Hey everyone!

I mentioned on my SkinnyMint review that I embarked on a no-carb diet (actually just abstaining from the four main refined carbs – rice, bread, noodles and pasta) when my internship commenced. About a month have passed since my last SkinnyMint teabag and I’m proud to say that I’m still maintaining the diet amidst all the food temptations (except for certain allocated cheat days hehe).

A few weeks back, I was introduced to Real Food, a cafe that makes food free from processed ingredients, artificial preservatives, Trans-fat and meat. As a meat lover, the thought of going entirely vegan – even just for one night – puts me off. But since it was a farewell dinner for a health-conscious friend who was going to pursue her studies in the States, I obliged and followed the plan. The only consolation for this meal was its health benefits, no doubt.

Despite frequenting The Central during my Poly internship days, the basement of the mall always seems like a maze to me so it took Bf and me awhile to find the cafe. Located on the same side as Sticky (there’s actually an escalator in front of the cafe leading to Boat Quay), you’d be surprised at first to see the cafe almost empty on a Saturday evening. But trust me, it has got nothing to do with the quality of the food. In fact, it’s a common sight in shops operating in The Central due to low patronage caused by the lack of flagship stores. Thus, empty tables were plentiful when we were there but I did see people streaming in every now and then.

Our reservation for 8 diners got us a long table isolated at the inner corner of the cafe, making it uber conducive for group conversations. We were surrounded with shelves well-stocked with books, food and everything else vegan, effectively transforming this cafe into a fusion of a mini-mart and a bookstore. The gentle yellow light gave the place a very cosy lived-in feel too.

Orders are self-service at the cashier (yay, no service charge!) but the food gets delivered to you. The prices stated on the menu at its Clarke Quay outlet are final (i.e. no additional charge for GST whatsoever) even though the cafe is GST-registered. The good people behind Real Food probably absorbed the extra charges 😀

Here’s what Bf and I ordered:

The freshly-squeeze orange juice had a hint of sourness which was still bearable. I wanted to get Lemon Honey for myself because I was still recovering from a sore throat but to my dismay, they didn’t have it 😦 So I got the most expensive honey from the menu because the description boasted that it had “excellent antibacterial activity providing faster recovery rates than conventional honey”. However what I received totally disappointed me. Served in a rather small cup. the drink was ordinary, so diluted and bland (verified by my boyfriend who wasn’t sick at all, so his taste buds were fine) that I thought my $5 tub of honey purchased from Cold Storage tasted and worked better on my throat. It definitely wasn’t a worthy buy. I guess Raw Honey would be a better choice. Plus, it’s almost $4 cheaper.

Having drunk mushroom soup at almost every cafe we had been to, we didn’t expect the shitake soup to be clear. We thought the food was going to be another letdown again until we took a sip. Surprise! This “excellent source of iodine” is actually very flavourful and pleasant on the palate. Like every other soup dish, it’s best served piping hot.

The all-day breakfast menu was only what appealed to us. We ordered Rise-n-Shine Breakfast because it was one of the very few items on the menu with egg! Or rather, sunny-side ups, PLURAL, in case the bold and italic aren’t obvious enough. Yay! Finally something that I would enjoy eating at a vegan cafe. I love eggs, even more so when they are runny! 🙂

On a side note, I don’t wish to sound pampered but I absolutely hate it when I’m served eggs with broken yolk. It’s tantamount to providing bad service (for not safeguarding my egg argh) and I won’t hesitate to blacklist whichever restaurant that does it to me 👿

But my food was safely delivered with both yolks intact! *throws confetti* Once the plate landed in front of me, I carefully dug my spoon into the side of each yolk and watched the yellow liquid ooze onto the metal surface (omg so erotic like 50 Shades of Grey, I like). I gleefully stuck the spoon into my mouth to taste the deliciousness of the yolk. Yummy!

However, the star of the dish wasn’t the eggs (obviously), but the mushrooms! Gosh, they were so savoury, I wished there were more! The dish on the whole was not bad. I don’t mind having it again on my next visit with my vegetarian friend.

I also took some pictures of my friends’ foods while waiting for mine! Here, for your viewing pleasure:

And that’s about it!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Real Food (The Central)
6 Eu Tong Sen St
the central #B1-52/53
Singapore 059817
Website: http://realfoodgrocer.com/index.html
Email: enquiries@realfoodgrocer.com
Contact for Reservations: +65 62244492