Is Shake Shack (Philippines) worth visiting? | My Experience in Shake Shack in the USA, Hong Kong, and in the Philippines

My dear friend R went on a two month vacation in the United States. She toured around the country and when she came back this is what she told me...

'Z! If you ever go to the USA absolutely MUST eat at Shake Shack! Their shakes and burgers are SO good! Their milk shakes are thick and creamy and their burgers are JUST WOW...' - R

I just smiled at her as she described how wonderful her experience was. 

Trips to America were were expensive and there were no budget flights from the USA to the Philippines during that time. Flights like those would cost an arm and a leg, not to mention that would just be considering the flight cost... Living expense, travel expense, and other factors had to be considered as well.

"One day..." I replied.

Little did I know that the one day would come sooner than I thought. 

SHAKE SHACK (New York, USA)

In 2018, my dad was able to book our entire family a flight to the USA at an incredibly discounted rate.

We travelled across the country and lived with friends and relatives for a month. It was an amazingly grace filled and miraculous travel adventure. 

We ended up at New York City which was our final stop and went on a busy day of sight seeing at the Big Apple.

My dad wanted to eat at Shake Shack so we marched all over the city to find one. It was surprisingly very difficult to reach Shake Shack and by the time we arrived, we were famished.

It was two hours past lunch time but the line was incredibly long. Four throngs of people were just standing inline both inside and outside the restaurant.

There were so many people but since we were there anyway, we decided to line up.

The line was surprisingly very efficient and even their cashiers were extremely well trained and polite. 

We got a number for our orders and went to look for a table... A difficult feat in an extremely crowded restaurant with a huge number of people waiting.

We were able to find a table for our entire family before our orders were ready. 

And my goodness, those burgers were worth the wait. 

I ordered their double Shack Burger with bacon...

The burger was so good it brought tears to my eyes. 

The tomatoes were unbelievably sweet and crisp. The lettuce had an amazing texture and bite to it. The burger's cheese was oozing out and the sweet potato bun soaked up all the burger's juices. The meat patty itself was well seasoned and the natural meaty flavor of the beef patty was definitely the star of the show. The meat was nice and tender on the inside and was crispy on the outside. 

It was cooked perfectly. I wanted SECONDS AND THIRDS! The way they cooked the patty brought out the meat's beefy flavor and texture. SO GOOD.

They actually made a mistake with one of our orders. 

We brought the untouched burger to the staff, they checked the receipt, got the burger from us, chucked it into the trash, and immediately they made us a fresh burger. 

We were shocked that he threw away the burger but we were so amazed by their customer service! It was so good. Like absolutely no complaints, no need to explain anything... Just looked at the receipt and BAM... We got the correct order! And this was considered to be a fast food chain! 

Their shakes were also good. But the texture was amazing! The shakes were thick, creamy, and frothy. Almost as if you were drinking pure ice cream. I felt they were overly sweet for my palate personally but they were definitely delicious.  The coffee for us was the family winner since it was the least sweet shake.

Their iced tea was also quite good but definitely on the sweet side. 

If you can get their lemonade, that's the best if you don't really have a sweet tooth. 

Their crinkle cut fries were good. Nothing to write home about though. 

I fell in love with Shake Shack that day and prayed that one day, I could visit it again.

SHAKE SHACK (Hong Kong)

Lo and behold, I was! Just four months later, I was able to visit Shake Shack, Hong Kong.

I was in the country for work and a few hours before my flight home, I dropped by Shake Shack in Central since it was on route to the airport for me. 

When I came to Shake Shack Hong Kong, the line was SOOOOOOO long. I think there were more than a hundred people waiting in line for the burger and it was not even rush hour. I kid you not, the line was insane. 

It stretched out from the restaurant throughout the mall's patio. Once you were at the restaurant itself,  people were lined up in a maze like fashion snaking throughout the restaurant. 

When I finally made it to the counter after a two hour wait, I decided to order Shack Burger with a double patty along with their local shake specialty...  The milk tea shake! Which was only being served there... I mean I was in Hong Kong and the milk tea there was incredible! So I should order that.

When I took that first bite into the burger. I stopped.

What... WHAT IS THIS???...

Although similar in appearance, the burger was completely different from the burger I had in the States. The burger I had in the States was greasy, juicy, and brought out the beefy meaty flavor of the patty. It was bursting with oil. That's how juicy it was.

In Hong Kong, there were hints of spices I had not tasted in the US version and this spice cut through the meaty fatty flavor of the beef. Although it was moist the burger was definitely not as juicy or oily as the burger I had in America. Personally, I was not a fan of what they did since I loved the oily beefy flavor that I had experienced in the States. 

Then, there was their milk tea. After being treated to SOOOO many delicious milk teas in Hong Kong... (I had just discovered the marvelous wonder of Tiger Sugar)... I was super excited for the shake. 

Their milk tea was essentially Shake Shack's vanilla custard with a milk tea flavor... Except, it tasted like tea that had been steeped for too long that the leaves released an unpleasant bitter taste. Except in over steeped tea, you could still taste TEA. Here, you could barely taste 'tea' anymore... Just the bitter aftertaste and it was harsh on my tongue. And it was sickly sweet from the vanilla custard. I wanted to throw it away. But It cost so much (HK$42) I forced myself to finish it. 

I don't know if I was just unlucky or if my personal palate did not appreciate the taste of the drink.  But I felt so unsatisfied after I had eaten there. I silently prayed that one day, Shake Shack would go to the Philippines... Hoping that it would be able to taste like the burger I had in the USA. 

SHAKE SHACK (Philippines)

When Shake Shack finally came to the Philippines, the burger hype was real! There were so many people lined up for months and the lines were out the mall doors.

Around 4 months into the burger hype, I finally got to eat at Shake Shack. Only to be SORELY disappointed. 

I ordered their Shack Burger (P410) and my brother ordered their Smoke Shack (P525). It was absolutely nothing like the burgers we had in the USA and we were both disappointed. 

The meat patty itself was limp and soggy. It felt almost as if it was boiled instead of fried on the grill. It was also way too salty. It was a disappointing experience and we had ordered burgers for our entire family. The fries tasted like frozen S&R fries and their cheese sauce felt like cheese whiz which I could make at home. Not worth it. At all. 

After that experience, we did not want to come back. 

But one week later, as my friend R and my other friends went to hang out at Bonifacio High Street, R strongly encouraged us to eat at Shake Shack.

This time however... 

Shake Shack delivered. 

I ordered their Shack Stack (P545) while my friends ordered their classic Shack Burgers.  The beef patty was so good! Definitely as good as the burger I had from the USA. My pallet got burned after I bit down into the patty as the deep fried mushroom burger had molten cheese at the center that gushed into my mouth as I bit into it. It was painful but the pain was worth it coz the burger was GOOD.

The tomatoes and lettuce though were definitely better in the states but they go the meat right.  

 

A manager went around asking how our experience was and I aired my grievances about the previous week's burger. 

A few months later, I went back to order the burger again, and it checked out. 

It was good and they had their quality down and I ordered their Ube Shake. It was REALLY good and was not overly sweet like their custards were.

I strongly recommend their Ube Shake if you have the chance to dine there. I also recommend their Shack Stack (P545) since it's a unique burger. 

Quality and Consistency: 3.5 out of 5

So I've visited Shake Shack Philippines a total of 3 times. 

Two out of three times, they were hits. That one time it was a REALLY bad miss... And it was my first time going there. I felt the burger was sub par to the local offerings on the table. But, when they were hits, I felt as if I was transported back to the USA. That first time was still nostalgic for me... But

is Shake Shack Philippines it worth visiting? Yes. Is it worth going out of your way for? If they keep up their quality and consistency, Shake Shack is a definite must eat. 

Comfort: 3 out of 5

It's comfortable enough. The area is like a cafeteria style or fast food place. Except, imagine lunch or dinner rush hour where everyone is trying to find a table. It's not a place where you would wanna stay long unless you are there during dead hours.

Cleanliness: 4.5 out of 5

It's generally very clean and tidy. They have people cleaning up immediately after someone leaves.

Service: 4 out of 5

The first time I went there, I trusted their burgers and they failed me. So when I went there a second time, I requested them to grill the patty a bit longer and lessen the salt but the cashier said a flat out, 'no'. I understand why the cashier said no since the second time I actually ate their the burger was made well. But, I personally feel that maybe the cashier could have perhaps given a more tactful reply and reassured me that their burgers would be excellently made...

Generally though, it's a DIY place so service isn't really that much.  But, they help customers especially elderly find seats during lunch rush and were willing to improve on their products which is why I gave them a 4 out of 5. 

Value: 4 out of 5

Better than a plane ticket to America. ;) 

Over all score: 3.8 out of 5