New year; new resolutions. It’s time to get into the groove of eating clean (especially after all that Christmas and New Year’s indulging). So for those in the Central Business District, we’ve gathered serious intel on five gourmet joints that offer healthy eats - that not only include salads, but also carbs and meats – to please the body and the palate.
THE GREEN BAR
Executed with painstaking attention paid to taste and quality—house-made dressings consist up to 13 ingredients—there’s no doubt that salads at The Green Bar are one of the best by far. Mouthwateringly delicious is Absolutely Wicked Strawberry (S$12.90)—a crispy bed of mesclun mixed into roasted chicken and prunes coated in a smooth and velvety chocolate glaze, followed by pops of sweetness from strawberries soaked in balsamic reduction, garnished with almond flakes and Danish blue cheese that only assist in upping the enjoyment factor.
A lighter, more refreshing option, the summer duck salad (S$13.90) boasts tart and tangy flavors with perfectly smoked duck, mango, roasted potatoes, red bell peppers, beetroot, clementines and cashew nuts nestled on a bed of watercress and mixed greens that gets a boost from tangy citron vinaigrette—to which we give an approving nod to.
Needless to say, the space fills up pretty fast—what with its healthy, yet luxuriously appetizing salads—so come early. Experience shows most people do.
16 Collyer Quay
#01-16/17 Hitachi Towers
Tel: +65 9855 4290
Mon to Fri: 8am to 89pm
Nearest Station: Raffles Place
MUNCH SALADSMITH & ROTISSERIE
Smacked right in the heart of the CBD at One Raffles Place is Munch. Not just another salad bar (read: only vegetables), Munch Saladsmith & Rotisserie offers deliciously healthy meat options such as poached salmon (S$11.90 with a salad), and juicy and tender free-range chicken roast (S$8.90 with a salad) that simply screams from the display with its brazenly bronzed skin.
On the salad bar are a variety of carbs and greens like tricolor pasta tossed in house-made basil pesto, wild shrooms sautéed in herbs, and cold soba noodles with corn niblets and shaved red carrot, mixed in sesame dressing. Salads start from S$7.90 for two, S$9.90 for three, and S$11.90 for four. Top up a dollar to wash it down with an iced house-brewed tea.
#B1-16 One Raffles Place
Tel: +65 6438 1456
Mon to Sun: 8am to 9:30pm
Nearest Station: Raffles Place
PLATYPUS TEST KITCHEN
There’s carbs, and then there’s carbs—the latter offering calories actually worth consuming. What we appreciate about Platypus Test Kitchen is their commitment to delivering quality handmade pastas using choice ingredients by organic purveyors at—get this—prices that won’t burn a hole in the wallet. Its signature spicy diablo crab and prawns (S$18.90) feature a good balance of flavors—sweet prawns and firm and chunky crab claw meat tossed together with thick strands of egg tagliolini pasta in a pleasingly spicy egg sauce, finished with fragrant garlic oil and topped with generous chunks of crab meat and whole prawns.
The Chef follows up with squid ink and scallops (S$16.90) of handmade tagliolini noodle coated in a piquant and zesty garlic and lemon sauce served with seared bay scallops—absolutely addictive without being a teeth-staining affair. Food here also churns out fast—perfect for a quick lunch before zipping back to the office.
24 Raffles Place
#02-02 Clifford Centre
Tel: +65 8112 1194
Mon to Fri: 11am to 4pm
Nearest Station: Raffles Place
SALADSTOP
If you’re gonna eat clean, make it green. SaladStop’s range of Japanese-inspired wraps are our choice picks. Refreshingly fruity with a kick of wasabi, the Tuna San wrap (S$12.50) features a green romaine salad with creamy avocado, sweet cherry tomatoes and mandarin orange crowned with thick slices of seared tuna—edges lined with ground black pepper, beautifully tossed in an appetizing wasabi soy dressing, its glorying moment fulfilled by crunchy sesame seeds and edamame that pack a punch.
An unexpected winner is found in the Go Geisha wrap (S$9.50). If the thought of cabbage, tofu, carrots, cucumber, snow peas and soba noodles make you grimace, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by this healthy creation that yields an addictively tasty sweet-salty miso vinaigrette (with a hint of ginger), showered with chockfull of veggies—great for an antioxidant boost. Wraps here are prepared quickly as well, so here’s a great option if you’re on the go.
#B2-78, 8A Marina Boulevard
Tel: +65 6820 0141
Mon to Fri: 8am to 8:30pm
Nearest Station: Raffles Place
WHOLE&HEARTY
Singapore’s first breakfast and fresh yogurt bar, Whole&Hearty is an open concept offering a wholesome range of takeaway breakfast options in addition to its signature heirloom yogurt bar.
Made from a variety of heirloom cultures and base milks—vegan soy, the creamier Bulgarian option, or even Scandinavian-style Viili yoghurt—these house-made yogurts are made fresh daily, complemented with local made granola from The Edible Company and nut butters by Hunter’s Kitchenette—we’re loving their macadamia, and hazelnut butters.
Charged by the bowl (S$4.50 for small; S$6.80 for medium; S$8.50 for large), regular items on the breakfast table include cold organic oats steeped in milk, baked whole apples, fresh seasonal fruit, as well as an array of seeds and nuts such as almond, pistachio, walnut, chia seeds, flax seeds and the like. Not completely “healthy” but too good to ignore is the cereal milk made with the original Momofuku Milk Bar cereal milk mix from New York City. A cheat day every once in a while is forgivable.
#01-84, 12 Gopeng Street
Tel: +65 9855 4290
Mon to Fri: 8am to 2:30pm; 12pm to 8pm
Nearest Station: Tanjong Pagar
About the writer
Mandy Lynn is a former I-S Magazine writer and current columnist at Nookmag; her dining and nightlife features are published in Men’s Folio, Singapore Tatler Dining and The Drinks Business, amongst others. For bite-sized food recommendations, follow her on Instagram and Facebook, or join her Gourmet Adventures to keep up with the latest dining and nightlife news.