Bowen's Western — Restaurant in Singapore

This is my third time here, each time bringing a different group of friends as I quite like the food. I have seen the reviews on upselling and experienced it myself the first 2 visits which I kindly rejected. The owner has replied to these reviews saying that it is not upselling but giving them a chance to present the specials.

And sure, I have no issues letting them present their specials to me. This time, oysters was presented which I said I do not eat. Salmon sashimi was then presented next which I said my friend does not eat. And then I was given this disapproving look with a comment in mandarin, “you guys don’t eat everything.”

Mind you, there were only 2 of us and I had already ordered 2 mains and truffle fries as a side, and she was still trying to get us to order more. I even said to her that it would be too much for us to finish. She then upsold me further with mushroom soup and ice lemon tea. I eventually caved and got the ice lemon tea.

Towards the end of my meal, there were cloves of garlic left in a plate which I was slowly finishing up. A first waiter tried to clear it and I told him that I am not done. Miss “Present-The-Specials” then tried to clear it and I too told her that I am not done. “Huh, haven’t eat finish?” she said, disapprovingly once again. The restaurant was not even full and had many empty tables so I don’t even know why they were trying to clear our plates which made us feel like they were rushing us. Maybe their SOP is to go around periodically to clear plates, but it didn't make us feel welcome.

But anyway, without them even having to rush us, my friend was in a hurry to leave herself after finishing our meal. I questioned why as we usually chill and take our time after a meal and she said that she doesn’t like the service, which is what prompted me to write this review. I feel embarrassed as well as I was the one who recommended the place.

Owner will probably reply, defending his staff, and brush this off once again but I hope you look into your...

They appear to have two stalls. One of the stalls does not have air conditioning and sells Hainan curry rice at 10 a.m. daily, as well as herbal soup.

It was not at its peak during our visit, which took place on a weekday evening about 6 p.m.

There was a Chinese lady who tried to upsell us on every single dish we purchased. It's a little unsettling for us. This ruined the shop's first impression.

𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 went wrong When we ask for a chicken chop, she upsells us to have both the 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐩. She upsells the 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭 when we ordering fish and chips. She upsells 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲'𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 beef cheeks when we request angus prime ribeye. She upsells 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐣𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 when we order canned drinks.

Maybe the business owner should teach the employees not to be so pushy. It's fine to push once or twice, but not for all of the things we ordered?

👑𝗪𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐩 & 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐒𝐆𝐃 𝟒⁣ 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘚𝘎𝘋 𝟺.𝟾𝟶 ⁣ The soup was at the perfect temperature, and the garlic bread was perfectly toasted. Delicious mushroom soup. ⁣ ⁣ 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐒𝐆𝐃 𝟏𝟏.𝟗𝟎⁣ The chicken chop was soft and tender, and the meat was perfectly seasoned. However, we found the pork chops to be a little difficult to chew. The sauce on the side did not help to elevate the dish.⁣ ⁣ 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐡 & 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐒𝐆𝐃 𝟗.𝟔𝟎⁣ It’s a decent F&C. Nothing to brag about.⁣ ⁣ 𝐁𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐞⁣ 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐒𝐆𝐃 𝟐𝟐 ⁣ 👑𝐀𝐥𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞 (𝐟𝐨𝐢𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐬) + 𝟗⁣ Medium rare doneness. IMO, flavours are lacking. We think it's a little salty. The steakhouse chips were not crispy at all. I'd prefer it to deep fried for a little longer.⁣ ⁣ Foie gras is...

Food taste is really good. General pricing for most items is well within reasonable expectations (even the Wagyu beef steak price is within expectations). HOWEVER, be very careful if you were recommended "special" items like the Lobster spaghetti - it's really way overpriced. The item was not on the menu and with no price explained. This item alone cost more than 2X the highest priced item in their menu! We have to be fair - I note that this is a small shop in a small HDB coffee shop/estate - It's not the Grand Hyatt. Nice taste but really not worth the sky high price (that single item). We do exceptionally like the mushroom soup - almost scrapping the bottom for this. The local item (Seafood soup with rice) is again really not bad but at over $10 a pop, its a bit on the pricey side. I pat myself on the back by justifying that there were 3 Chilean mussels, a fairly mid~large sized prawn + clams and bits of squid/fish. But, it's still not the Grand Hyatt. The files are a problem that needs fixing. If boss is reading this - I recommend flypaper (lots of it). The house flies were so persistent it affected our lunch experience negatively. The buggers were literally fighting in mid air, on our tables, on our food and the chili sauce/ketchup tips. We will be back there some day. I want more of that soup. Just needs a minor bit of tweaking the price and getting rid of the flies. I still will recommend this place - its a good eating. Just order carefully and beware the flies. Clean the ketchup and chili sauce bottle tips...