HONBO (CHIMES)

Okay lor. I loved the decor of this American burger concept from Hong Kong (convoluted, I know), which is a detailed impression of an American diner, including the jukebox.

Crispy beef is what they call their signature patty. The default is two slices, but you can add or subtract. The USP is the patty is smashed and grilled til crispy at the edges. This American burger concept from Hong Kong (convoluted, I know) is also known for its fresh and premium ingredients. Overall, I'd say it's a simple but shiok burger, just missing the mark of a perfect burger. I loved the mess of the juices and the decent beefiness. I further loved the decor, which is a detailed impression of an American diner, including the jukebox.

@honbo.burger has stepped up to the ring that is Singapore’s burger business, and is going head to head with the Shack as a direct competitor as both burger joints pride themselves upon their smash-burgers. However, while the Shack will only stack to two, Honbo goes to four. That’s right, they’ve got a quad patty burger.⠀
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However, that’s a bit much even for me, so I stuck with the more moderate Honbo 1.5, which stars three crispy beef patties, two slices of cheese, pickles, onion & housemade sauce. I added on bacon for an extra $4.90 on top of the base price of twenty three dollars, bringing the damage to a hefty $27.90 before adding GST. Right off the bat, Honbo’s burger is certainly bigger, although less messy than the Shack.⠀
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The crust on the smashed beef patties are gloriously charred, even more so than the Shack, but this does mean that the patties are less juicy. I found it to be a worthwhile trade, as the extra flavours from the intense grilling are palpable. The patties are a 70/30 chuck and brisket blend with a nice, not too tightly packed texture, and full of beefy deliciousness thanks to the cuts of beef used.⠀
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Overall, I found Honbo’s burger to be more well balanced, as there are onions and pickles to rein in the richness of the patties, and the potato milk buns are airy, light & fluffy without being buttered up excessively. Sure, I do wish that they could’ve added in a couple of extra pickles to have the richness of the burger fully under control, but this behemoth burger is remarkably close to burger perfection.

Ordered the honbo 1.5, chilli fries and tater tots. The smashed burger is really tasty. Chilli fries was average. Better off sticking to the tater tots and picking one of the dips. This set cost us close to $60 with a drink each.

It’s funny, but I didn’t actually found out about HONBO during my last trip to Hong Kong. Despite them being a popular Hong Kong burger chain, I only got to know them through their outlet at Chjimes! 😂

Anyway, it’s been awhile since I had such a yummy and satisfying burger! The Honbo 1.5 had such juicy and flavourful smashed beef patties, that paired well with the potato milk bun. The beef to bun ratio was also really good!

The ambience here is casual and comfortable, and closer to an American diner. Not the cheapest burger, but I would say it’s worth a splurge if you are on the hunt for a good quality beef burger.

Being the first overseas outlet in Singapore that just opened a few weeks back, I was definitely curious about what Honbo had to offer apart from their colour-coordinating decor and the prominent juke box.

Of course, the HONBO 1.5 (S$23.00) did not disappoint at all as a gourmet burger, with three pieces of thin (they called it crispy) beef patties layering two seductively melted cheese, some pickles, onion and house sauce. The bun held pretty well despite its softness, and those crispy patties were still packed with sufficient juice that we probably would not find in fast food joints. They had the “less meat” versions, but why settle for less when you could have this already? Interestingly, some drops of their special Hot Sauce introduced the acidity that was much needed to mallow the greasiness of the burger, which was helpful at the second half of the game.

And I sure did enjoy those Tater Tots (S$4.90) with the Garlic Chili dip (S$2.00), which had a punch of spices and smoky flavours as well.