Burger King Duels McDonald's with New, Fancy Digs in Singapore

​In a bid to attract more families with children and teenagers to its restaurants, Burger King has opened a Garden Grill restaurant in Singapore.

The new place is different than the ubiquitous, soulless cafeterias common in nearly all of the firm's restaurants worldwide. There are wooden chairs and tabletops, exposed brick walls, comfy couches, muted colors, and a garden theme anchored with flower pot lampshades and adorned with foliage, all designed to create a more intimate, private space for families.

The menu, however, remains the same, no fresh organic garden salads here. Barcelona- and Singapore-based design firm Outofstock was commissioned by Burger King to tackle the work. More restaurants are planned in Singapore and Japan in 2012.

Burger King's new Singapore design comes less than two weeks after rival McDonald's rolled out with a new posh, contemporary restaurant design in Villefranche-de-Lauragais, France, about 40 kilometers from Toulous, which is also meant to attract the modern family.

The Miami-based burger giant has no immediate plans to bring this new design to the United States, says Kristen Hauser, spokeswoman for Burger King, so it looks like fans will have to fly to Southeast Asia to soak up ambiance of BK's fresh, new look. Here are some pictures of what's to come:

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