Earle Swensen's is the "upmarket" offshoot of the popular chain of Swensen's Restaurants and features an extended menu alongside an all-you-can-eat salad bar (terms and conditions apply). I have to admit I didn't come with much expectations especially after reading so many ambivalent reviews online, and in fact I thought it would only be more of an "inflated" (in terms of price) menu more than anything else. The salad bar seemed alright but I'm not a salad person at all and so stuck to just the cold oriental pasta, which was quite nice actually. Meanwhile, the view from Earle Swensen's at Vivocity would be pretty good once the Sentosa Integrated Resort is up, though for now it's still more or less construction sites or trees steeped in darkness.
Earle's Poultry Combo: 3.5/5
I was late for dinner and so couldn't take pictures of the twelve plus dishes on the table, though I heard that the food here is generally better than the ones served at the typical Swensen's restaurants, save for the fish and chips which my dad had. My poultry combo was a charboiled platter of chicken snail sausage, smoked duck, chunky chicken thigh strips and chicken breast, topped with herb onion gravy. I thought the sausage and chicken breast were delicious, the chicken breast especially was tender and juicy. The smoked duck on the other hand was almost tasteless while the chicken thigh was too tough and dry.
Tenderloin Steak: 3.75/5
Surprisingly, this was quite a good steak, though it may have been better if it was done medium instead of well-done. I expected the steak to be the run-of-the-mill type of uninspiring beef, but this one was actually quite tender and tasty. In retrospect of course, it cannot hold a candle to the best steak that I've ever eaten and it was only just recently too! Stay tuned and read all about my Best Meal of 2009 on Christmas Eve :)
Service
Very good and helpful. I must praise one of their trainee staff, Ms Normala, for her patience and politeness throughout our meal, well done indeed.
Price
$26.90 for the poultry combo
$28.90 for the tenderloin steak
* Prices subject to the usual 7% GST and 10& service charge.
Place
VivoCity, #02-117.
Additional Comment
First picture source here.
Pictures taken with the Canon Ixus 80 IS.
2 Foodie Comments:
i visited earle swensen's three years ago and was stopped from sharing my salad from the salad bar (it's not free-flow, by the way) with my family members and i never went back. i wonder if that rule's still in place?
December 24, 2009 at 10:36 PMwhoops, they did that? well, everyone on my table had the main courses so there wasn't such a problem. it was quite crowded on that day too, so i don't suppose they had the time to check on everyone haha.
December 25, 2009 at 1:10 PMthe salad bar IS free flow by the way, if you're entitled to it!
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