With so many new cafes and restaurants constantly opening their doors, we’re always spoilt for choice on where to head to for a team lunch or family dinner.
But did you know about these new spots for healthy meals? From leafy greens to the freshest sushi, you can indulge in your favourite foods on the go while keeping a balanced diet and skipping out on the extra calories.
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Now you’ll have no reason not to get back to your (old) New Year’s resolution to eat better. Here are our 12 top picks:
Vegans, rejoice! This rustic restaurant and bar launched by boutique gym Kilter Avenue focuses on making vegan meals look absolutely mouthwatering. With starters at $10 to $12 and mains ranging from $14 to $18, you can enjoy a symphony of flavours with dishes like Soy Satay with peanut sauce and veggie chips and Bak Kut Teh Barley Risotto with diced fresh daikon, cauliflower chips, garlic oil, pink radish and braised nuts.
Where: 05-01 OUE Downtown Gallery, 6A Shenton Way
Feeling hungry near the CBD area? Try this Melbourne-inspired neighbourhood cafe for some guilt-free eats and coffee. Whether you’re ready to indulge your sweet tooth with some Chia Pudding or fill up your belly with the hearty Mushroom & Hummus, there’s a main for every taste. You won’t have to scrimp on sides like Poached Eggs or Sourdough Toast either, since they’re wallet-friendly at only $2 to $3.50.
Where: 8 Craig Rd, Tanjong Pagar
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Since its opening in 2016, Little Farms has become the go-to store for fresh produce, meats and groceries from Australia and Europe. Now you can enjoy a scrumptious brunch and all-day breakfast menu made with their premium ingredients! Offerings at this petite cafe include a variety of daily salads and freshly baked goods, like Granola & Fresh Fruit ($12) and Smashed Avocado ($15).
Where: Valley Point Store (#01-20), Valley Point Shopping Centre
This minimalistic fine-dining restaurant is all about serving up fresh, authentic Japanese fare. Owned and headed by Chef Tomoo Kimura, each dish is highly seasonal – so expect huge changes in the menu every couple of months. With prices ranging from $120 to $250 for lunch and $280 to $400 for dinner, you can expect nothing but the best organic ingredients in each piece of sushi.
Where: #01-07 Palais Renaissance, 390 Orchard Road
Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner plus drinks and coffee, this multi-concept restaurant and bar is Swissôtel The Stamford’s only F&B establishment to be run without the use of plastic. Located on the round floor of Equinox Complex, it features an All-day Dining Restaurant, Beer Bar and a Grab-and-Go for busy Singaporeans on the go. Here, you can treat yourself to elegant comfort food like baked fish en papillote and salt-baked taproot salad with feta cheese, walnuts, and spinach.
Where: Level 1 Swissotel The Stamford, 2 Stamford Road
Head to the second floor of the Hilton Singapore if you’re in search of freshly made mains, soups and salads for breakfast or brunch. With gluten-free, dairy free, vegetarian and raw food options, this chic 32-seater incorporates locally and sustainably-sourced ingredients.
Like the restaurant’s mantra ‘Real Food, Full of Natural Flavors’, diners can expect delicious and wholesome offerings like the Grilled Tandoori Organic Lacto Chicken Wrap with ‘ketchumbar’ salad ($27), and an Organic Basil-crusted Glacier 51 Tooth Fish cooked with local mushrooms ($38).
Where: Level 2 Hilton Singapore, 581 Orchard Road
Located at the NTUC Food Fare in Clifford Centre, Oh My Goodness! is a local initiative that makes healthy but delicious food more readily available to the public. Their products are high quality, gluten and dairy-free but still extremely tasty.
Some of their offerings include superfood clusters and fruit sorbet bars, frozen acai tubs, paleo beef jerky and vegan mushroom jerky, all of which make great nutritious and delicious snacks for a mid-day office break. For anyone working in the CBD, consider this before you head out to buy something fried and oily to get you through the rest of the day.
Where: Basement 1, Clifford Centre, 24 Raffles Place
A mainstay for online restaurant Grain is its Tofu-Powered Tabbouleh ($9.50), with aubergine, roasted pumpkin and bulgur – a whole wheat grain. Also try their Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Freekeh ($13.95), with tikka masala sauce. Freekeh is a whole grain made from green durum wheat.
Where: Order online at www.grain.com.sg or via the Grain app on both iOS and Android. Meal-box orders are available on weekdays and catering is also available for large groups and events daily.
Known for its soba and brown rice bowls, Wheat also offers a dish of quinoa with chicken ($12), which comes with grilled chicken thigh, pumpkin, mesclun salad, corn, tomatoes and cranberries. Quinoa, as well as Bhutanese red rice, is also offered as a topping choice for the Design Your Own Bowl option at its newest outlet at Marina One. Bhutanese red rice is a gluten-free grain and replaces the brand’s usual brown rice option.
Where: 2-33 Marina One, The Heart, 5 Straits View; B1-08 Raffles City Shopping Centre, 252 North Bridge Road; and B1-32 One Raffles Place.
The Make Your Own Healthy Bento menu has many quinoa-based options, including The Bento People’s signature Quinoa “Fried Rice” with sous vide chicken, eggs and beans; Quinoa Lemak, white quinoa with cold-pressed coconut oil; and steamed quinoa with a choice of white, red, black or tri-colour. Prices start at $10.90.
Where: 02-17 CT Hub, 2 Kallang Avenue
Rang Mahal’s quinoa upma is cooked with olive oil and spices such as asafoetida (from the dried sap of giant fennel), curry leaves, fresh ginger and mustard seeds. The fine-dining Indian restaurant also uses ragi (finger millet) to make dosa at its live-cooking station. Both items are available for Rang Mahal’s lunch buffet ($58++ a person, Sundays to Fridays).
Where: Level 3 Pan Pacific Singapore, 7 Raffles Boulevard. Call 6333-1788 or go to www.rangmahal.com.sg
The next time you pick a base for your grain bowl at Grain Traders, opt for quinoa instead of the usual soba noodles or brown rice. Pearl barley and bulgur wheat are available too. All grains are dressed in extra-virgin olive oil. Its new signature bowls ($16) – Hen’s Nest and Senor Hombro – both feature quinoa along with other proteins and vegetables.
Where: Outlets at CapitaGreen, 138 Market Street; and 01-03/04 100AM, 100 Tras Street; open 8am to 8pm (weekdays), 11am to 8pm (weekends at 100AM outlet only)
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Text: Zoe Zeng, and Eunice Quek/Straits Times
This post was updated on December 31, 2018.