Today, we feast 🍴: Swensens 🍛

*I apologise for the lack of graphics 🙏

Swensen's, you might have seen it everywhere. However, when was the last time you actually ate at a Swensen's restaurant? Today, we will be feasting at Swensen's, a gateway into the western world. 

FIRST IMPRESSION ☝

When you first enter, it's giving diner style. Think those round padded chairs with a mural of what I presume is America🦅, I mean I studied geography but I'm no American. However, one of the cool aspects of Swensen's is that they have an ice cream bar. Like it's huge. I was so shocked that one ice cream bar could contain so many flavours, but to be fair they sell ice cream sundaes there anyways. 

PRICE 💸

The calamari was around $7.90 and the curry chicken baked rice was $16.90. To me the prices seemed reasonable. The portions are huge, and the quality of the food was actually not bad. However, the killer to me was the service charge and the GST. Besides the dishes that I had mentioned, I actually also ordered carbonara and the total came out to be around $35++ dollars without GST or service charge. But tell me why the bill was $52? Damn, prices are increasing too much for my liking. With that, I suggest going to Swensens with a bigger group of people

TASTE 😋

Let's start with the fried calamari. To be honest, it's basic calamari, but good. The batter was substantial, but not heavy to the point the entire calamari was soggy. However, I found that the flavour was one dimensional, even the tartar sauce couldn't salvage it. Maybe I am being overly critical, but I wished there was like a lemon on the side.

Up next, curry chicken baked rice. On first look, I thought it looked amazing. Like the portion was big, and it looked cheesy, spicy, all that jazz. When I took a bite, I was hit with a truck. The curry had such a good amount of spice, while the chicken accompanied the spice amazingly. However, the rice was soggy, and it was somewhat "microwaved". I want to be delusional and say that it was baked to a T, but the cheese says it all. The cheese was a bit watery, like you can tell that it was microwaved. What a pity though... Would I recommend you to try it? Yes but at your own risk. 

MY TWO CENTS 🪙🪙

Before I ate at Swensen's, I was under the impression that it was made for students with student friendly prices. Turns out, that's not the case. For the quality of the food, I find that it isn't very worth it to dine there. It is a family friendly place, however there are cheaper and better options out there for sure. 

I would like to comment that this was the second time eating the curry chicken baked rice for me. The first time I had it, I found that the chicken was pink? I don't know if it had to do with the lighting at the restaurant, but the chicken was pink. At the same time, I didn't want to get salmonella so I had to ask the waiter if they could just put it in the oven for longer. They said they couldn't and I had to choose another dish instead. But the chicken was also pink 😭 I felt too embarrassed to ask for a replacement at this rate. Is it a me problem? Probably, but I don't want to die so early so... 

Remember at the end of the day, you do you 💁. I wouldn't eat there again for the foreseeable future, but don't let my opinions influence your decisions 🧠. Well that's all for today, bye bye 👋