Some Days Are For Healthier Eats

Gone are the days that sous vide cooking was limited to hotels and expensive restaurants. Fireless Kitchen, located in the revamped Funan Mall, is a first of its kind with absolutely no open flames in the kitchen and they’re definitely proud of it. You get to see the tanks and sous vide cooker setups right in plain view when you’re ordering your food.

We got two bowls, where you get a pick of one protein, one base and three toppings.

In bowl 1 (left, $15.90): sous vide salmon, tofu (add on $2), romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, edamame, pineapple

In bowl 2 (right, $13.90): Signature 24 hours cooked sous vide pork belly, whole wheat pasta, sous vide egg, caramelised onions, balsamic carrots

All the proteins were stellar, they weren’t overcooked in the slightest (the magic of sous vide cooking), and they absorbed the flavours of the marinades so well. While the pork belly is supposed to be the star of the show, with its tender melt-in-your-mouth texture, I found myself more drawn to the firm tofu, but that’s just me since I really like tofu. The marinades for both seem to be a barbecue style sauce, which double up as a great dressing for whatever base you choose. The salmon flesh was so soft and sweet, and I liked that the skin was slightly crisped - still don’t know how they’d achieve that without oil and flames though.

The bases aren’t particularly unique, but at least the salad vegetables were fresh and crisp. Note that the portion of vegetables is quite little though.

I liked all the toppings, especially the caramelised onions and carrots. However, the whole bowl was served at room temperature so it wasn’t particularly appetising.

Unfortunately, it seems like sous vide cooking isn’t sexy enough for our local market yet. Despite a very hardworking staff working the cashier and constantly reaching out to passers by and potential customers, nobody bought a bowl for the duration of the time that we were there. Perhaps they could work on the presentation of the cooked foods on display, or revise the pricing. For >$10 a bowl for a base, a protein and three toppings, there are much cheaper and more filling choices out there.

*Fireless Kitchen is FavePay-friendly! Start racking up those cash backs!

The Starter Culture has found an avenue in Tiong Hoe Specialty Coffee to sell their bottled kombucha fermentations of Ceylon tea and raw cane sugar. It’s a bit pricey at $8.60 per bottle compared to the coffees on the menu, but I actually really enjoyed the kombucha! Im not a fan of ultra fizzy and sour kombucha, but The Starter Culture’s version is light and sweet, it almost tastes like plum. There’s little to no dizziness, and I really love how fruity this fermented drink is. While I wouldn’t shell out $8.60 on the regular for this, I don’t mind treating myself and my gut once in a while!

What’s in my bowl ($10+$2):

Base: Cauliflower rice (+$2), purple and green cabbage
Greens: broccoli, spinach, lotus roots, cherry tomatoes, long beans
Dressing: cheesy pesto
Lux it up: golden pillow tamago
Crunches: shallots, tobikko, activated almonds

The only thing new about my combo this week is the lotus roots and I have to say they are pretty damn awesome if you love lotus roots (think MLXG, people). Kipos really slices these so thinly, they retain a crisp texture and it’s just soooo satisfying listening to that light crunch.

Everything in this bowl hit all the right spots. I might go with the lotus roots and mala dressing combination next time for a healthier MLXG!

This bowl consistently delivers no matter how many times I order it. What’s different is the sambal tempeh add-on, which is now just cooked tempeh and sambal spooned over when the bowl is assembled. This is in contrast to having the tempeh marinated and cooked with sambal. I felt that the tempeh was moister this time, but didn’t absorb the taste of the sambal that well. That’s quite a lot of tempeh and protein for an additional $2, so it’s quite worth it too!

We were figuring out the difference between this Roll and the Shrimp Rice Paper Wrap on the menu. Both come with Chef Recommendation symbols, but we decided to go with this out of curiosity as there was no accompanying description on the fillings.

Turns out that unlike the Shrimp Rice Paper Wrap that was given a full page spread on the menu, the Summer Vegetable Roll comes loaded with not only vegetables, but with two proteins - shrimp and grilled chicken. I really love The Orange Lantern’s Vietnamese grilled chicken as it’s super tender and flavourful, so now that I know that this rice paper roll comes with it, it’s going to be a no-brainer ordering this. The vegetables and herbs in the wrap are all fresh and crisp. I love the refreshing basil and mint in the wrap. The prawn wasn’t really seasoned, but it was fresh and crunchy. The grilled chicken added another layer of flavour with its lemongrass seasoning, and I think that’s really what pulled this whole wrap together. My only complaint about these rice paper rolls is that the rice paper was super sticky which made it hard to separate the rolls from each other and the chopsticks without tearing the rice paper.

Although this is an appetiser, it can also serve as a light meal for someone trying to eat healthy! The Orange Lantern is slightly pricey, but the food is good, so we keep coming back :)

What’s in my bowl:
Base - green and purple cabbage and cauliflower rice (+$2)
Greens - spinach, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, Brussels sprouts (+$1), carrots
Protein - tofu
Dressing - laksa
Lux it up - mushroom medley
Crunch - shallots, tobikko, nori

I always head back to Kipos and end up ordering almost all the same stuff because it’s just so good. I was forced to change up my lux and crunches as the golden pillow tamago and almonds weren’t available. In addition, I really wanted to try their new sambal tempeh, but it was out of stock, sadly. Anyway, I went with the laksa dressing this time. It’s always hard to choose since all their dressings sound (and also taste) so good. The laksa dressing is no exception. It’s got the rich creamy mouthfeel of laksa, with a slight bit of spiciness. All delivered to you in salad form. What’s not to love about this local fusion dressing? I know this will be one to add to my rotation whenever I visit Kipos!

One of the chef’s recommendations on the menu that I’ve been eyeing and finally went ahead to try. This is basically atas fried rice that’s super delicious. The red rice is fried with pumpkin cubes, edamame, mushrooms, long beans and an egg, and you get to choose between roasted chicken or avocado to go with the carbs. I went with the roasted chicken breast, which wasn’t the most tender, but fortunately not dry nor tough to chew. I think it’s seasoned with mustard so the meat isn’t tasteless, and although it is just a teeny bit bland on its own, it goes well with the already-flavoured red rice. The portion of chicken given for $13 is substantial too - very value for money! I love the components in the red rice bowl - the red rice gives a lot more bite than regular white rice, plus it imparts a nutty flavour that’s so addictive. The edamame and long brand add some sweetness and a little crunch, whereas the sautéed mushrooms add an earthy flavour with some saltiness. The pumpkin cubes were harder than I’m used to, but they still worked in this case as they kept their form and didn’t disintegrate in the rice. Might’ve been even better if the pumpkin was softer, but overall I really enjoyed this fried red rice very much and have no complaints about my meal. Looks like I have to visit ABC more often to try more of their dishes and order this again!

Choice of how you’d like your eggs done on two pieces of toast with sautéed mushrooms, bacon, cherry tomatoes and half an avocado. We went for scrambled today and ABC makes pretty good scrambled eggs that are fluffy and a little moist! Toast is done well as it’s super crispy on the outside while soft and chewy inside. The bacon and sautéed mushrooms are on point too. Overall, this is a very satisfying All-Day Breakfast that you can even enjoy for dinner. It’s also not too expensive at $16. Would recommend and would order again!

For $5 extra, you can zhng your meal at ABC with a soup, salad or fries. Many of the mains don’t have leafy vegetables in them so the side salad’s a good choice of add-on. At $5, it’s quite steep for a romaine lettuce base with capsicums, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. Fortunately, there’s quite a good amount of feta cheese used which adds a refreshing saltiness to the salad. The vegetables are crisp and fresh, and there’s some dressing to round off the side. The dressing is a little like zesty Caesar and there’s a good amount that’s not stingy but also not overwhelming the salad leaves although personally I could’ve done without dressing thanks to the crumbled feta. Not bad for a meal add-on, just wish it were more affordable.

New outlet alert for Mr Bean in a snazzy new building opposite the NUH Main Building. For their opening promo, they’re offering a rice bowl or soy burger with a drink (soy bean or grass jelly) for only $5.50. I opted for the teriyaki chicken rice bowl (U.P. $6) and a cold soy bean drink with less sugar (U.P. $1.60).

It was quite a simple bowl, with white rice, a few strips of teriyaki chicken, corn, cherry tomatoes, edamame, an egg, and seaweed on top, but quite delicious after stirring all together. The teriyaki sauce is just sweet and savoury enough, and they aren’t stingy with it so you can actually mix all the rice with sauce. I wish there were more greens in the bowl but it wasn’t a deal breaker. For the health conscious, Mr Bean also provides calorie counts for their menu offerings. However, if they really want to roll with the ‘healthier choice’ options, offering brown rice instead of regular white rice should be the next step forward.

Overall, for $5.50, this set is affordable and value for money. However, I wouldn’t pay for the rice bowl at its regular price of $6 as it’s just too basic. I’d rather top up a few dollars and head up to A Poke Theory if I was really craving a grain bowl.

Back at Caveman food to try a different flavour and I went with Moroccan today which is seasoned with prunes and olives. The meat is so tender and on point, but I felt that the seasoning tasted almost like the Italian (without eating the olives). It’s not a bad thing as the chicken is still delicious, it’s just that the non-spicy seasonings don’t seem to be that distinct from each other. That won’t stop me from ordering either flavour though.

The sides are so good as well. Love that the cauliflower rice here is offered at no extra charge, and the eggplants are firm and not mushy. I always have trouble picking what I want because there’s pumpkin and sweet potato available too! I’ll be back for more chicken, and maybe to takeaway some of the sides too!!!

Under the new DYOB system at Toss & Turn, you can get 1 base (mix up to 2), 1 protein, 4 toppings and 1 dressing at a base price of $11.

What’s in this bowl ($11.50):
- Base: Baby Spinach, Quinoa (+$0.50)
- Protein: Spicy Chicken
- Toppings: Hard boiled egg, sous vide egg, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms
- Dressing: Caesar

Quantity of food given tends to be quite inconsistent and varies according to which server you get. Some servers don’t even bother asking what bases you want, and automatically start scooping a certain veg for you. Anyway, the variety of bases here on a good day are great - I like that you can choose quinoa at an additional cost of only $0.50, as it usually costs more in other salad or grain bowl joints. First time trying the sous vide egg here, and it’s cooked perfectly plus cracked well. Think golden flowy yolk, yums. The mushrooms are well seasoned and add an earthy yet savoury taste to the bowl.

The change in Toss&Turn’s DYOB system doesn’t affect me much, except that now I get a smaller variety of protein in my bowl, but overall it works out for me getting a cheaper bowl of goodness. Unfortunately, the meatless Monday discount sign is apparently missing, so I wonder if it’s been removed permanently.