had fallen into the trap as I found myself couldn't stop from sipping some more. Fragrant vanilla and cereal blend which was too good to resist, being neither overly sweet nor too milky. If I could have this for my daily morning breakie, I guessed every evening would be too long to wait for the sun to rise and have another breakfast <3. 

As I believe most of you must have been to Three Buns, so if you used to love it yet you couldn't bear the heat, you'd better shoo your bad memory away as it's no longer hot. Nevertheless, for you who haven't tried Three Buns, you surely had to, especially their 'must-have' trio of Burning Man Rice, The Vanilla Guerilla, and Cereal Milk Shake!

Pssstttt. For you who reside in Bali, Tokyo, Seoul, or Hong Kong, I heard they plan to expand there so wait for your turn :)

Taste: 8/10
Place: 8.5/10
Service: 8.5/10
Price: 8/10

Thanks for Reading! :)

THREE BUNS

Address: Jl. Senopati No.90, Jakarta

Phone: (+62 21) 2930 7780

Operating Hours: Mon - Sun 11am - 00am

Website . Facebook . Twitter . Instagram

Find me on:

Instagram . Facebook . Twitter

Inputs & comments: jessicagaby@ymail.com

Forty Hands Cafe, Tiong Bahru's Brunch Heaven

Strolling around Tiong Bahru area, you could find thousands of hidden gems; petite coffee shops, bakeries, or even hawkers selling spoilers for your palate. It's just like another alley, another surprise, simply the reason why I loved going to this place so much. It's always able to make me feel the real Singapore ambiance as I walked through the arrays of vintage houses, met the Singaporeans passing by, and doubtlessly having the current ones. 

Located just few blocks away from the well-known Plain Vanilla, it's so easy to find this tiny coffee shop. It had very limited number of seats with 'hyper-efficient' space. I literally meant it when I said this as it seemed like one table's so close to another. I couldn't even take any single picture of the venue as the alleys were so narrow, I guessed even hard for 2 people walking at the same time so forget about getting good snaps of the place deep frowned. 

Coming at brunch time, we had to end up finding the venue being so packed and no single chair left at the indoor space. Even for the outdoor, we had to wait for quite some time before able to get the table vacant.  Actually, I've been to this brunch place around 3 years ago, yet I haven't started blogging at that time. I remembered finding it from surfing around, trying to find great places for brunch when I was about to visit Singapore. Passing several years, seemed like nothing really changed, everything looked exactly the same, even the eye-catchy giant trash bin located in front of the place, which came in coffee cup shape. 

Since the first visit, I've fallen in love with 40 Hands' brunch dishes, which were mostly eggs-based. So I surely didn't miss this chance, ordering two of those whose main ingredients were those beautiful yolk burst!

Eggs Cocotte (SGD 18)

Portobello mushrooms and truffle oil? I was like 'are you kidding me?'. I didn't even need a single sec to say I wanna go for it. My spontaneous decision to order this dish turned out excellent. The mushrooms were perfectly chewy and that mind-blowing truffle oil aroma was flawlessly infused in the mixture of runny poached eggs and sauteed spinach. Indulging blend of components and marriage of flavors to be enjoyed with the side toast. 

Eggs Benedict (SGD 19)

Still with eggs but with the 'four-leg protein', these eggs benedict were like enjoying steak and eggs on top of toasted buns. Juicy and flavorful meat laying beautifully under the faultlessly cooked poached eggs.  Adding more happiness (or some might call it fats), there resided the spicy roasted potatoes right next to the main dish. The hot sensation delivered complete mix of taste from this single dish. 

Salmon Hash (SGD 20)

Meet my other crush, Salmon Hash, which might look the least appealing, yet tasted as tantalizing as the prior two. Dice-cut poached salmon in creamy potato and mustard sauce. Hmmm, perhaps I would call this dish the winner among all others we had on the table. The perfectly pink salmon was so tender, and the sauce was so addicting that I couldn't stop having another toast-cut dipped into it and landing in my mouth. 

Hot Piccolo (SGD 5)

Being able to completely satisfy me by its brunch menu, unfortunately didn't mean that I was also mesmerized by the drink, particularly the coffee. It didn't go in synergy with my preference for coffee as I found it too acidic. Despite I loved the aroma and the bold coffee flavor, I thought it would be more lovely when it wasn't as sour as this :). But who knows if your palate do fancy the coffee with high acidity? Or perhaps I should go for something lighter like Cappuccino? Well, maybe next time *wink*

When you're after cafe with palatable brunch courses, and new places were not mandatory in your criteria, Forty Hands could never be a wrong choice to go for ;)

Taste: 8.5/10

Place: 7/10

Service: 7.5/10

Price: 8/10

Thanks for Reading! :)

FORTY HANDS

Address: 78 Yong Siak Street, Singapore

Phone: (+65) 6225 8545

Operating Hours: Mon - Sun 7.30am - 5.30pm

Website . Facebook . Instagram

Find me on:
Instagram . Facebook . Twitter
Inputs & comments: jessicagaby@ymail.com

Lady M, Orchard's Mille Crepes Queen

When everyone else has already been here and has posted perhaps tons of pictures of its well-known mille crepes, I've just been here last January. I heard from my friends that the outlet was still extremely crowded especially in peak hours and thereby to avoid that, my friends and I came here early in the morning just at the time they opened the door for the customers. 

The venue came in very unique design, not being complete 2-storey outlet, but only partly instead. Some seats were literally located along the steep staircase, kinda scary as it's quite narrow as well. 

Mainly covered with white, it delivered classic yet casual ambience. High ceiling with huge glass windows at the front part, letting the guests to enjoy the view of the busy Orchard road while munching their desserts. And actually, the best view could be enjoyed from the most narrow corner I mentioned before. 

As I was always too weak to resist any desserts and the time for choosing which one to go for's always tough for me, therefore this order time at Lady M wasn't an exception. I had no choice but to ask the waitress on the most recommended ones. Unique stuff, they actually made the menu came in order, starting from the most ordered cake. No, I didn't end up opt for the cake from like the top 3 only giggling. I used that menu for my reference, but still finally went for the ones I guesstimated would be awesome. 

Strawberry Mille Feuille (SGD 9.63)

The main reason we went for this cake was because we wanted to try something new, the one we hadn't seen being posted by anyone else. The choice went to this so called 'Thousand-layer cake', serving layers of puff pastry, whipped cream, sponge cake, vanilla cream, strawberry jam, and fresh strawberries. Making it more special, there's a touch of kirsch hidden in the cake, which was basically brandy distilled from fermented juice of cherries. The flavor was balanced as the creaminess was complemented with refreshing taste from the sour and sweet fruit cuts and jam. Though overall it's a decent one, I honestly preferred the puff pastry to be more flaky instead of kinda soggy.

Chocolate Mille Crepes (SGD 9.63)

Even far before we arrived here, I still remember the first time I mentioned to my SG-trip buddies that I wanted to try Lady M, my friend Yenny had repeatedly said that their Choco mille crepes was mandatory. As I didn't doubt her and the cake was indeed the most favorite, it became even the first one mentioned to be listed on the order. Yet, I intentionally put it as the last one here in the review, just to make it a climax. 

Presentation wise, the cake did deserve two thumbs up. All the layers were faultlessly arranged that the distance between all of them were equal. The perfection turned it to be so seductive to resist. When it came to taste, the outer beauty didn't tell even a single lie. The texture was heavenly smooth with the super-thin crepe base and moist creme layers in between, literally burst out indulgence when it melted in your mouth. The strong dark chocolate taste created rich flavor to spoil the palate of any chocolate addict. Voilaaaa!

Hot Cappuccino

Not much to comment as they're indeed not coffee specialist so I didn't set that high expectation on this cup. Simply said, despite I preferred it to be bolder, it was not a bad companion to my cakes

Falling for their mille crepes, I could doubtlessly claim that Lady M would be one of my must stops in my following visits to Singapore. I would for sure come back for the other flavors and the other cakes I was attracted to, as well. It's proven that people indeed didn't just 'buy the venue', but also the taste!

Taste: 8.5/10

Place: 8.5/10

Service: 8/10

Price: 8/10

LADY M

Address: Orchard Central Shopping Mall, 181 Orchard Road, Singapore

Phone: (+65) 6509 3673

Operating Hours: Mon - Sun 11am - 10pm

Website . Facebook . Instagram

Find me on:

Instagram . Facebook . Twitter

Inputs & comments: jessicagaby@ymail.com