After Selling 4,000 Burgers From Home, Live-Streamer Opens Hawker Stall For Muslim-Friendly ‘Lava Burgers’
He calls his stall Danny OneStar after his eponymous nickname, but it’s not derived from the universal low rating.
Burgers are usually a messy affair, but Muhamad Iqbal Bin Abdul Razak’s grub would definitely require some washing of hands after a meal. His street food-style “berserak” burgers, a Malay word used to describe disintegrating things, are drenched in cheese and other sauces. They are apparently so popular that Iqbal has sold some 4,000 burgers sets in six months via his home-based biz setup.
The 35-year-old started his business last February, but found enough demand to open his own hawker stall at a Geylang Serai coffeeshop in January this year. It’s named Burgers by Danny OneStar, a name which Iqbal also goes by as a live streamer.
All photos cannot be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg
Live streaming made him a businessman
His online alias is inspired by his 16-year-old son named Danny. “I know some people might think OneStar means one out of five stars, like a low rating, but it actually means the star [my son] who shines on me,” explains the hawker, who also has three younger daughters.
He hopped onto live streaming in 2017 in hopes of “going viral as a content creator” (his page has about 6,700 followers now). As a live stream auctioneer, Iqbal filmed humourous content, sold electronic appliances and conducted giveaways, all while working as a private-hire driver to supplement his income.
According to Iqbal, the popularity of live auctions peaked during the circuit breaker period in 2020 as “people were always at home”. This enabled him to reap in decent sales and make a profit. He recounts, “On a normal day, I could score a minimum of $1,200 in clean profit.”
But such earnings weren’t the norm, and it quickly tapered off after Covid-19 measures were loosened. Still, Iqbal had already gained a customer pool for his business ideas. He started a few sidelines, foraying into a now defunct home-based setup selling tapak kuda (a horseshoe-shaped roll cake that’s popular during Hari Raya) and even a Muslim grave-cleaning business, which he still runs now.
From home-based cake biz to hawker burger stall
But F&B is not entirely new to Iqbal, who had worked stints as a cook for three years at coffeeshops and hawker joints serving various cuisines like nasi padang, satay, barbequed seafood and Western food. He now operates his burger stall with his wife Siti Hafifah, 30, who used to be a food delivery rider. She left her job after she got into an accident while delivering food and had to recuperate at home. To spend more time with his wife, Iqbal decided to open a stall so that they could work together. “I was always talking to [Siti] about starting a burger stall with a presentable look, and since we had that experience selling tapak kuda, I thought why not give it a try?” he says.
Their coffeeshop stall is located less than a minute’s walk from Geylang Serai Market –a strategic move by the couple in anticipation of returning crowds for the Ramadan bazaar. “I didn’t expect [the bazaar] to return this year, but it’s very good news for us,” Iqbal says. “To use an analogy, we’re normally fishing in an open sea and have to wait for the fish to come to us. But now, we’ll be fishing in a pond with hungry fishes (laughs).”
4,000 burgers sold in six months as home-based biz
The couple attribute their home biz’s success to their signature Berserak Burger, which has a beef patty, lettuce and tomato slathered with ‘meat sauce’ (kinda similar to beef bolognese sauce).
It apparently “went viral” on social media, leading to a whopping 4,000 burger sets being sold over the next few months. “I’m not sure why also. I think it was a combination of the burger’s messy look which made it very shareable [on social media], as well as a lot of support from the late-night crowd,” explains Iqbal.
He used to entertain supper orders from customers, accepting requests through phone “as long as [he had] the capacity to fulfill them” (one time, a bulk order came from a group of “paranormal investigators” exploring Bukit Brown Cemetery in the early morning). Now that he’s running a hawker stall that closes at 10pm, Iqbal no longer caters to late-night munchies. Bulk orders will have to be made at least an hour in advance.
The menu
Prices for a burger range from $8 to $13 (each order comes with fries), while other non-burger options include chicken and lamb chops, and deep-fried spring chickens. There are also sides like buffalo wings and fried chicken skin.
Old Skool Cheeseburger, $9
According to Iqbal, all his burgers are made without salt (except for what’s already in the store-bought sauces) so that they are “somewhat healthy, but still tasty”. While he admits that “burgers are already not that healthy”, he hopes that cutting down on salt “helps make our burgers healthier and unique”. His beef patties – which are made with an 80:20 minced meat-to-fat ratio – are seasoned with mixed spices and “natural flavourings” like garlic powder.
But no salt does mean the burgers are a tad blander, though. The cheeseburger here is reminiscent of a tamer Ramly burger, with hints of cumin and paprika in the patty. The loosely-packed patty gets a decent sear on the griddle, but crumbles too easily. We also wish that the margarine-smeared, standard-issue burger buns are toasted before serving. A medley of toppings like tomato, lettuce and sunny side up fried egg, plus lashings of mayo, chilli sauce and nacho cheese, perk up the burger. Decent, but admittedly not something we’d travel for. The fries, like the burgers, are cooked a la minute and satisfyingly crispy.
Berserak Burger, $10 (8 DAYS Pick!)
Similar to the Old Skool Cheeseburger, but with an extra dollop of tomato-based minced beef sauce that reminds us of ragu. The chilli-spiked meat sauce rounds out the stack with some tartness, making for a moreish – if supremely messy – sandwich. Prepare your wet wipes and tissues, the burger’s name is already ample warning.
Cheesy Lava Beef Burger, $13
Drowning a burger in a mix of melted mozzarella and nacho cheese sauce is great for the ‘gram, but not so great for eating. You must bust out a knife and fork for this novelty beef burger, or risk getting cheese up your nostrils. And even then, everything tastes of cheese and more cheese and not much else. Great for folks who love dairy, but not our top pick.
Chix Cutlet Burger, $8 (8 DAYS Pick!)
The stall’s lowest-priced burger trades up the beef patty and fried egg for a crispy, deep-fried chicken thigh. Pretty enjoyable stuff, as the chicken packs terrific crunch that contrasts well with the soft burger buns. The sheer volume of cheese, mayo and chilli sauce oozing from this burger is still a little over the top, but not enough to turn the whole affair soggy. Yummy and no-frills.
Iqbal’s Chicken Chop Burger (double), $10
This burger comes with grilled chicken thigh, coleslaw, lettuce and too-sweet brown sauce. The seared chicken thigh could benefit from longer grilling time and some judicious salting (some moderation is good, we think). The tangy house-made coleslaw is quite good, but can’t carry the burger alone. Stick with the Chix Cutlet Burger, as the fried chicken is more enjoyable.
Buffalo Wings, $8 for six
The wings retain some of their crispiness after our hour-long shoot despite being coated in a mix of three hot sauces. They’re juicy too, though the hot sauce mix is too sweet, very spicy and overall jelak. Ask for the sauce on the side.
Bottom line
Like some home-based business owners-turned-hawkers we have reviewed, Burgers by Danny OneStar dishes out decent street food-style grub with occasional hiccups, like overly-sweet sauces and chicken chops that lacked the requisite deep-brown sear for better flavour. These will hopefully be resolved as they refine their menu and spend more time in the kitchen – though we also think there’s no harm for a stall specialising in greasy, messy burgers like the decent Berserak Burger to indulge in some salt for their food.
Related Stories
Shopping
