(CLOSED) The Ugly Duckling – Waddle Your Way to Kaki Bukit for Smashed Duck Burgers and More!

Amongst the flurry of fried rice stalls and hotel-chefs-turned-chee-cheong-fun-hawkers in 2021’s foodie trends, the burger craze was real. Last year saw the popping up of quite a few gourmet burger stalls and eateries with prices set at wallet-friendly prices, but how many of them can say that they specialise in duck burgers? Breaking away from the usual beef, fish and chicken burgers is The Ugly Duckling. 

Located in coffee shop Makan Empire over on Kaki Bukit Road, The Ugly Duckling was founded by twin brothers Girda Bin Bandi and Gardi Bin Bandi, and had its previous glory days as a popular pasar malam stall some years back. The pair also formerly worked for the Timbre Group as a group executive chef and group operations manager, and ran an industrial-themed cafe that is no longer in business. 

The reason why they chose to craft some of their best-selling dishes with duck as the main source of protein is due to their collective experience in cooking it during their time with the Timbre Group, and at their former cafe and pasar malam stall. 

Apart from burgers, other duck-centric dishes include Duck Leg Confit in Sweet Sauce ($10), Duck Rendang Lasagna ($8), Roasted Duck Pizza ($12.50) and Creamy Truffle Mushroom Crispy Duck Leg Confit ($11.50). You’ll also find a score of other items that use more typical choices of protein such as BBQ Grilled Chicken Burger ($7) and Fish and Chips ($7.50). There’s even waffles and ice cream for dessert! 

Unlike your regular beef burger patties, the Smashed Duck Burger ($8) was an interestingly messy experience. Made with shredded duck meat that had been slow-cooked for at least seven hours in duck fat and vegetable oil, the duck patty which is drizzled with a housemade sauce of kecap manis, lemon, garlic and soya sauce, and topped with cheddar cheese, lettuce and cubes of pineapple, is sandwiched between buttered brioche buns. 

The duck patty was undoubtedly tender and paired well with the savoury cheese and sweet pineapple cubes. While the duck itself wasn’t really seasoned, the boost of flavours from the sauce more than made up for it. The burger came with a set of fries that were supposedly cooked in duck fat, but they didn’t make much of an impact. 

Another intriguing item on the menu is the Pulled Beef Brisket Rendang Burger ($7.50). Now, this is one heck of a burger that just might overload your senses. The shredded beef brisket was ladled with an impressive amount of spice-tinged rendang sauce that was very robust in flavour, and topped with a mini-mountain of spiced coconut floss that was slightly sweet. While the rendang was rich, it also overshadowed the beef brisket itself so whatever flavour it held was lost amidst the torrent of gravy. 

The Loaded Duck Fat Cheese Fries ($6) painted a super-duper appetising picture on the menu, but the reality of it was a little disappointing. The shoestring fries came with drizzles of nacho cheese, tomato salsa and mayonnaise, along with a handful of shredded duck and crispy duck skin. Sadly, it seemed that all of the duck components had fused together into just a dry, crispy pile of duck. The ratio of toppings to fries was also a little off where there were disproportionately more fries. I’d probably skip this one. 

If anything, I’d come back for the Smashed Duck Burger again and would absolutely love to give the duck confit dishes and duck pizza a go! After all, it’s not often you would find such an affordable variety of duck-centric dishes in Singapore.

MissTamChiak.com made an anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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