Swensen's - Lobster Roll & Slipper Lobster Roll

So we were browsing through our Instagram account earlier in the week and we saw on the @ieatandeat Instagram account that they had tried a Lobster Roll at Swensen's.

WAIT! THEY HAVE A LOBSTER ROLL AT SWENSEN'S???

Well, apparently they have a 'Rolling In The Deep' promotion going on now. We of course had to visit ASAP because it was a limited promotion. We asked the staff at Swensen's and they said it'll be until the end of the month only. But apparently, the promo will last til the end of November!!
Still got time!!!

Lobster Roll ($21.80)

We kinda have thing for Lobster Rolls since started watching Food Network Asia on cable. It really bugged us that it was so difficult to get Lobster Rolls in Singapore. Growing popularity in Singapore meant quite a lot of places now offer Lobster Rolls on their menus but so difficult to find a Halal one!

We were lucky enough to taste one at Catch 'N Bite recently but now (at least til end of next month) we can head down to Swensen's to try their version!

The first thing you will notice is that they are VERY generous with their serving!
The succulent lobster meat is mixed in with a honey lime dressing which is actually very tasty because it has a zesty but quite mild flavour which doesn't overpower the lobster. Finished off with some butter oil!! Ooooh!

I'm guessing I don't have to tell you that the lobster meat itself was excellent! A nice firm texture with a great bite.

I guess the one issue I had with the Lobster Roll (and even the Slipper Lobster Roll) was the bread.
But a little more on that later okay.

By the way, this thing is huge! I had a problem picking it up let alone taking a bite of of it. Look at that and tell me how lah to put in your mouth to take a bite??

I ended up eating it with a fork and knife LOL :/

Slipper Lobster Roll ($16.80)

 

The 2nd offering for this promotion is the cousin of the lobster - The Slipper Lobster Roll!

The slipper lobster meat is mixed in with some creamy mustard dressing which I honestly did not think went as well with the slipper lobster compared to the honey lime dressing in the Lobster Roll.
It was a nice dressing no doubt and I love mustard but just a bit too over to be honest.

Again, comparing to the Lobster Roll, I didn't quite enjoy the Slipper Lobster meatas much as its cousin. It's because I'm uppity or anything like that lah okay.

The Losbter Meat I would compare the texture to crab. Firm and with a distinct flavour.
Slipper Lobster Meat is closer to prawn meat. A little more bouncy in texture. And I'm  not really a prawn guy so I guess that influences my decision a lot.

The roll is the same for both Lobster and Slipper Lobster Rolls by the way.
And speaking of the bread...

The bun they used is definitely a plus because it was perfect for a Lobster Roll.
I'm sure it started out pretty soft but they do toast it a little or at least put it on the grill to get some butter into it. Unfortunately, that's where they fall short.

The underside of the bun was toasted great with some butter in there to give it some flavour and a great bite when you chomp down on that sucker. But.... we wish the inside was the same... Or least with a little butter and on the grill for awhile to give it a little toast.... Found it a bit weird to be clean and dry on the inside...

But in the end, this is still the better Lobster Roll we've had so far!!

Adam's Verdict:
Lobster Roll 4/5 -- Slipper Lobster Roll 2/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Lobster Roll 4/5 -- Slipper Lobster Roll 3/5

Even though the Swensen's staff told me it's til end of October, I'm gonna trust the Swensen's website and say this promo will run til the end of November. So get your Lobster Roll fix and head down to Swensen's ASAP!!

PS OCBC Cardholders enjoy 15% off the Rolling in the Deep promo!

Say it with me kiddies...

I'M SO GOING TO SWENSEN'S!

Swensen's (ION Orchard)

ION Orchard
B1-31

www.swensens.com.sg
Tel: 68845967

Operating Hours:
10.30am til 10.30pm Mondays to Fridays
8.30am til 10.30pm Weekends and PHs

Catch 'N Bite

So we received a message via FB to come down and try a new grab-and-go type joint.
The only thing was - it was all the way at West Gate Mall which counts as good as a world away for us here located at literally the other end of Singapore!

But believe you me - Catch N' Bite was always on our mind because we saw the pictures on their website and boy oh boy were we excited to try! And eventually, the day came when we had to venture all the way to the west for a project which meant finally getting to visit West gate Mall!!

The Catch 'N Bite menu is made up mostly of seafood.
Some come in sandwiches, some come in rice bentos and some even come as mini-tartlets.
But we had some items already 'targeted'!

Ultimate Lobster Roll ($12.90)

Ever since I started watching Food Network on cable TV, i kept seeing Lobster Roll this and Lobster Roll that and I really wanted one. So can you imagine how excited I was when I found out that Catch 'N Bite had Lobster Rolls?

And it's the real thing too because we saw a whole pan of the lobster sitting waiting to be enjoyed.

We noticed that the lobster was mixed up with a few other ingredients which kinda took away from the lobster a little bit. To be honest, it pretty much ended up becoming an Egg Mayo sandwich with some lobster meat in it instead of being an actual Lobster Roll.

You can see the lobster meat there is no doubt (see the pink morsel on the left?) but you you can also see more egg than anything else which was kinda disappointing. I know lobster is a very expensive and premium ingredient and you have restaurants serving Lobster Rolls ate 5x the price compared to here but I guess maybe a little less of the egg filler so we can enjoy the lobster itself would be nice.

We actually also felt the bread choice for the Lobster Roll was a little off. We're not saying it's bad bread but I guess it was more about choice of bread.

Lobster Rolls normally come served in a soft bun kinda like a hotdog bun and the Ciabatta bread used here was kinda hard especially when toasted (albeit lightly). Maybe a slight change in bread tactics might help?

But the bread they used was perfect for another item on the menu.

Crunchin' Shrimp Po Boy ($7.90)

Another temptation courtesy of Food Network - The Po Boy!

The shrimp has a nice coating so it gave them a nice crunch when you chomp down and the sauce went really well! But... missing the pickles which are supposed to be in there... Oh well...
But I actually found this more satisfying than the Lobster Roll.

They also have Fish and Chicken Po Boys too.
Actually they have one that we also wanted to try...

The Soft Shell Crab Po Boy was sold out!!
Oh well, at least we know what we're gonna try for the next time we visit!!

Anyways, we had some other stuff too! Went all the way so better try as much as possible!

Clam Soup ($4.90)

It was a bit more watery than we expected but then we realized that it was a Clam Soup and not really a Clam Chowder so less cream would be included. But it was still pretty tasty though! Probably because they used fresh lobster stock in here.

The clams were nice and plump and fresh too. Potatoes, carrots and celery thrown in like any good clam soup and you get a nice flavour of the ocean in a bowl. Wish they would have given small sachets of seasoning like salt and pepper for the benefit of those who might wanna tweak it a little.

Smoked Salmon and Sour Cream Tart

Crab Salad Tart

Garlic Mayo Shrimp Tart

Egg Mayo Ebiko Tart

The Seafood Tarts were these little mini-tarts with a baked shell and filled-in with an offering of seafood paired with some extras to make it a fulfilling bite. In fact, it's literally 1 or 2 bites to finish a tart so you and order a few if you'd like.

It's $2.50 per tart and they also have tarts like Shrimp Salsa, Pineapple Sauce Fish, Wasabi Mayo Shrimp and Mango Chutney Shrimp just to name a few.

Adam's Verdict:
Ultimate Lobster Roll 2.5/5 -- Crunchin' Shrimp Po Boy 3.5/5 -- Clam Soup 2.5/5
Seafood Tarts 1.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Ultimate Lobster Roll 2/5 -- Crunchin' Shrimp Po Boy 3.5/5 -- Clam Soup 0.5/5
Seafood Tarts 2.5/5

Azlan's Verdict:
Ultimate Lobster Roll 2/5 -- Crunchin' Shrimp Po Boy 4/5 -- Clam Soup 2.5/5
Seafood Tarts 3.5/5

Definitely something I might visit if I am ever in the area but I'll probably get a Po Boy.
PS this post is dedicated to one of our readers @Signora Su! Promised you we would visit the west!!

Catch 'N Bite

West Gate Mall
3 Gateway Drive #B02-K16

Tel: 64959935
www.catchnbite.com

Operating Hours:
10.00am to 10.00pm Daily

21 On Rajah

Advertorial

Singaporeans love to eat and what better place than a buffet!
When someone mentions Halal-certified buffets in Singapore, I'm guessing you would probably be able to come up with a list of places to visit. In fact, you can find some of those names right here on our blog.

Well, we have some really great news...
You can now add one more name to that list - 21 On Rajah!!

That's right - we're jumping for joy too!!

Situated along Balestier Road, Days Hotel At Zhongshan Park is a modern-looking hotel. If you've never had a reason to visit it before, well now you do!

21 On Rajah has just recently been certified Halal by MUIS and it offers not only a nice buffet spread but also some very tempting Ala Carte menu choices as well. We were invited to have a taste of their delectable buffet spread and have a taste of some of their signature dishes as well.

And like all our buffet posts, we're gonna run down individual items later but let's give you a sneak peek at what the spread actually has in store for you... Let's start with the Salads and Appetizers...

D.I.Y Salad Station

Mozzarella Cheese and Tomatoes

Potato Salad

Grilled Mixed Vegetable Antipasto

Smoked Salmon

Salad Nicoise with Tuna Tataki

Assorted Sushi

They also have a station where you can mix up your own Rojak!

Rojak Station

Rojak!

Besides the salads and appetizers, they also have a nice spread of Cold Seafood that includes Green Mussles, Snow Crab Claws, Scallops, Tiger Prawns and even LOBSTER!!

The Cold Seafood Spread

Lobsters

Tiger Prawns

Scallops

Mushroom Soup

They also have a selection of Cheeses and Bread for us to enjoy.
And of course, there'll always be an offering of soup at any buffet spread. When we visited this time, it was one of our all-time favourites (and probably yours too?) - Mushroom Soup!

The soup may have been a little light on the texture but I really enjoyed it.
You get a nice earthy mushroom flavour and for those who really enjoy that, you're gonna enjoy this soup.
Enjoy with a nice warm roll to complete the dish!

I would have had more but I was planning to stuff myself with so many other things I decided to go slow :P

And then we come to the Mains...
21 On Rajah actually has a good mix of Mediterranean and Asian delights. One of the Restaurant Managers actually described it as a 'Meditter-asian' theme which I thought was very fitting because you can really see the eclectic mix of food ranging from Asian (Chilli Crab-style Crayfish, Laksa, Rojak, Sushi etc) to Mediterranean and European (Italian-style dishes like Pasta and Antipasto, Braised Lamb Shank etc).

I think I'll let the picture do more of the talking... And the tempting!

Nasi Goreng

Kung Pao Style Chicken

Slipper Lobster Singapore Chilli Crab Style

Fried Mantou Buns

That's right! They have a Chilli Crab-style dish with Slipper Lobsters and complete with the Fried Mantou Buns!! I have to say that this is not really the kind of dish you would expect to enjoy at a Hotel Buffet but this was actually pretty good!

If you're like me and don't want to make such a big mess, just enjoy mopping up the delicious Chilli Crab gravy with the buns! Yummy!

Slow Baked Salmon with Mustard Cream Sauce

Spinach Ravioli

Sauteed Asparagus and Carrots

Braised Lamb Shank

Gratin Potato

Roasted Prime Beef Ribeye

Shallot Jus Sauce

What I felt was the real star of the buffet spread was the Roasted Prime Beef Ribeye.
Just look at the delicious slab of meat there calling out to you... "Eat me.... EAT ME!". ZOMG.

As you may very well know by now - I loves me some meat. And when you have a buffet line where there's a guy waiting to carve out some meat for you - it's a win-win-win-win trust me.

And the meat itself? Roasted to perfection!
You have a nice crispy char on the outer layer and medium-well done for most of that part. And when you get to the middle, a nice pink medium-rare awaits you. How can you resist!
If you're like me and prefer it to be less pink, just let the guy know and they'll char it a little bit more for you on the pan. Finish off with some Shallot Jus Sauce!!

And now we have some pictures of the food that we dished out for ourselves... There are a lot more but only had time to snap these few because we spent the rest of the time wolfing down the food!!

Mozzarella Cheese and Tomatoes

I'm a big fan of cheese but not so much of tomatoes to be honest. But I totally enjoyed this. Even the tomatoes! The cheese taste is not so overwhelming and the tomatoes were really firm and fresh. It was a very nice and refreshing start to our meal!

Grilled Mixed Vegetable Antipasto

Smoked Salmon

Potato Salad

I guess I'm a sucker for these kinds of European appetizers.
Smoked Salmon is an automatic yes for me every single time because I really love it. I guess that's something I picked up from my Dad. And the quality here is top notch.

The Grilled Mixed Vegetable Antipasto is roasted peppers, zucchini and aubergines and has a very nice and robust flavour to it.

The Potato Salad is not your usual type of Potato Salad and you can even have it as a side when you have your meat dishes like the Roasted Prime Beef Ribeye or even the Braised Lamb Shank.

Salad Nicoise with Tuna Tataki

Those who love Tuna will enjoy this dish.
Lightly-seared Tuna which has a black pepper crust paired with peppers, potatoes and quail eggs.
Just remember that the black pepper crust will give you quite a kick :)

Slow Baked Salmon with Mustard Cream Sauce

Gratin Potato

Braised Lamb Shank

ZOMG the Lamb Shank is the bomb.
I heard some people even picked up with the whole bone and started chomping down and I don't blame them!! But I'm shy so I just tore off some meat :P

Spinach Ravioli

Besides just being the Meat Guy, I'm apparently also the Pasta Guy. All the more if it's creamy!
I really really really really really really really really really really enjoyed the Spinach Ravioli. If you enjoy creamy pasta, you'll definitely enjoy this too!

PS have I mentioned that I really enjoyed the Spinach Ravioli?

NO CAGE CAN HOLD BACK OUR APPETITES!

Okay. More like 'No cage can hold back our gluttony' to be more exact :P

21 On Rajah also has a nice Desserts spread including fruits, fondue, Asian and Western desserts!
If you still have space after the mains, take your pick!!

Fresh Tropical Fruits

Carrot Cake

Cheesecake

Profiteroles (with Lemon Curd Filling)

Asian Nyonya Kueh

Dark Chocolate Fondue

Bread & Butter Pudding with Dates (and Vanilla Sauce)

As you can see, quite a lot to choose from!
In fact, they had more desserts like Panna Cotta and even mini-desserts which are served up in shot glasses.
I took a few but whacked them before I got a chance to snap some pictures. Oops. :P

Juices

The 'Juice Bar'

Something we found very unique was this 'Juice Bar' set up where you can have your choice of Orange, Lime or Cranberry Juices and then you can mix it up as you see fit!

You can top it off with some fizzy drinks like Ginger Ale, Tonic Water or Sprite and then add some fruits like Strawberries, Pineapple, Kiwi and you can even add some Mint Leaves!

Something very unique that we've not seen at any other buffet so far! :)

But do keep in mind that from what we understand, there are up to 5 menus which are on rotation throughout the week so it's best to call and check if you want a rundown on what's being served when you visit.

You might very well enjoy some of the stuff we've posted here but then again you might enjoy something else that we didn't get a chance to try!

Buffet Prices:
Breakfast - $18.00++ (Adult) / $9.00++ Child
Semi-Buffet Lunch - $15.00++ (Buffet only) / $10.00++ (with any main course ordered)
Dinner (Mondays to Thursdays) - $32.00++ (Adult) / $16.00++ (Child)
Dinner (Fridays to Sundays, Eve and PH) - $35.00++ (Adult) / $17.50++ (Child)
Sunday Brunch - $38.00++ (Adult) / $19.00++ (Child)

The buffet at 21 On Rajah is really good value for money! You get quite a nice spread of food and definitely some favourites there so you know you'll be able to concentrate on eating just the stuff you like.

Besides the buffet, 21 On Rajah also has an ala carte menu which boasts Mediterranean favourites such as Paella, Poitrine de Poulet and also Asian delights like Chicken Curry 'Singapore Style' and Nonya Laksa.
If you want to have a taste of both worlds, then maybe you can consider trying their Semi-Buffet Lunch where you can have an ala carte dish plus still get to sample the buffet spread!

And some more good news!
When you go for the Sunday Brunch, they have a supervised activity corner for the kids! This means you can relax and catch up with friends and family after the little ones have had their fill!!

We'll definitely be visiting 21 On Rajah again to sample their ala carte menu.
But the buffet is so tempting we might end up having both.

And a special shout-out to Izad and Hana who are also fellow foodies!
Check out their blog (www.izadnhana.com/blog) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/izadnhana#)
Maybe we can all go makan together again!

21 On Rajah

Days Hotel At Zhongshan Park
1 Jalan Rajah

Tel: 68086868
www.dayshotelsingapore.com

Operating Hours: Weekdays
Breakfast - 6.00am til 10.30am
Lunch - 12.00pm til 2.30pm
Dinner - 6.00pm til 10.30pm

Operating Hours: Weekends
Breakfast - 6.00am til 11.00am
Lunch - 12.00pm til 3.00pm
Dinner - 6.00pm til 11.00pm