Famous for its highly-customisable menu that allows you to apparently order up to 250,000 different burger configurations, US burger chain Five Guys is finally here to serve folks living in the heartlands. After Five Guys’ Singapore debut in Plaza Singapura last year, the eatery will open its highly-anticipated NEX branch in Serangoon on 11 January. The new store is located in the basement of the popular suburban mall.

We head down for a sneak peek of the space — and to see if the burgers are as good as the ones we had in the Orchard branch.

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Spanning over 2,500 square feet with 73 indoor seats, the NEX branch is more spacious in terms of indoor dining space, compared to its Plaza Singapura counterpart which has 52 indoor seats (they have 100-plus alfresco seats though, which the NEX store doesn’t have at the moment). Like the Plaza Singapura store and the other 1600-plus stores around the world, the Five Guys Nex store has kept the open concept kitchen, where you can see the magic happen. Don’t expect anything different decor-wise either, they’ve kept the red-and-white palette plus seating pretty much similar here too.

We’re told that delivery will be available at the NEX store for addresses in the Serangoon area, just as it is at the Plaza Singapura store for those who work and live in town — but just not at the moment, as they are still trying to get things organised with their delivery partners.

What we loved about the first Five Guys store in Singapore is the infectious energy from the service crew (we went back to visit a couple times after their opening) — and the same goes for their NEX store. Once orders start rolling in, the air is punctuated with shouts from the kitchen crew as they maneuver around each other to assemble the orders.

The Five Guys menu remains the same — with 15 free toppings for you to load your burgers and hot dogs with, as well as nine milkshake flavours to mix and match.

The regular burgers come with a standard double beef patty, while the Little burgers come with a single patty. And in true Five Guys fashion, bacon can be added to everything — from the hot dogs to even the milkshakes.

Five Guys take their fries very seriously. We’re told the potatoes are flown in from the Netherlands in crates, to be washed, sliced and prepped for the fryers in their stores. The fries come salted Five Guys Style or in Cajun Style, and are fried in 100% peanut oil to order.

At $11 for the Large portion (which can feed up to three pax), it’s definitely on the pricey side. It’s worth every dollar, though. Served in a paper cup, every order of fries comes filled to overflowing, and is deliciously fluffy and crisp when eaten hot. We prefer the Cajun Style, for it’s addictive peppery seasoning.

The cheapest Five Guys burger is the single patty Little Hamburger at $11, and prices go up to $17 for the double-stacked Bacon Cheeseburger. With 15 toppings to choose from, the combinations are pretty much endless.

Our go-to order is the Cheeseburger “All The Way” (with the classic mayo, relish, ketchup, mustard, onions, lettuce, pickles and tomatoes) — but swap the regular onions for the more fragrant grilled onions. If you’re feeling extra peckish, the Bacon Cheeseburger “All The Way” is an umami bomb, especially if you throw in some grilled mushrooms.

Compared to what we’ve tried in the States (as well as the Plaza Sing branch), the burgers and fries from Five Guys NEX happily measure up. All the toppings are free-flow, so you can ask for as many helpings as you want.

Like their burgers, the hot dogs are all fully customisable with the 15 toppings. We went for the Bacon Dog ($12) with a standard combination of relish and mustard, which turned out pretty delish — a burst of smokiness from the crispy and crunchy applewood smoked bacon, and sweet acidity from the relish. However, we’d rather save our pennies for the burgers instead.

It’s not quite Five Guys if you don’t end your meal with a milkshake. You can choose from nine different flavours — vanilla, chocolate, strawberries, bananas, Oreos, coffee, peanut butter, salted caramel and malted milk. All flavours use real fruit compotes made in-house, and their coffee flavour is made with their own cold brew.

We love a mix of chocolate, peanut butter and Oreos, for that perfect balance of sweet and salty with crunch in a thick, creamy milkshake. Our colleague swears by a go-to combo of strawberry, peanut butter, and bacon bits — and it’s surprisingly quite yummy.

Five Guys NEX Store is at 23 Serangoon Central, #B1-41/42/43 NEX, S556083. Open 11am to 10pm daily. https://www.fiveguys.sg/

Photos: Alvin Teo​​​​​​​

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