Saturday, June 03, 2006

Mad Jack Cafe off Bukit Timah

Mad Jack's Beef Burger

I have to admit that I got a bit worried when we arrived at this place (6 Duke's Road before Coronation Plaza, 6289-1506), as the colorful backlit sign outside with pictures of the food reminded me of one of those "Western" hawker stalls. And they plastered this place with so many cheesy sales slogans like ("Authentic Aussie Best" and "Money Back Guarantee") that something inside just told me that this was going to be no good. Well, we still gave it a shot.

Fish and ChipsThe main reason for coming here was for the fish and chips, which fortunately turned out lighter and tastier than I thought they would (and they had malt vinegar and a huge squeeze bottle of tartar sauce on the table too - yay!). What was more impressive though was the fries, which were not only done just right, but also had a seasoned version that was just as light and crispy. But the burger was a bit strange. The homemade patty made this more like a sloppy joe, as its mushy meat crumbled apart easily. It definitely wasn't a burger (in retrospect, I'm glad they didn't give me a real burger though, as they position this as an Australian place, which means that I would have gotten a nasty slice of beetroot inside like they do down under). Nonetheless, the grilled onions were a nice touch, as was the surprisingly fresh and toasty bun.

The portions here were a bit small (although who can complain when the burger only cost S$3.30, or US$1.95), so we tried grabbing some dessert too. Sure, they had their cake selection proudly on display, but I wanted one of their pancakes, seeing that the parent company, PK Xpress, actually got its start by selling pancakes. Alas, none was to be had on a Saturday afternoon, so I left a bit unsatisfied.

Would I come back to this place? Not really, but the fish and chips were good enough that I would consider getting some to-go if forced to one of these days. I suppose that if the food ever got really bad, then I could always try to invoke that Money Back Guarantee that they so proudly boast about. :)

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