Taste Test: Shake Shack’s limited truffle menu and dessert

The newest Shake Shack outlet at Westgate in Jurong East will be opening to the public on Saturday (Oct 30). And this time, they’re going ‘boujee’ by introducing black truffle to the menu!

Exclusive to the newly-opened Westgate outlet for one week, the limited-time menu includes the Black Truffle Burger, Black Truffle Chick’n, and Black Truffle Fries. A new concrete, Shake Shack’s signature blended frozen custard, has also been added to the menu — the Peelin’ Cherry-fic.

I would consider myself to be a fan of Shake Shack’s burgers. Despite them being much pricier than other fast-food burgers, I find them to be worth the price point given the quality-tasting ingredients.

And when I heard that there would be truffles in the new menu, I was excited yet apprehensive as truffle flavoured food items can truly be a hit-or-miss. Additionally, I was unsure about the Peelin’ Cherry-fic as Shake Shack concretes often were a little too ‘jelak’ for my tastes.

Given all my various expectations, I was surprised to say the least.

Shake Shack’s Black Truffle Burger is a swiss cheeseburger topped with black truffle mayonnaise, crispy shallots and arugula.

Upon first bite, I couldn’t really taste the truffle as the truffle taste was in the sauce itself. If your bite did not consist of the truffle mayo, it would just taste like a normal burger. Additionally, the taste of mayonnaise in the sauce overpowered the truffle, leaving it rather underwhelming.

While I liked the soft and buttery bread buns, and how the fried shallots and veggies added extra crunch and texture to the burger, the beef patty itself sadly disappointed me. It was unexpectedly dry—different from what I tasted when trying Shake Shack’s other burgers in their usual menu.

However, the cheese definitely made up for it. The melted cheese has always been my favourite part of Shake Shack burgers, and this was no different.

Similar to the truffle beef burger, the Black Truffle Chick’n did not have an outstanding truffle taste or smell.

This $14 burger consists of a crispy chicken breast sandwiched between pickled shallots and arugula, topped with black truffle mayonnaise of course.

Despite being a big beef lover, I actually enjoyed the chicken more because despite being breast meat, it was not dry as compared to the beef. 

The chicken was thick, not at all oily, and the skin outside it was crisp to perfection.

Overall, both the beef and chicken truffle burgers were far from my favourite part of my meal. While they were advertised as black truffle burgers, the truffle was barely noticeable for me. This might be because I prefer stronger truffle tastes, but if you like it lowkey, don’t let my opinion stop you from trying it!

I would still recommend sticking with Shake Shack’s original menu of their iconic Shack Stack burger instead. It costs around the same price, and comes with a beef patty and a cheesy portobello mushroom.

Now, if you’re here specifically for the truffle taste, I feel that the Black Truffle Fries showcase it best.

The truffle fries are priced at $8.90 and you will be able to taste more truffle with it as the sauce portion is more generous with the fries.

In fact, when I was carrying my order on the tray, I could already smell the truffle coming from the Black Truffle Fries itself. 

It is basically the same crispy on the outside but soft on the inside crinkle-cut fries that Shake Shack has on their menu; but this version consists of black truffle mayo topped with crispy shallots and scallions, giving it an extra kick.

Surprisingly, the highlight of my meal was dessert!

The Peelin’ Cherry-fic concrete consists of vanilla and chocolate custard blended with bananas, caramel sauce, Lemuel chocolate chunks, bits of sugared biscuit cones, and topped with a single cherry.

The harmonious combination of ingredients took me by surprise. I enjoyed the mix of both vanilla and chocolate custard, as I felt that the vanilla helped balance out the heatiness of the chocolate.

Probably my favourite part of this dessert were the generous bits of biscuit cones littered in the custard. It provided an added crunch to the soft custard, and turned slightly soft but not soggy when lying in the custard for too long.

The dark chocolate bits also helped balance out the sweetness of everything else.

My one and only complaint is that I wish they added more banana slices in the concrete.

Overall, I would definitely order the Peelin’ Cherry-fic concrete again. I’ve never been more glad to stay in the West, as this concrete is only exclusive to the Westgate outlet.

While the black truffle menu is currently only available at Shake Shack Westgate, it will be brought to all other Shake Shack outlets island-wide from Nov 4 to Dec 31. I highly recommend trying the Black Truffle fries and Peelin’ Cherry-fic at least once!