Swensen's Ice-Cream Buffet

It looks like a page out of a fantasy book - an ice-cream buffet?! Sure, it does seem like every ice-cream lover's dream, but after today's experience I think first-timers would need some advice and tips on how to "survive" this buffet. For those of you who somehow or another have not heard of this buffet and the two month-long one-for-one promotion, you've got six more days. For your ticket, go ahead and click here (1 redemption per emailer - so print more)!


Excited yet? It seems all fine and dandy but I think that if you just go head-on into the buffet you would not last beyond well, twelve scoops tops. Here's TEN tips to make your ice-cream buffet a worthwhile experience ;)

Tip #1: Go easy on the pastries and cakes.




Or if you could, stay away from the cakes completely, because they aren't that nice anyway and they're just wasting space in that tummy of yours. The peanut butter chocolate tart looked promising but was too dry and bland, the cheesecake was too thick, the strawberry tart (according to Daphne) "tastes weird" and the chocolate truffle was the most... acceptable of the lot. The large cookie is fine but I would think the brownie would take up precious tummy room too.

Tip #2: Enjoy the waffles with ice-cream.


The freshly baked, hot and crisp waffles were simply a delight to have with the cold ice-cream! Daphne preferred to have butter and honey all over the waffles but hey it's an ice-cream buffet right! Two servings of waffles, as you can see in the picture above, was enough for me. Much more and I probably wouldn't have space for the other ice-cream flavours. And oh, I know the chocolate fudge looks pretty miserable, but that's because it was close to impossible to maneuver the plate around the chocolate fudge "taps" given the way that they're positioned.

Tip #3: Start with the milky ones.


Start with the chocolatey and milky ice-creams first, leave the gelati (plural for gelato) for later (see Tip #9). This way you can gauge your personal "capacity" for ice-cream haha.

Tip #4: Use (many) toppings.




This way, the richness of the ice-creams would not threaten to overwhelm you. Having all sorts of toppings spread around keeps your mind/tummy "distracted" with all the multiple tastes.

Tip #5: Don't bother with the "chop shop".



You thought it would be something like Cold Rock Ice-Creamery where the ice-cream "chefs" would chop up the toppings and mix it really well with the ice-cream. Not here. All the guy did was well, put the ingredients in the middle, then fold the ice-cream over them like a sandwich. Even I could do that at my table! Then again, cut the poor guy some slack, it's tiring doing the same thing over and over again with a long queue of customers.

Tip #6: Be adventurous.


Yeap, ice kachang type of ingredients here like jellies and red beans. Do your mini chendol too if you like.

Tip #7: Take a break. Have some french fries.


You must be thinking: WHAT? I thought so too but here's reasons why: 1) Swensen's fries are really quite good actually - hot and crispy, and 2) it's another "distraction" tactic to get your mind off from eating ice-cream after ice-cream after ice-cream. Stop all ice-cream eating midway, sit back, and eat some piping hot fries. After a while, you'd be hungry for even more ice-cream! Credit must go to Daphne, in part because of her sudden craving for fries right in the middle of the buffet.

Tip #8: Don't forget the fondue.



Though I must add that the cream puffs and strawberries weren't that nice. You could use the fondue as hot chocolate fudge instead! ;)

Tip #9: Start taking gelati when you're pass the "75% full" mark.


They're lighter, especially the "fruitier" ones. I especially liked the wild strawberries and peach mango gelati, really nice. The lychee one was okay, while the super lemon flavour (at least, I think that was the name) was quite an experience - extremely sour! But somehow I kept going for it haha!

Tip #10: Most importantly, enjoy yourself.



Because you deserve it :)

Service
Excellent. Constant replenishing of iced water jugs too. I was thinking though if it was a tactic to get customers to keep drinking cups of water and then get too bloated for more ice-creams.

Price
$18.90++ for one, but given the promotion, it's for two then.

Place
Ion Orchard, #B1-31.