Green eats, healthy eats, we all want it all, but sometimes it’s just too much effort to prepare our own meals every day. And more often than not, the foods we tend to consume as a result of limited time, are usually the ones loaded with unhealthy amounts of fat.

Instead of reaching for those pre-packed vending machine salads or the ones that are sold at commercial cafes, make life easy and more exciting by heading down to these amazing salad bars in Singapore.

Who said healthy food, let alone a big bowl of vegetables, was boring?

AFTERGLOW BY ANGLOW

Feast both your eyes and your stomach on the spread offered here at Afterglow By Anglow. Using ingredients only sourced from local and Thai farmers, Afterglow builds their platters from scratch to give you nothing but the best quality.

While they also have baked, grilled and cooked options, their raw versions look the best in photos. So for all of you Instagram fanatics out there, take note.

24 Keong Saik Road
Singapore 089131
(Closed on Sundays)
Mon to Sat: 12pm – 10.30pm
Nearest Station: Outram Park

HARVEST

Located right opposite i12 Katong. This homely salad and protein bowl bar features an extensive range of fresh ingredients of which you can pick to customise your very own healthy bowl.

What makes them stand out from other salad bars is their use of sous vide in cooking their protein to ensure even and consistent cooking, after which they complete it by searing or flame-torching.

81 East Coast Road #01-01
Singapore 428785
Daily: 11.30am – 9.30pm
Nearest Station: Eunos

Photo Credit: Levitise

MAHOTA COMMUNE

An all in one eat, drink and shop space, Mahota Commune keeps true to their motto of “we grow what we cook, we cook what we sell”.

Within Mahota Commune you can find both Mahota Kitchen and Mahota Pantry, both of which pay extreme attention to details for each of their carefully crafted menus so the food served not only tastes good but looks good too.

809 French Road
Level 3 Kitchener Complex
Singapore 200809
Mon to Fri: 11am – 10pm
Sat & Sun: 10am – 10pm
Nearest Station: Lavender

MUNCH SALADSMITH

Munch Saladsmith is one of the more popular and longer-standing salad places in the CBD, offering a whole range of wholesome and natural foods such as sandwiches and salads.

The salads alone have more than 60 concoctions, all of which are freshly (and painstakingly) hand-cut upon order.

1 Raffles Place
#B1-16 One Raffles Place
Singapore 048616
(Closed on Sundays)
Mon to Fri: 8am – 9.30pm
Sat: 9am – 5pm
Nearest Station: Raffles Place

SALMON SAMURAI

Opened by the same guys behind Tanuki Raw, Standing Sushi Bar and The Secret Mermaid, Salmon Samurai is meant for busy people looking for healthy meals on the go.

Serving up the king of omega 3 on a bed of your desired base for just S$9.90, Salmon Samurai is both affordable and the perfect way to settle your health and sashimi cravings at once.

100 Tras Street
#01-11 100AM
Singapore 079027
Daily: 11am – 11am
Nearest Station: Tanjong Pagar

THE DAILY CUT

Known for their protein-filled salad and rice bowls, generous portions and affordable pricing, The Daily Cut is a hot favourite among gym-goers and office workers alike. Unlike most salad bars, The Daily Cut serves up even ribeye steaks with their salads.

For the vegetarians, they offer tofu selections for their protein section too.

1 Raffles Place #B1-31
Singapore 048616
Mon to Fri: 11am – 3pm, 6pm – 8.30pm
Sat & Sun: 11am – 3.30pm
Nearest Station: Raffles Place

THE GREEN BAR

The Green Bar serves up a creative blend of ingredients that are not only fresh but refreshingly jam-packed with flavours. All their salad combinations are tried-and-tested and carefully arranged in a wooden bowl for you to enjoy.

Using only freshly imported greens and homemade dressings, their salads will leave you thoroughly satisfied.

9 Raffles Boulevard
Millenia Walk
Singapore 039596
Mon to Fri: 11am – 9pm
Sat & Sun: 10.30am – 6pm
Nearest Station: Promenade

TOSS & TURN

Opened by Cedele, Toss & Turn is one of our favourite salad bars in Singapore for wholesome and affordable salad. The DIY salad station with unusual ingredients and dressings such as goat cheese and plum sesame.

Of course, they also offer the usual Cedele sandwiches and cakes alongside soup for the salads here.

2 Orchard Turn
#B4-55 Ion Orchard
Singapore 238801
Daily: 11am – 10pm
Nearest Station: Orchard

Photo Credit: Julius Lee

WELL DRESSED SALAD BAR

Well Dressed Salad Bar’s motto of “Meatless doesn’t mean tasteless” shines through in their salads, so much so that you really won’t miss the meat at all.

From pulled jackfruits, spiced beans and vegetarian ham topped with scrambled tofu and creamy guacamole, there’s not much else that you can ask for. Every component is well thought of

282 South Bridge Road
Singapore 058831
Daily: 12pm – 10pm
Nearest Station: Chinatown

Photo Credit: Wheat Baumkuchen

WHEAT BAUMKUCHEN

WHEAT is the go-to for Japanese and Asian-inspired flavours in humble salad bowls. They pay special attention to their noodle varieties as well as premium sauces.

As they’re approved by the Health Promotion Board as a Healthier Dining Partner, all their meals are kept below 500 calories.

International Plaza #01-19
10 Anson Road
Singapore 079903
(Closed on Saturdays and Sundays)
Mon to Fri: 10am – 8.30pm
Nearest Station: Tanjong Pagar

Joe & The Juice – a popular Danish Coffee & Juice Bar makes its debut in Singapore!

Established in Copenhagen in 2002, Joe & The Juice is a renowned chain that boasts cosy spaces and offers fresh fruit/vegetable juices that are made on premise, as well as coffee and sandwiches.

Since its opening, Joe & The Juice has taken Europe by storm and you can find it in almost 70 cities across Europe.

We first chanced upon Joe & The Juice when we were in London, and we were instantly sold by the simple but clever concept. It struck the right formula – coffee lovers can get their caffeine fix while non-caffeine drinkers can have a variety of fresh fruit and vegetable juices.

Of course, there are healthy sandwiches and light bites when you need something to munch on.

Singapore is Joe & The Juice’s first foray into the Southeast Asian market, and it is definitely a great addition to Singapore’s cafe scene – especially for those who work in the Central Business District. We sure hope the ones here in town are as cosy as the ones we’ve visited in Europe.

Expect to see more of Joe & The Juice bars in Asia over the next few years.

Joe & The Juice
30 Raffles Place,
Chevron house, #01-35A
Singapore 039803
Mon to Fri: 8am – 8pm
Sat: 8am – 3pm
Nearest Station: Raffles Place

High ceilings and a spacious interior aside, walking into Grain Traders feels just like visiting an old friend. The aroma of fresh veggies and proteins is one so comforting and familiar; we knew we were in for some wholesome goodness.

A new addition to Capitagreen in Raffles Place, Grain Traders serves up healthy grains, together with proteins and vegetables that are far from haphazardly cooked and prepared. And yes, they are healthy AND tasty food.

What we first noticed after scanning their cooked food on display was the vibrancy and variety of the food. Besides pre-arranged healthy bowls, the main draw of Grain Traders is their DIY bowls.

These bowls get you a protein, a hot veggie, 2 cold veggies, a topping, a sauce – all on top of your grain of choice. They are priced at S$16 each and you can customise them however you want. Of course, we were initially hesitant about the relatively high price, but after having our bowl, we can safely say that the taste than justifies it.

For our bowl, we picked quinoa as our grain (and we got such a huge serving that could have fed two!) and salmon as our protein. Roasted beetroot and carrots were our hot veggie choice, and coleslaw and cherry tomatoes were the cold ones.

Trust us when we say all the vegetables here are so fresh and with each component, you can really taste the effort put in to cook and flavour it. We topped off our bowl with some garlic & shallots, together with a sauce of coconut curry on the side for an extra oomph.

Other choices include beetroot feta yogurt and Asian gravy for sauces, and you can even find striploin and seared tuna in the protein choices. One thing’s for sure – at Grain Traders, you certainly get more than what you paid for.

Grain Traders
138 Market Street #01-01/02/03
Singapore 048946
Weekdays: 8am – 8pm
Sat & Sun: Closed
Nearest Station: Telok Ayer

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.