Sustainable, Healthful Bamboo Bowls lands in Singapore

When I first heard about Bamboo Bowls my first thought was “Will they be like the other DIY healthy bowls places which are popular and highly competitive? I wonder what their specialty is?” I was eager to know how they differentiated themselves. 

So when an invite turned up for a media tasting to their flagship store at Far East Square, I really looked forward to it. Bamboo Bowls set up so sleek and chic, with minimalist décor oozed simplicity. The Zen atmosphere made me feel like I was walking into a spa rather than a lunch place. I already liked it. 

Everything in the store was contactless, from downloading the app, ordering and making payment online, to collecting food from custom-built collection pods. It was easy and hassle-free. Without having to speak to anyone this would make for a fuss-free interaction on a hurried day where you needed to just grab and go. 

The indoor dining area had 3 levels of platform with seating spaces and built-in wooden separators to be used as tables. There was also a larger outdoor seating area. The entire concept blew me away. This was different to everything I had tried in the past. 

Bamboo Bowls serves free refreshing drinks for diners too. A self-serve jar of lemongrass tea which is sweetened using monk fruit sweetener. It was my first with this sweetener, having not heard of it before. I learnt some interesting facts - carb free, zero calories and rich in antioxidants. Being a very healthy family, I was always on the lookout for new condiments and ingredients. Added this to my list - one tick for home! 

If this is not up your alley, a beautiful SMEG fridge filled with numerous choices of water or flavoured sugar-free sparkling water, from lemon, blood orange, yuzu lime, and peach ginger are on sale at $3-5 each. 

After Sylvia (my other partner in crime reporter at Expat Choice!) and I placed our order,  we were introduced to Chef Justin Hammond, a young talented Australian chef who was the executive chef at Neon Pigeon. Ooooo that was one of my favourite restaurants! 

Through talk we sensed his passion in cooking and valuable culinary experience that he had carted across to Bamboo Bowls. He gave us a brief tour of the store and I must say the concept really wowed me. There was a definite bent to leading the way in healthy eating, an eco-friendly environment and sustainable living style. 

One corner created with a food waste composter for leftovers, a bin for paper cartons that food was served in and a bin for glasses and cans. You trendsetters! We were excited to see them pave the way hopefully, for more such outlets. 

Chef Hammond mentioned how he was inspired to do this as he witnessed food waste and recycling issues in the industry. Bamboo Bowls feel if they can do it, others can too. This really echoed my sentiments. From food wrappers, take-away containers and leftover waste. If everyone did their bit, the consolidated efforts would be tremendous. 

Picking a sensible restaurant like Bamboo Bowls, who only use recyclable and degradable materials was a good start. We chose our seat much like when one is in a stadium with unnumbered seats, just a ledge to sit on. Quite exciting and fitting with the concept. 

Our food arrived. We chose Saigon and Seoul bowls to start with. The presentation was amazing, something we did not expect for takeaway food. It looked so appetizing. Sylvia and I almost started digging in without taking any photos. Hilarious!

Seoul, served with chewy Japchae noodles paired with coconut & lime gochujang tempeh and punchy kimchi on the side was a perfect combination for a spicy lovers’ palate. It contained all the nutritious elements from protein, vegetables to carbohydrates, with wonderful flavours. 

For an additional $5, two succulent juicy giant prawns cooked to perfection brought a smile to our face. Us girls preferred something more than just pure vegetarian meals. You could also opt for a low carb option substituting japchae with Shirataki yam noodles for a mere $3. All very reasonable and equally tasty too! 

Saigon was a refreshing delight. Vietnamese rice noodles in Chef Bjorn’s own mix of punchy fresh herbs and sauces, grilled lemongrass tofu, house special nouc cham & pickled vegetables created a melody of vegetable carnival! I could not get tired of eating vegetables like this. While we slurped all this down, the best was yet to come. One bite into the add-on roast pork belly and we were in heaven! Incredibly good quality roast pork belly was something that went beyond my expectations for a takeaway lunch. It delivered the perfect crispy texture, saltiness and tenderness all at once and all that for a mere $5 in addition to the base bowl. Wow! 

The conversation we had with Chef Hammond over the Bangkok and Tokyo bowls which were both his creations, aroused our curiosity. We decided to try them both. He explained how challenging it was to come up with plant-based version of a fish sauce which tasted equally good to the normal. We all know fish sauce is an essential ingredient in Thai cuisine. We were curious if we would be able to tell the difference. We figured the best way to find out was to try it! 

The Bangkok bowl impressed me big time. Description on the menu didn’t justify the flavours. Yes it was red curry on coconut rice with vegetables but the flavour was outstanding. Chef Hammond was certainly successful in creating the plant-based fish sauce. All flavours intact and not too rich at the same time. I polished every morsel without a struggle. It was so tasty!

The add on protein with this creation was lemongrass chicken, so tender, lean yet juicy and aromatic. All poultry used was superb quality - chicken was organic and antibiotics free, pork was free range and ethically raised, lamb was grass fed and organic while fish and prawns were either wild-caught or ethically & sustainably farmed. 

With such extensive choices in these quality add-on proteins, each creative bowl could be served with extra highlight. A win-win on every front without compromising the healthy, nutritious value neither challenging the global meat consumption crisis. With ethics intact, a guilt-free healthy meal is as good as it gets here at Bamboo Bowls. 

Needless to say our tummies were filling up fast but we had to try Chef Hammond’s other creation – Tokyo. Our last adventure for the day who doesn’t love a Japanese bento? Well, this was a perfect version. Brown rice with cut wakame in teriyaki sauce, flavoursome miso eggplant cubes, perfect ramen egg with translucent egg yolk, pickled kyuri and in house fabanaise. Not to mention all vegetables were organic. Homemade wasabi infused fabanaise (vegan mayonnaise) gave the bowl a wonderful kick in flavours, topped with Salmon Katsu (deep fried Salmon crumbed patty) as the add-on protein, another genius combination! Despite this being our fourth bowl of the day, we devoured every bit of it without hesitation. 

Having tried half the menu at Bamboo Bowls, I can confidently say how it stands out from other healthy bowls restaurant outlets. This is not a place where you pick your grains, mains, salads and dressings which kind of taste the same in the end. Each bowl creation at Bamboo Bowls has its own distinct flavour, no mix and match here. 

It’s like a proper cuisine, done in the utmost healthy yet delicious way. It is plant-based throughout including all sauces used and 100% sugar free. For non-vegetarian/vegan diners, an extra $5 will get you a high quality non-vegetarian protein - pork, chicken, lamb, seafood, all ethically and sustainably sourced. carb conscious diners, choices of low carb yam noodles or turmeric coconut cauliflower rice are offered for an additional $3. 

I loved every element of each bowl creation here and enjoyed every single bite of this hearty food. I am so impressed by Bamboo Bowls for the good intentions, well thought through process, excellent execution and attention to detail on food presentation and flavours. 

Effort behind the scenes are amazing, from using recyclable and decomposable materials, plant-based, sugar-free and organic ingredients, to antibiotic-free, ethically and sustainably sourced meat and seafood. It’s not just a bowl of food for hunger that I was consuming. It was a choice for lifestyle living and abetter future for generations to come. The food was yummy and the concept deep. 

I hope to see Bamboo Bowls create a store with their produce so we are able to purchase these plant-based sauces online for home consumption. Plant-based sauces used in their food - fish sauce, monk fruit sweetener, mushroom stock powder and fabanaise. 

I am already planning mummy gatherings and bulk orders online to try the remaining 4 bowls on the menu. Bamboo Bowls delivers island-wide. Team up with friends and family, simply order online to enjoy these gourmet healthy bowls delivered right to your doorstep. Check out your favourite bowl and join this new healthy trend with us, for a delicious sustainable living style and a better environment for our future.

So contemporary in design, I was mesmerized by the atmosphere of zen music playing in the background at Bamboo Bowls. In a somewhat futuristic style I was not expecting, this specialized bowls diner stood out from the rest.

The first contactless store in Singapore, I didn’t know what to choose, from the variety of eight bowls that presented in the online menu. The main focus here was sustainable - all sauces made in-house with over 50% organic, 100% sugar-free, 100% unprocessed, unrefined and based on a whole-food plant-based framework with ethically sourced meat options and low-carb alternatives.

“Wow what a mouthful” you might say and they were, the bowls I mean. All with an Asian flair – Bangkok, Saigon, Tokyo, Sichuan, Bombay, Bali, Seoul and Singapore. Specially curated by Executive Chefs from these snazzy cities of the world, this is something worth coming down for or simply calling in delivery.

Chef Justin Hammond, Culinary Director of Bamboo Bowls and former Head Chef of Neon Pigeon created the amazing Bangkok Bowl. With an option to add protein, I had the lemongrass chicken and cauliflower rice. Simply divine! I would say a gourmet version of fast food, specially curated by celebrated chefs around the world.  

The other stunner creation of Chef Justin’s was Tokyo. Japanese donburi with brown rice, cut wakame in teriyaki sauce, miso eggplant, ramen egg, pickled kyuri and the oh-so-fantastic wasabi mayo. The protein splurge in this was a salmon katsu made from sustainably farmed New Zealand salmon.

What a great concept I thought. A plant-based vegan bowl for $10 then top up with a protein for $5 which I felt was oh so worth it, then add a low carb option if needed for $3. I could come back every day for eight days to have a different bowl. The Bombay bowl by Chef Mano Thevar looked amazing but we decided to go for the Seoul instead. Gochujang calling!

Chef Jay Morjaria’s (Chef & Owner of JAE Restaurant in London) certainly curated a delicious fiery ssambap with grilled Gochujang prawns and tempeh. Every bowl had the option of a low carb noodle or rice and all vegetables served were organic.

I was already thinking about who I could pass the word around to. There were so many friends who would love these healthy bowls made with whole grains, preservative free, all so good for our gut. Yoohoo!

The amazing Saigon bowl boasted an exquisite roast pork belly with crunchy crackling. Made all the difference! I ordered the low carb Shirataki yam noodle and of course this was accompanied with lemongrass tofu, pickled vegetables and punchy fresh herbs.    

It was almost two hours since we had been at Bamboo Bowls. It was hypnotic to sit back in such a zen surrounding. The chill factor was awesome though I feel most people would probably order in rather than traipse down to the space.

Located on Amoy Street in Far East Square it is a place you would definitely want to stop at if in the vicinity. Otherwise gather your friends at home and order in. I can guarantee you will want to try more than one bowl so order a variety and dip into each other’s to have a taste. It would make for a great party idea as each bowl is well packed in sustainable bowls that are recycled at the end.

Remember to also pick up some sugarless canned drinks of blood orange, yuzu and other flavoured waters. Highly complementary to the fine food I was enjoying that produced light undertones of delicious flavours.

Singapore, Bali, Bombay and Sichuan my apologies. I will have to come back next time. Tokyo and Bangkok you were my favourites!

What a concept! Bamboo Bowls well done on this innovative offering that’s brilliant for my pocket, gut and appetite!