After adjusting to work-from-home arrangements under tightened Covid-19 measures, many of us have been hard-pressed to organise the daily menu. While food delivery apps, fast food and takeaway from the coffee shops are still reliable options in Singapore, they are not always the healthiest. Meal planning for the whole family and even just whipping up something for yourself during lunch breaks takes time.
Enter tingkat delivery services – a fuss-free and convenient way of consistently receiving food straight to your door. All you have to do is choose the number of days, select add-ons and you are set for that week or two.
Best of all, most tingkat caterers provide delicious and nutritious meals that are cooked using healthy methods and ingredients. Many of the dishes will remind you of comforting home-cooked food. Although the name suggests that the food will arrive in cylindrical multi-layered tin cans, or tiffin carriers, you can choose to switch to other packaging as well. In short, they are healthier and economical. Below are some companies you can try.
1. Happy MamaPapa Catering
As its name suggests, this catering service aims to delight grandparents with a healthy Chinese-style meal that reminds them of the taste of home. The dishes here are elderly-friendly, with less salt, less oil and no added MSG. There’s also very little processed and deep-fried food. Each meal comes with three dishes and a flavourful double boiled soup. They are each packed in microwaveable containers. You can order your dishes with specialty rice, such as garlic, olive, pumpkin and cabbage rice, or opt for brown rice instead of white. Crowd favourites include sweet and sour fish fillet, baked honey wings and eggplant with minced pork and salted fish. Available for both lunch and dinner, there’s a 10-, 20- or 30-day package as well as a seven-day trial.
2. Kim’s Paradise
Co-founded by Madam Tan Swee Kim, Kim’s Paradise has been providing tingkat delivery for more than a decade. Diners are assured a good variety of dishes because the company has built up a menu featuring over 200 options. Meals here are healthy and flavourful, made with less oil and salt, and catering to the taste buds of local Singaporeans. Try its eight-day trial or sign up for a a 10- or 20-day package. You can opt for food to be served in old-school tiffin containers but that’s only available when you order a 20-day dinner package for more than one person. There’s also an option to go for its Healthy Nutritious Meal that incorporates its protein-rich dishes with Chinese herbs.
3. KCK Food Catering
KCK has been serving food since 1991, so you can be assured of its quality. Expect familiar local dishes such as curry chicken, stir-fry vegetables in oyster sauce and steamed ginger and soy fish. Its tingkat service is only available for dinner (minimum two persons) and you can pick either three dishes and a soup or four dishes with your choice of white or brown rice. Health enthusiasts will be glad to know that dishes contain low MSG and low salt, and they are cooked with a Healthier Choice oil labelled by the Health Promotion Board. They come in microwaveable containers and you can choose either a five-, 10-, or 20-day package.
4. Le Xin Catering
Regular menus here are the usual three dishes with a soup, but choose the Asian Delights menu (available only for dinner) if you’re looking for a treat. Local Favourites such as Hainanese chicken rice, Thai-style pineapple rice, mee goreng and Sin Chow bee hoon are served every Wednesday and Friday. You don’t have to worry about eating the same food – Le Xin promises that it will never serve the same dish in a month. All dishes are low in cholesterol and prepared using less salt, pure vegetable oil and no MSG. There’s a five- and 10-day trial, as well as a 20-day package. Tiffin carriers are a default but you can opt for microwaveable containers.
5. Tiffin Bicycle Club
Tiffin Bicycle Club was recently launched by Desmond Shen. Previously, chef Shen has had stints at the three Michelin star Odette and Magic Square, an experimental pop-up started by Naked Finn’s Ken Loon. This tingkat service is decidedly more upmarket than the rest on the list. Expect elevated dishes of both Asian and European influence, or what Shen terms as “progressive Singaporean food”, that are served in layered tiffin containers. The food is prepared to be collected at Shen’s current residence, a heritage house on McNair Road. You have the option to self collect or arrange your own delivery service. Menus are always changing but past dishes include a starfruit and mango ceviche with edible flowers; a Pu’Er smoked half chicken, and a smoked pig tongue ssam (Korean lettuce wrap).
6. FattyDaddyFattyMummy
Established for about five years now, FattyDaddyFattyMummy is set up by husband and wife duo Fion and Kedan. Kedan used to be a professional chef who cut his teeth working at Brasserie Wolf, Hiroki 88, Kriston Catering and Jewel @ Mount Faber. Dishes served are a homely affair, comprising family recipes and the pair’s personal favourites. Try the Love, Tingkat! menu (dinner only) which contains no processed or canned food, no added MSG and has less salt and oil. You’ll get a range of cuisines such as Chinese, Western and Japanese. Think seafood pasta with prawns, scallops and mussels; Japanese fried udon with prawns, mushroom and yakitori; and nasi briyani with marsala chicken and curry fish. There’s also a lunch menu that’s mostly Asian food.
7. Hewtop Catering
What started as a humble business catering packed meals to construction sites and factories evolved into a full fledged food business offering buffets for company functions and private parties as well as tingkat services for homes. Lunch and dinner menus for five, 10 and 20 days are available, and meals are typically homely Chinese fare. Dishes include cereal prawn, curry pork and prawn paste chicken. The menus are changed every two weeks to ensure variety. The meals are prepared with less salt and sugar, and without any MSG.
8. Cucina
This Halal-certified caterer serves a variety of Western, Malay, Chinese, Japanese and fusion dishes. You have the flexibility to mix and match your daily meals to enjoy a more varied dining experience. Best of all, unlike other companies, it only requires a minimum commitment order of three days. Dishes include chicken rendang, lontong and nasi lemak for Malay cuisine; omelette and sweet and sour chicken for Chinese and chicken gratin and spaghetti as well as oxtail stew for Western dishes. Food is prepared with no MSG, less salt and less oil.
