Swensen’s Unveils New 2016 Concept: One Exclusive Dish Available Per Month

Eat like a traveller

Everyone has been to Swensen’s at least once in their lives. Birthday parties, anniversaries or dessert buffets, Swensen’s has been the go-to place for their cakes and ice cream. However, their main courses were never memorable enough to gain a spot on my “must try again” list.

This year, they’re being a little more adventurous with their menu, which hasn’t changed since the last time I attended a birthday party there. In 2016, a new dish will be introduced every month, with each course inspired by a particular country’s culinary heritage.

We came down for an exclusive sampling of Thailand’s Pineapple Fried Rice Paradise and Japan’s Essentially Hambagu dishes, which will be released in February and March.

Mad Hatter’s Ciabatta Tea Set ($5++)

Lunch started with Swensen’s signature Mad Hatter’s Ciabatta Tea Set. Baked with honey and buttercream, the Ciabatta Rolls were dripping with the delicious sugary sauce. We’ve all seen oh-so-heavenly liu sha baos and lava cakes dripping with cream and sauce on our Instagram feeds, so we were a tad disappointed that the Ciabatta Rolls didn’t ooze with the savory-sweet buttercream.

Its exterior was a little hard to cut through, but the warm and fluffy insides smeared with butter made up for it. The tea set usually comes with free-flow Custom Roasted Coffee, brewed with coffee beans from four different places – Sumatra Mandheling, Tanzania, El Salvador and Brazilian Robusta, hence its unique flavour.

Decent, no doubt, but the Tea Set is something you can do without during your visit.

Rating: 5.5/10

*Mad Hatter’s Ciabatta Tea Set is only available on Weekdays during tea time.

Pineapple Fried Rice Paradise ($15.90++)

After the rolls, we were served with Thai Pineapple Fried Rice Paradise, which Swensen’s will only serve in February . Bet no one has heard of Wahoo Fish Fillet – three slabs of those fillets were slapped on top of the cashew fried rice. Coated with Swensen’s special rendition of Thai sweet sauce, the fillets had an addictive tangy aftertaste.

Texture wise, this fish wasn’t spectacular. The fillet was seared to a point where it was a little tough to bite through the outer layer. The flesh earned a nod though – it was firm and springy, and left little doubt of its freshness.

For those who prefer their fish with a firmer bite, the Wahoo fish is a must-try.

Cashew fried rice was completely new to me and goodness me, it was so. Amazing. Complementing the sweet Thai sauce, the cashews added a savoury flavour that made me go “omg, this is so good” between every mouthful.

The cashews were infused well into the dish and gave the chewy rice a nice crunch to it. For those snack addicts, this dish comes with our all-time favourite Keropok which were – thank the heavens – tasty and not lao hong.

Rating: 7/10

Essentially Hambagu ($15.90++)

Now to the final dish. The star of the meal. The highlight of the visit. I finally understand the true meaning of “saving the best for the last”. Japan’s Essentially Hambagu, served in March, is made of freshly grounded beef with sauteed shiitake mushrooms which adds a sweet mushroomy flavour to the beef chunks.

The beef was grilled to deep brown perfection and was neither too rough nor dry. What started out to be bite-sized turned into mouth-sized pieces of beef – it was too good to savour it slowly. It was juicy and the Japanese BBQ dip did a good job in bringing out the yummy beefy flavour.

My teeth literally sank into the beef as it was soft and chewy, with the occasional crunch of shiitake mushrooms. If perfection was a dish, it would be this.

Rating: 8.5/10

Pineapple Upside Down Sundae

Of course, no meal is complete without dessert. If you dine at Swensens in February, you’ll get a chance to try their exclusive Pineapple Upside Down Sundae ($10.80++). I’ve had my fair share of sour pineapples, so I was pretty happy when the generous chunks of pineapple in this dessert were sweet. Generous scoops of vanilla ice cream were piled with whipped cream – which might end up being too creamy for some – but it was alright for me.

Sugary-sweet strawberry toppings filled the base of the bowl – how ironic since they’re called toppings – and it complemented the citrusy flavour of the pineapple. Midway through, I felt a little jelat due to the sweetness overload, so it’s probably a good idea to share this with someone. Or maybe it should be renamed Pineapple Upside Down Jelat-o. Ha ha ha! Nonetheless, this unique sundae is worth a try.

Rating: 7/10

*Swensen’s Pineapple Upside Down Sundae ($10.80++) is only available from 1st February to 22 February 2016 at all Swensen’s outlets.

Ice Cream Buffet ($19.90++)

On a side note, Swensen’s at Ion offers Ice Cream Buffet, with a large selection of ice cream and gelato available. Ice-cream fanatics will go nuts about this, especially when we can create our very own sundae with the infinite number of toppings available (Maltesers, mini Oreos, rainbow sprinkles, Mars bars… Crazy, right?).

Waffles and other sweet treats such as cookies, cakes and cream puffs are also included. For $19.90++, I find it quite worth the value. If you get spoilt for choice at the ice cream counter, Sticky Chewy Chocolate Ice Cream is my all-time favourite. The name says it all.

*Ice Cream Buffet is at $16.90++ with the purchase of a main course.

Verdict

Bringing foreign cuisine to you without having to travel out of Singapore is a key selling point of Swensen’s new menu. Each dish is exclusively available for only a month – all the more you need to go down and try it, before it’s gone forever.

The flavours were foreign due to the unique combination of ingredients such as cashews and rice, or beef and shiitake. Foreign, but so yummy. It’s been hours since the meal but I can’t seem to get the Essentially Hambagu out of my head because damn, that was essentially ham-bagus. Now I just can’t wait for March to arrive. Serious.

Overall rating: 7/10

Address: 2 Orchard Turn, #B1-31, ION Orchard
Opening Hours:10:30am – 10:30pm
Tel: 6884 5967
Website: http://www.swensens.com.sg/singapore

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This post was brought to you by Swensen’s.