PUBLISHED July 30th, 2015 04:54 pm | UPDATED May 18th, 2020 04:29 pm
A darling of London’s culinary scene, MEATLiquor has finally made its anticipated arrival in Singapore. Located in the heart of Duxton, their offshoot outlet brings fun dining and good vibes to the neighbourhood with burgers, indecent cocktails, and a cheekily named moniker – MEATLiquor SINgapore.
Taking over the space where the now-defunct ‘Life Is Beautiful’ used to be, the restaurant’s entrance is beset with a huge glowing sign that looks more at home in a Las Vegas casino. And in a move that’ll make Jack Sparrow proud, neo-psychedelic sticker graffitis of funky animal characters wearing maritime costumes are haphazardly placed all over the establishment. We were starting to feel a little batty ourselves, with the reggae dub music playing on the stereo giving off a 70’s English street vibe.
A cocktail was definitely in order.
MEATliquor SINgapore’s Interior
Fans of the fresh and zesty can try the Space Gin Smash ($22), made with London dry gin, lemon juice, apple juice, elderflower cordial, mint, and grapes. Get dangerous with the Game Over ($25), featuring a disastrous-sounding recipe of vodka, gin, rum, tequila, triple sec, pisang ambon, absinthe, lemon juice, and red bull. Surprisingly, it was very well-balanced in reality – but too many of these will still give you a serious buzz.
Those with an inclination for all things sugary will love the Duxton Fizz ($25), an original creation for the Singapore outlet. Think vodka shaken with pear, lemon juice, strawberry, and topped up with fizzy water.
The ludicrously named Kameltoe ($90, group serve) is made with Kamm & Sons (a British aperitif), black pepper infused vodka, lime juice, elderflower, pineapple juice, ginger syrup, and agave honey. And no MEATLiquor visit would be complete without the famed Lagerita Slushy ($22), their margarita-lager mix.
The food is a lot less scandalous, but fun all the same. We helped ourselves to Fried Pickles ($9) that were gloriously covered in greasy batter, making it an excellent beer snack. Disappointment unfolded as the Sambal Fries ($10) were nowhere near as spicy as we expected. Thankfully, it still made for an incredibly tasty dish.
MEATliquor SINgapore’s Sambal Fries
The Chili Cheese Fries ($18) was a smashing hit with everyone on our table, and everything was prepped perfectly; from the finely-chopped onions and jalapeños, to the addictive beef chill we found ourselves reaching for time and again.
It was to our chagrin then that MEATliquor’s signature Dead Hippie ($22) was underwhelming. With mustard-fried beef patties, secret sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and minced white onions, we expected the patty to be more flavourful and savoury. Sadly, it just didn’t hit the spot. We wouldn’t rule out improvement in the future though.
MEATliquor SINgapore’s Dead Hippie with Deep Fried Pickles
On the other hand, the Buffalo Chicken Burger ($20) was in a league of its own. This simple, drool-worthy burger incorporated a chicken patty slathered in home-made hot pepper sauce, lettuce, red onions, and blue cheese sauce. We loved how the tangy sourness of the hot sauce played off against the richness of the blue cheese!
MEATliquor SINgapore’s Dirty Chicken Burger
Unpretentious, daring, and in-your-face, we love MEATLiquor SINgapore’s bravado. Just be warned that waiting time is up to half an hour on busy nights; and since they serve all your food on the same tray, your bibs and bobs might get cold by the time your burgers are up. That being said, the 3am closing time on Saturday makes it a great place for late night (and solid) grub.