The hip burger restaurant from the UK has turned one, so we speak to these burger gurus on what they've learnt from the past year, the Singaporean food scene, and even favourite hawker food
Time does fly when you’re having fun, doesn’t it? Especially if your idea of fun involves getting your mitts dirty while devouring a buffalo chicken or a mustard-fried beef burger, with appropriately sinful sides of gooey shambal fries and battered monkey fingers. MEATliquor has been dominating the burger game in Singapore for one year now, and despite what seems to be a ceaseless influx of burger restaurants popping up in the food scene, the UK-originated franchise continues to flourish.
New lunch and brunch deals, and tie-ups with music authorities like Sunshine Nation and Laneway Festival show that MEATliquor has been evolving – albeit through local eyes – from cook crew to a culture. We speak to co-founder, Scott Collins, and Jacques Dejardin, who helps run the branch in Singapore alongside other establishments like Oxwell & Co. and Operation Dagger, to grab their thoughts on MEATliquor’s one year in Singapore.
For starters, we do love how everyone always feel welcome at MEATliquor.
Jacques Dejardin: I mean, we’re a super family-friendly business. I don’t dispute that, late at night, it can get quite funky and rowdy in here, and I won’t necessarily bring my children at that hour. But we get a really good family crowd here. Weekend lunches, weekend dinners – full of families. Also, a lot of the time in the scene, people ask me, “Are you an expat market? Are you a local market?”. We’ve never really had one! MEATliquor has always been inclusive, except for too drunk customers who act like idiots.
A lot of other burger spots have opened since MEATliquor arrived. How do you feel about the competition?
Scott Collins: I’ve grown a thicker skin. We didn’t invent burgers, cocktails and restaurants. But we helped put it all together. We did a pop-up over five years ago (in the UK) and we’re rather flattered to be held responsible for this sort of burger emergence. We had so many people rip us off in terms of name, style and burger, but we just kept on evolving. A lot of chains in Britain that call themselves burger bars can’t do anything else but burgers, and it looks rather stupid. Whereas here, we immerse ourselves in the Singaporean food scene. We can put essentially anything on the menu; the focus is still on burgers, but it’s still about having a great choice.
Do you feel that Singaporean diners differ from those back home in the UK?
Jacques: The market here is very receptive to different styles. It’s definitely not at the forefront in terms of setting food trends; instead, it tends to respond to food trends set in other territories. As operators, we listen more and evolve the offer, and Singapore screamed out for healthier options.
Some locals still regard the burger as an ordinary fast food snack. Were you worried about any public perception that MEATliquor simply offered upmarket fast food?
Scott: I think people get a sense of value when they walk in and see what we’ve done with the place. The music, the service, the attention to detail; it isn’t just a burger. Ours is more of an immersive experience.
Jacques: I actually find it difficult sometimes, that a burger can be perceived as something that has no effort gone into it. Here, there’s an attempt to make it look easy like we’re not trying, when in fact, we’ve spent months developing the bun recipe and looking for the right beef.
Indeed, MEATliquor has spent years perfecting its recipe! The recipe was created by fellow co-founder, Yianni Papoutsis, yeah?
Scott: [Laughs] Yianni is a geek. He became obsessed with burgers and used to sit in American diners and ask questions, and get little secrets from everyone because no chef gives up all his or her secrets. He essentially compiled it all, and adjusted it for the English palate. I met him six-and-a-half years ago when he’d been doing this burger thing in the UK, and even in the UK, we’ve been using the exact same butcher and baker as he did 7 years ago when he was only selling about six burgers a month.
Over here, we had to adjust, even spending days testing burgers, buns, mixes and meats in The Tippling Club ’til it eventually smelt like a burger joint! I even joked to Ryan (Clift, chef-owner of Tippling Club), “Sorry about this mate”. And he was like, “It’s great; it smells like a proper restaurant!” [laughs].
MEATliquor started out as a food truck. Do you think you’ll roll back into that trend here in Singers?
Scott: We don’t trade on the street anymore. We don’t do it because we don’t have to do it anymore. We’d see people who can only afford to do street food in their van with their life savings, but we are fortunate enough to be able afford a restaurant, so we let the younger people have it.
Jacques: Besides, street trading is very controlled here. You can’t just roll your truck up; you need licenses, and those are very expensive. Street food here has a huge audience, but you already find it within hawker centres and food courts.
Any hawker comfort food for you fellas?
Jacques: Yeah, there are just some things here you cannot compete with. I had breakfast today at Tian Tian Chicken Rice (at Maxwell Food Centre). And Mr and Mrs Mohgan (at Crane Road) has incredible value for roti prata.
Do you guys see MEATliquor as more of a culture than just a burger brand?
Scott: It was never supposed to be a brand or a chain. We did it out of honesty and fun. We’ve got eight sites now in the UK, and we’ve got new ones opening in London. It has grown, but it’s still a lot of fun. Whether it’s a culture, I don’t know. People get into it, so I’m not sure if that makes it more of a cult than a culture.
And to sum up, how does it feel to have reached the one-year milestone for MEATliquor Singapore?
Scott: It doesn’t feel like a year to anyone, really. Everyone at home reminds me that it’s been a year, but to me, it just feels mental. It hasn’t been the easiest year in Singapore; I always take a different route every day and wander around and notice stuff closing down – good offerings at that. But we’re still here… alive and kicking.