Shake Shack @ Neil Road

Lazy weekend afternoon so we thought we might try this not-so-new Shake Shack place at Neil Road. 

It wasn't so much of not having eaten the burger before but more of not having had the burger in a heritage building like this one before.

Shake Shack Neil Road is in a place that we locals tend to call the "Tiger Balm" Building. 

It's a building that, I believe, used to house the offices and factory floor (maybe) of the Tiger Balm factory and which at one time (might) have had a statue of a tiger right on top.

The statue's no longer there now. 

But we've still got the building.

Funnily enough I didn't get to take pictures of the Tiger Balm building (I was too preoccupied trying to cross the road).

Instead I got a few pictures of the neighborhood on the opposite side.

If you think the Duxton blocks look imposing, well, from this angle coming up Keong Saik Road, yes, they really were. 

You didn't feel their towering presence once you got into Shake Shack though. 

The place was bright and spacious and sunny. 

Bright and pink and pastel, with minimalist, sweet-looking, neat furniture, and sunlight streaming through the sealed open shuttered windows.

Eating here made you feel spaced out- even if alone- and safe. 

I was surprised. 

It's as if there were a bit of feminine touch to the place, never mind that their offerings were meaty, strong-flavored, dairy-rich, sugar-rich, and masculine, with drinks ranging from that of milkshakes to juices to craft beers.  

The L-shaped counter made me think of rounded Art-Deco counters in the 50s styled American diners except that they had potted plants and ferns instead of neon lights, red leather seats, and jukebox tunes. 

We ordered the burger we always order whenever we're at Shake Shack. 

I forget the name, but it's got two beef patties, a lot of delish melted cheese, applewood smoked bacon, no tomato, no lettuce and no pickle. 

We got a box of chicken tenders too. 

And of course, cheese dip with crinkle cut fries.

I quite liked the chicken tenders. 

They weren't dry or hard like some places do it. 

Neither were they tasteless nor too salty. 

They were what we might call a peckish food.

And it served as a bit of an appetizer to what was a really great meal.

You know, the fun thing about having this for lunch isn't just the fact that we were having a burger at one of the nicest burger franchises (locally speaking) around, but the fact that they had chosen to plonk themselves in one of the most strategic, and heritage-rich areas around. 

If it weren't already the presence of Craig Road and Duxton Hill and Tanjong Pagar, there was, also Cantonment Road, Everton Park and Keong Saik on the opposite side. 

It's like, they could have been in any location along Neil Road- there're enough hipster places as it is- but they chose a location that's in between the present and the past, in between the traditional and the modern, along a pedestrian-only pathway that once used to be an old railway line, and in a building that has chosen to reinterpret the image of what is (or was) meant for the working class.