Real Food

Real Food is arguably the leader of organic, vegetarian food in Singapore. They started in a humble space in Central, Clark Quay a couple of years ago even before juicing became a fad, and have expanded to 4 outlets in Singapore and Malaysia. Real Food café is free from processed ingredients (food grade or otherwise), artificial preservatives and Trans-fat.

Real Food is a restaurant we frequent, and Eatprayflying is privileged to able to speak to Jeeyang, one of the founders who started Real Food to understand more about Real Food’s vision and journey.

One reason why I support Real Food is because they support ethical farming and ethical food preparation which really stands out in the food industry. Real Food sources mainly from organic farmers and even if the farmers do not have enough scale to pay for organic certification, the partners personally visit the farms to ensure the food is REALly (pun intended :P) free from pesticides and toxic farming ingredients. They also take pains to ensure their food is as healthy as possible – the oils they use to cook their food is of such great quality, it costs 10x market rate of regular cooking oil – all this to ensure that their food is as healthy as possible. Jeeyang also believes in good intentions, so he tries to keep his cooks in good spirits so they put positive energy into the food they prepare.

Real Food @ Killiney – lifestyle restaurant with books, grocery, music and a little space to breathe.

“We choose to make our food from scratch and with only fresh and
‘recognisable’ ingredients. It takes a little more time and effort,
but simply just by knowing what goes into our food makes it
worthwhile. You can also choose to avoid processed junk. Take a
look at the ingredients the next time you want to buy any pro-
cessed food and see if you can recognise how many of the items
listed.

Very often, it’s only a few.” — Real Food

Jeeyang started Real Food in a humble area in Central, Clark Quay, Singapore and personally worked in the kitchen with his mum so ensure that their dishes are healthy and tasty. It takes Real Food’s kitchen 3 pairs of hands, 6 hours and lots of dedication to make just 50 to 60 sets of dumplings (which is one of my favourites!). When they took over the big area at Killiney, many people in the organic and F&B industry thought that Real Food would not be able to cover the overheads. But Real Food managed to fight the skeptics and get the crowds in by keeping their food simple and home cooked, and by keeping their staff highly motivated to provide heart warming service. Jeeyang believes a huge contributing to their success is creating a space and menu that communicates health, rather than vegetarianism; this helps to make Real Food welcoming to people of all dietary needs.

Real Food @ Central

My 2 Asian favourites are the Fried Vermicelli ($7.80) – Organic Tamari, toasted sesame oil, wheat/gluten-free brown rice vermicelli with fresh and fried vegetables and Dumpling Soup ($7) – which are painstakingly hand made from no less than 10 ingredients, such as carrots, mushrooms, bean curd, French beans and chestnuts.

One of my favourite indulgence – Fried Vermicelli ($7.80)

Dumpling Soup ($7) – which are painstakingly hand made from no less than 10 ingredients, such as carrots, mushrooms, bean curd, French beans and chestnuts.

Dry Dumpling Noodles ($8.80) @ Real Food – The same dumplings served with organic brown rice udon with green leafy vegetables and cherry tomatoes.

For my mum, she usually has the Stuff Veggie Salad ($9.80) to get her raw fix, which comprises grilled organic capsicum, filled with a homemade patty made from grated beetroot and carrots, mashed potatoes, onions, millet and fresh parsley. Served with fresh greens, olives, lemon slices, tomatoes, baby radishes and avocado slices.

Mum enjoying her Stuffed Veggie Salad!

Stuffed Veggie Salad!

Our cooked Western favourites:

Sweet Plum Tomato Aubergine Pasta ($10.80)

Assorted Vegetable Balls Pasta ($ 13.80) – Assorted Beet, lentil and chickpea balls tossed with homemade tomato pasta.

Organic Mushroom Aglio Olio ($ 7.80) – Pasta tossed with fresh garlic, oregano, parsley and sautéed wild mushrooms. I always have mine with chilli for the extra punch!

Beet Millet Burger ($12.80), Raw Food @ Central – Handmade patty made from beetroot, carrots, onions, millet and zucchini. Stacked with grilled onions, tomatoes, guacamole and served with pan-fried organic sweet potato wedges.