Your First Taste of Shake Shack Hong Kong

The wait is over, Shake Shack Hong Kong is opening its doors on Tuesday, 1 May, with a menu full of burgers, hotdogs, fries and shakes.

District: Central, Hong Kong
Cuisine: Burgers
How much:  Burgers start at $50
Must Order: The classic ShackBurger, Cheese Fries and a Chocolate Shake
Sassy Tip: Grabbing a takeaway? Don’t forget to pick up a treat for your furry friend and order a Bag O-Bones ($50) for your pooch to enjoy, too!

Hong Kong, the wait is over. The time has finally come, and Shake Shack’s very first foray into the 852 is set to open its doors on Tuesday, 1 May. Having first heard the news back in July 2017, we’ve been eagerly (and not so patiently) awaiting the opening for months, but the time has finally come! From this Tuesday, Hong Kongers will be able to sink their teeth into the burger joints famous burgers, hotdogs, fries and shakes. And with a variety of exclusive Hong Kong offerings on the menu, we were more than excited to finally try it out. But did it live up to the hype? We were lucky enough to enjoy an early taste and are here to tell you all about it…

First open in 2004 in NYC’s Madison Square Park, the original Shake Shack focus was all about the hotdogs, so its only natural that the first thing we had to try was the Shack-cago Dog ($39). As explained by Shake Shack’s Culinary Director Mark Rosati, grabbing a hot dog in New York is typically a pretty rushed experience, and never seen as anything more than a snack, so they set out to emilate the Chicago way of doing things. Much like Chicago’s loaded deep dish pizzas, the Shack-cago Dog comes piled high with Rick’s Picks Shack relish, onion, cucumber, pickle, tomato, sport pepper, celery salt and mustard, full of flavour and the true taste of a proper dog.

Next up we dove straight in the classic ShackBurger ($50). A no fuss cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato and ShackSauce, if you’re ever struck down by burger cravings, this is what to go for.

Using only US Angus Beef, with no added hormones, antibiotics or any other nasties, the meat here is able to speak for itself, with the pure simplicity of it conveying what Shake Shack is all about – simply put, just really good burgers, done really well.

Don’t eat beef, or just after something a little different? That’s not a problem as a newer addition to the Shake Shack menu is the Chick’n Shack ($56). A crisp chicken breast with lettuce, pickles and buttermilk herb mayo, the generous piece of chicken is juicy and tender, coated in a well-seasoned and crispy coating. Mark mentioned to us that it took the team almost two-years to perfect this burger, and after one bite you can see why. Along with the low price tag of just $56 a pop, this is sure to be a hit with burger-lovers city wide. While I’m a huge fan of the classics, Shake Shack also do cater for the veggies out there, with an indulgent and cheesy offering, sure to please. The ‘Shroom Burger ($66) is a monster of a crisp-fried portobello mushroom filled with melted muenster and cheddar cheese, topped with lettuce, tomato and ShackSauce. Meat eaters can also get this gooey cheese explosion on top of a regular cheeseburger in the Shack Stack ($86) for a real treat.

Now moving onto what I was the most excited for. The shakes. Having had Shack Shake in London since 2013, I have to say that this is what I’ve missed most from home (sorry, family and friends), as a chocolate shake enthusiast, this (in my eyes) was all that this city has been missing. But not anymore. The shakes at Shake Shack are thick (insert Milhouse moment), and seriously creamy. We sampled the Classic Hand-Spun Vanilla Shake ($42), but the menu has the full roster of flavours available, with chocolate, caramel, black & white, strawberry, peanut butter, coffee – and even a special Hong Kong Milk Tea Shake available.

Along with shakes, Shake Shack is also famed for its frozen custard concretes ($41 for a single, $62 for a double). We went for the Shack Attack, a sure fire heart-attack combo of chocolate custard, chocolate brownie, Hakawa Chocolate dark chocolate chunks and fudge sauce topped with sprinkles, but there is another city exclusive here in the form of the HK Style Concrete, consisting of vanilla custard, French toast, peanut butter sauce and banana, topped with maple sugar. Something we’re definitely coming back to try.

Set in the location that it’s in (and open from 11am to 11pm), you can’t swing by the Shack without grabbing a drink and enjoying the stunning views of the harbour. So grab a seat on the expansive ifc rooftop and sip on one of Shake Shack very own ShackMeister Ale ($68) brewed exclusively for Shake Shack by Brooklyn Brewery. Along with beers – with local offerings from Young Masters, HK Yau, Heroes and Moozen all available – the burger joint is also serving wines by the bottle and glass, as well as a range of soft drinks.

Sure, the queues when Shake Shack first opens are going to be epic (this city does love a queue!), but once the initial hype dies down, we’re sure this is going to be a perfect chilled out spot that we’ll come back to time and time again.

Shake Shack, Shop 4018, Podium Level 4, ifc mall 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong, www.shakeshack.com.hk