The Bento People @ The Snack Culture

What do you eat everyday? You might find it a hassle to take note of every meal to ensure you've got all the proteins, carbohydrates and fibre covered. I know that feeling, especially when the stomach starts growling, I pretty much settle for whatever that's most convenient. Health problems resulting from unrestrained eating will only surface only when your body is protesting aka. too late! La-di-da. Aren't I such a nag?!

The Bento People @ The Snack Culture makes it easier - they'll take care of the nutrition and focus on making it tasty... you just have to eat. They provide an international menu of 15 selections, from which you choose 3 dishes for your customized bento.

Building a community of good eating habits

The boss of The Bento People @ The Snack Culture, Tat Hon (or more affectionately known as Doc), is passionate in developing a conscious routine in his customers to choose a healthier lifestyle in terms of what they eat everyday. The beverages right there are all sugar-free, such as the raspberry soda. Other interesting drinks include bitter gourd teas, iced mint lemon green teas and the Virgin Mary (alcohol-free). There is a 'sugar bar' for those who needs to slowly wean off artificially sweetened drinks. I must admit, it is a little hard to accept entirely sugar-free drinks because I am already so reliant on that particular sensory kick! But surely, one step at a time... I'm heartened by the initiative to go against what's popular and how they take care of their customers like their friends.

For the food menu, Tat Hon emphasizes, "Eating healthy doesn't mean it has to bland, and can't be delicious," and sure enough, we tried a lot of the selections he offered and they were definitely up to standard. Most of the mouthwatering flavours came from the ingredients itself instead of seasoning.

What impressed me... the world in a bento! My top three picks:

The Bento People @ The Snack Culture has such an impressive array of whole grains, proteins, vegetables and fruits to choose from. Their Weekday Lunch Menu involves the Make Your Own Healthy Bento in which you choose three to put in your customized bento. To rescue you from a dilemma on choosing what to eat, let me pick out some dishes that I'd recommend.

The most memorable pick has got to be the velvety salmon confit with its texture-rich combination with the clever addition of Mexican pico de gallo - salad made from diced tomatoes and onions. I already love eating salmon, but I know it ain't easy to be on the other end to cook it well. Double thumbs up from me!

An unexpected attractive dish was the quinoa salad with mixed nuts, beans, grapes, drizzled over by yuzu balsamic vinegar dressing. I have to say this was a very creative and refreshing blend that is not easily found in the Singapore food scene. This Spanish grain is often misconstrued to be not as tasty as the rice we are accustomed to... but not if you do it right, as I've tried in here! I went in for seconds, and then thirds for this particular dish! To put it in local terms... it feels like a party of Chinese New Year treats.

You can also find the nonya chap chye here, which included black fungus (also: cloud ear fungus) which I have a fond liking towards. There were also lily buds and beancurd skin that added a lot of flavour and jest that excite the tastebuds. It might not be the most photogenic dish, but I've gotta say... who cares about that when it's going to disappear straight into my stomach within seconds?! Especially with that belachan mayo... just ingenious. This success of this self-created dish had led it to become one of the signatures.

Ma Sit Sso Yo: Korean cuisine fans, this one's for you.

The other customers' hot picks include the ones from the Korean range: Jjigae with sous vide chicken breast and tofu and the bulgogi beef with tofu. I don't particularly like Korean food, but I still have to admit that these dishes are well-handled by the team. Both sauces are on the lighter side and less oily than the usual ones out there, a welcomed difference for me. Tofu provides a powerful alternative source of protein as well.

A lot more for the adventurous you!

Popular choices are potentially still too mainstream for the hipster in you! I was very surprised to see something as exotic as the Greek Tzatziki Cucumber Salad to appear on the menu, I have tried something similar before and it is arguably very different from the typical Singaporean palate. This is quite a good initiation point to try something different.

The Bento People @ The Snack Culture stay true to cultural roots with in-house cookies - with different flavours like hae bee hiam and laksa, but gotta say... the hae bee hiam ones are really unique and taste like the real deal itself! If you want to grab this interesting present for someone, you know where to go!