One day only: Buah keluak burger and curry fries at Shake Shack Singapore from Michelin-starred Candlenut

What happens when the world’s first – and only – Michelin-starred Peranakan restaurant joins forces with Shake Shack? You get Buah Keluak Burger and Curry Fries.

The popular burger joint has partnered with Singaporean chef Malcolm Lee's Candlenut for its first-ever chef collaboration menu in Singapore. It will be available for one day only, on Saturday (Nov 5), at Shake Shack's 89 Neil Road outlet from 11am until it's sold out.

The burger comprises 100 per cent all-natural Angus beef patty covered in buah keluak topped with Chef Lee’s Mum’s Chicken Curry sauce, cucumber, a fried egg, American cheese, diced pickles and ikan bilis sambal, all served on a potato bun toasted with garlic butter.

Meanwhile, the fries are seasoned with a secret blend of curry powder and salt, and were created in tribute to one of Candlenut’s signature dishes, Mum’s Chicken Curry.

Fun fact: Originally created as a Candlenut staff meal, the burger has since become the stuff of industry legend. 

At first glance, burgers and Michelin stars may not seem to immediately mix, but Shake Shack collaborating with lauded chefs around the world isn’t atypical.

After all, Shake Shack was actually born out of a fine dining restaurant back in 2001 when founder/restaurateur Danny Meyer opened a hot dog cart in New York City's Madison Square Park to help revitalise the area. The team prepped the hot dogs out of the three-Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park and approached the menu with the same fine dining sensibility and premium ingredients.

Mark Rosati, culinary director of Shake Shack told CNA Lifestyle that he was “blown away” by Lee’s cooking, along with Candlenut’s incredible team when Rosati first ate there back in 2019.

“Malcolm is doing incredible things with Peranakan food and celebrating the Singaporean food culture,” said Rosati. “When I learned about his legendary family meal burger, I knew we had to collaborate.”

As for why this specific burger, Lee told CNA Lifestyle that buah keluak has always been his “favourite ingredient”.

“At home, we eat it with beef and or have it with toast and sambal. Burgers have always been my soft spot so when we wanted to make a burger with buah keluak for staff meal, I immediately knew the flavours will go well together,” shared Lee.

“This buah keluak burger has been our secret burger that only makes an appearance for very special events and collaborations. Hence, it was natural for me to share this with Shake Shack when the team reached out for an opportunity to work together."

According to Lee, Candlenut first served a version of the burger as one of their staff meals more than five years ago.

“It quickly became one of our team’s favourite dishes. We’ve since done a few spins on this,” revealed Lee. “But our collaborative version with Shake Shack might just be my new favourite.”

Rosati also told CNA Lifestyle that deciding on the burger was an easy choice because the aim was to reflect Lee’s culinary style.

“We have been humbled by Shake Shack’s reception in Singapore and couldn’t be more excited to finally work with Malcolm for our first-ever chef collaboration,” said Rosati. “He is a talented and thoughtful chef, and we bonded over burgers since he worked at Harry’s Tap Room in the US. We’re serving a burger close to his heart and hope our fans love it as much as we do!”

As a nod to its fine dining roots, Shake Shack has collaborated with some of the most influential chefs in the world including Danny Yip of The Chairman in Hong Kong, Zaiyu Hasegawa of Den in Tokyo, David Chang of Momofuku in New York, Kang Mingoo of Mingles in Seoul, and Dominique Ansel in New York.

The Shake Shack x Candlenut Special will be available only on Saturday (Nov 5), from 11am until items are sold out, at its 89 Neil Road outlet.