Swensen’s: Same-Same but Different

Swensen’s is one of those places that has etched itself a place in my memories of my growing years.

In my childhood, there were the set lunches after church, the Crunchie cones, the sundaes in oversized frosted cups, and the ice-cream cakes on certain special birthdays.

In my teens, there were the EARTHQUAKES. I used to run competitively during my school days and Swensen’s was always our default destination after a major race. A big group of us would descend on the restaurant, and yes, we would always finish with a few earthquakes between us. The earthquake was — and still is — Swensen’s largest sundae with 8 scoops of ice-cream and a bunch of toppings, and it was always a sweet treat at the end of an exhilarating and tiring period, a reward we all felt we richly deserved.

I must admit that Swensen’s has kind of fallen off the radar for me in recent years. But obviously the reason why they continue to thrive is because they continue to constantly update their offerings to stay fresh. I was recently invited to a tasting session to sample some new dishes which they had added to the menu. I had a good lunch, with a walk down memory lane thrown in!

First the food. We had quite a few dishes to try and these are my favourites:

Of the starters, the King Prawn Salad with Apple Dressing caught my eye. I love prawns and these ones got my attention, because they were really quite big to be in a salad! They didn’t disappoint, being crunchy and sweet, and I thought the homemade apple dressing went well with the prawns and the greens, the tangy flavour really lifting the dish. Thumbs up for this one. 

King Prawn Salad with Apple Dressing ($14.90)

Another interesting starter was the Deep Fried Blue Mussels. I don’t think I’ve ever had mussels deep fried! These were coated in batter such that you bite through a crisp shell to get to the plump juicy mussel in the middle. These were tasty, though I would have enjoyed them better if I could pop the whole deep fried piece straight into my mouth. Mmm.

Deep Fried Blue Mussels ($10.40)

There were quite a selection of mains which I enjoyed, starting with the Swensen’s Ultimate Chicken Burger. With a name like that, how can you go wrong? The breaded chicken was great — juicy and well-fried, but what I thought was interesting was the special fruity salsa that it was topped with. Can you guess what fruit they used? I thought it was mango, but it turned out to be jackfruit. How’s that for local flavour! The tangy jackfruit salsa certainly perked up the taste and made this more than just another chicken burger.

The Swensen’s Ultimate Chicken Burger ($14.80)

My favourite dish though, was (surprise surprise) the Spicy Seafood Pasta with Scallops. Seeing as I almost always order some variant of this dish when I’m not feeling adventurous, I was glad that this version with its spicy tomato cream sauce, fresh grilled scallops and mussels made for a good choice. They aren’t kidding about it being spicy. It had a real kick, no thanks to the chilli padi that you can see nestled in the sauce. And yes, I would definitely order this again.

Spicy Seafood Pasta with Scallops ($15.90)

My Mum enjoyed the Swensen’s Surf & Turf. I think she particularly liked the beef patty, which was oozing with melted cheese. Together with the king prawns and onion rings, it would certainly make for a hearty meal!

Swensen’s Surf & Turf ($17.90)

And if you have a large appetite, you might want to take on the Juicy Game Hen with Homemade BBQ Sauce. Yes, that is a whole chicken on the plate! But a mini one, so you don’t feel like that much of a glutton. This chicken is fried, so you get do enjoy the yummy crispy skin together with the juicy meat within. 

Juicy Game Hen with Homemade BBQ Sauce ($16.90)

What about the kids, you ask? Swensen’s is a family restaurant after all, so you can expect that they would be well-prepared to serve little guests. Both Noey and Meips had the kids’ meal and were thrilled when their food came in a spaceship. It was Spaghetti Bolognaise for Meips and Chick n Chips (ie. breaded chicken strips) for Noey. They finished their food willingly, though I dare say they were probably more excited about the fact that they could bring the spaceship home. Which they did, naturally.

I must confess that what really got them eating quickly was the All-You-Can-Eat Ice Cream and Dessert Buffet before their eyes. This is unique to the Ion outlet and is exactly what it says — all the ice cream and dessert you can eat. With over 50 flavours of ice-cream and more than 40 different kinds of toppings available, you can imagine how the kids’ eyes nearly popped out of their heads. This is in addition to chocolate fondue and an assortment of cakes and pastries. Even I was excited.

So many lovely flavours of ice-cream — what shall I pick?

Toppings galore. This was just one section out of three that you could choose from.

Yay, ice-cream!!

This bowl is all mine!
(I was thrilled to see those Swensen’s wafers. I loved them sooo much as a child!)

You can have the ice-cream and dessert buffet with your food or as a stand-alone ala carte order. Prices start from $13.90 (with food) and $19.90 (ala carte) for adults on weekdays. I have a good mind to go back for some of that ice-cream goodness on a hot day.

My FAVOURITE dessert that day however was not from the buffet, but was instead one of their new offerings: Salted Gula Melaka Heaven. First of all, I love gula melaka, and that addition of salt just rounds of the sweetness perfectly. Think salted caramel and you’ll know what I mean. This is a new ice-cream flavour and it might top my all-time favourite Mocha Almond Fudge if I give it a chance. 

Apart from the actual ice-cream though, this dessert made me smile because that ice-cream sundae cup? That comes straight out of my memory. And that wafer! I still think the one from my childhood tastes better but this is almost the same. One of the good things about Swensen’s is that they know not to mess with a good thing and I appreciated that familiarity.

Salted Gula Melaka Heaven ($9.90)

I’m glad that we discovered that there’s a Swensen’s at Ion Orchard, not far from home. It is tucked away in a rather obscure corner, which explains why I never knew it was there! But now that I do, I have put it on my list of places to eat at with the kids. Thanks for hosting us, Swensen’s!

*This review was written based on a food tasting session that I was invited to. Notwithstanding this, all views remain authentically my own.