IT MIGHT sound crazy - Singaporeans willing to wait more than an hour for burgers or fish and chips, but this has been happening at Crazy Ang Mo in Bishan for the last week.

The month-old coffee shop stall is run by Australian Paul Crinis, the honeypot that has been drawing in the bees.

Many like finance director Teo Lee Huang, 50, come because they are fascinated by the idea of a Caucasian selling Western food in an HDB coffee shop.

Another customer, Madam Catherine Chua, who is self-employed and in her 50s, adds: 'It's not every day you see an ang moh (Hokkien for Caucasian) selling food in a coffee shop, much less one willing to call himself crazy.'

The stall received a good rating in LifeStyle's Cheap And Good column last week, and had already built a strong following, judging from the electronic queue system Mr Crinis put in.

That said, Caucasian food vendors setting up shop in heartland locations isn't new.

Austrian-born Erich Sollbock has been selling German sausages in Chinatown since 2004 and Belgian Sebastien Lhode started selling Belgian waffles in the Golden Mile Food Centre earlier this year.

But if the constant expansion of Botak Jones, an American food joint opened by Detroit native Bernie Utchenik in 2003, is any indication, burgers, steaks and fish and chips sold by Westerners seem to be the way to capture the imagination and stomachs of Singaporeans.

'I like Western food and these Caucasian-owned outlets are more likely to offer authentic flavours than local Western food stalls,' says student Tham Tuck Wah, 19, who has patronised both Crazy Ang Mo and Botak Jones and prefers the latter.

It doesn't hurt, of course, that their owners have larger-than-life personalities.

They refused to be drawn into discussing each other, but told LifeStyle how they have grown such a following.

» What a Crazy loudmouth

» Botak that grew and grew

Crazy Ang Mo vs Botak Jones

LIFESTYLE gets its restaurant critic Wong Ah Yoke (WAY), 46, and burger-loving teenager Ryan Lee (RL), 15, to try out the food at Crazy Ang Mo and Botak Jones. They did the tastings anonymously and separately over two days last week.

Crazy Ang Mo
Block 279, Bishan Street 24, 01-62/64. Open: 11am to 10pm (Mon - Thu), 11am to 11pm (Fri), 8am to midnight (Sat) and 8am to 9pm (Sun)

Crazy Burger With The Lot ($7.90)

WAY: The thin slice of beef patty didn't impress me and was too soft for my liking. But it was not dry.

What I liked were the other ingredients. Aside from the usual suspects like lettuce and melted cheese, there was also a fried egg, a pineapple ring and beetroot slices. When you chomp into it, you got a mix of savoury and sweet flavours that was good enough to make you forgive the poor patty.

Rating: ***

RL: The pineapple, beetroot, fried egg and bacon each has a flavour that's so distinct, I ended up feeling confused about what's in my mouth. The patty was rather flat, lacked seasoning and on the dry side. The bun wasn't toasted either, so it became soggy quickly from the beetroot juice.

Rating: ***

Fish & Chips ($6.50)

WAY: The batter was decent - not too hard but not exceptionally light either. It was pretty tasty though. But the fish was too soft and crumbled when you cut through the batter.

Rating: **

RL: I wasn't impressed by the oil on the batter, although I liked its crispiness. The fish was a little mushy, and because the meat crumbled rather than flaked, its overall texture was not as smooth.

Rating: *** 1/2

Steak ($11.90)

WAY: I ordered the steak medium rare but it came well-done. The thin piece of meat was hard and dried out. But the fat, hand-cut chips were fluffy inside and crisp outside, and tasted pretty wonderful. They were the best part of the dish.

Rating:** for steak, **** for steak chips

RL: I ordered the steak medium rare. Save for the first bite, which was uncooked and impossible to chew, the rest of the steak was cooked right. It wasn't dry but it could've been juicier.

I liked how the steak chips were crispy and packed a potato punch.

Rating: *** for steak, *** for steak chips

Botak Jones
970A Toa Payoh North. Open: 11am to 10pm daily

U Crazy What?! Burger ($14)

WAY: This is for those who like their beef. It came with three plump patties on a bed of sliced lettuce, onion and tomato.

The patties were a bit juicier than those I bought from the same stall about two months ago. But the burger was boring if you had wanted to taste more than beef. There just weren't enough other flavours to tickle the palate.

Rating: ** 1/2

RL: How do you eat a burger with three patties stacked so high? I had to put two patties aside.

I liked that the bun was toasted, which brings out the fragrance of the butter. The patty here was good. It was soft, juicy and meaty.

Rating: **** 1/2

Fish & Chips ($6.50)

WAY: This was plain bad. The batter was hard, and while you could see flakes of fish inside, they tasted strange, as though they had been frozen for too long.

Rating: * 1/2

RL: I liked the batter which was crunchy. The fish was moist and soft yet firm. It flaked in my mouth and had a naturally sweet taste.

Rating: **** 1/2

200g Ribeye Steak ($14.50)

WAY: The meat came medium rare like I ordered, but it was very tough. The accompanying spicy fries were sprinkled with a garlicky spice powder and tasted like an addictive supermarket snack.

Rating: ** for steak, *** 1/2 for fries

RL: My medium-rare steak was cooked right. When I cut into it, it oozed with juice. I also loved the spicy fries. They were crispy and tasted like flavoured potato chips, which I have a weakness for.

Rating: **** for steak, *** for fries

The bottom line

WAY: I'm not a big fan of either stall but I say Crazy Ang Mo serves better food and at better prices. But would I wait an hour again for its burger and fries? The Ang Mo may be crazy but I'm not.

RL: Botak Jones edges out with its great service, value-for-money and quality of food.