Real Food? What kind of gimmick are they playing on customers now? That’s what I thought when I saw Real Food logo in a small eatery at the basement of Square 2 shopping mall in Novena, Singapore.

It took me three days to admit, after visiting the place twice, that it indeed serves real food.

The café décor is inviting people to come in. With glass doors and windows from floor to ceiling one can easily see from the outside the wooded decoration, the communal tables and the organic merchandises.

Real Food boasts its meatless food as free from processed ingredients, artificial preservatives and trans fat.

One of Real Food’s attractions for health food enthusiasts is the time spent by the management and staff in being informed about where and how their food is produced while actively supporting local producers.

At the Novena outlet, its “outdoor” sitting is twice as big as the indoor one. Outdoor here means outside the small café but still inside the mall. While waiting for their food, prepared from scratch, customers can browse a large selection of food, health and women magazines.

Nearby I saw a small section with Real Food logo on the window and people coming in and out carrying food ready to be served. Apparently that is where the hot meals are cooked.

Being a rice eater, on my first visit I had organic fried rice and fried spring roll.

The fried rice is brown rice stir-fried with garlic and generous portions of pineapple, capsicum, French beans and carrots. The rice can be replaced with organic steamed quinoa for those who prefer more antioxidant phytonutrients in their meals.

Traditionally handmade, the spring rolls are huge and filled with carrots, mushrooms, turnip and black fungus.

On the second visit I asked for a salad dish called classic green and later on added assorted mushrooms bruschetta.

Fresh greens with boiled beans, olives, cherry tomatoes, baby radishes and avocado slices made for the salad, topped with roasted nuts and tossed in balsamic vinegar, lemon and oil. Himalaya navy beans and organic quinoa are available for extra protein and fiber.

I contemplated about how to live the organic way before eating the sautéed assorted wild mushrooms on melted mozzarella toasts, an extravagant treat.

All the dishes have huge portions, fresh and tasty, the characteristics that years ago are rarely identified for healthy organic foods.

In my two visits to Real Food, I always ordered juices, a glass of apple juice and a glass of mixed carrot, ginger and pineapple juice.

Prepared to have a blackish juice since I didn’t consume the juices after lunch, I was pleasantly surprised to find the juices are still in their original color even after an hour.

Apparently, as stated in the menu, Real Food uses a twin gear juicer that has magnetic and bio-ceramic technology that slows down oxidation process. It works in two steps, first the juicer crushes the fruits and vegetables, and then it presses the juice. This two steps process, as promoted, gives more fiber, enzymes, vitamins and minerals compared to conventional juicer.

My Real Food indulgence continues at its small mini shop located near the outdoor sitting area, selling all kinds of organic products. A bag with brown rice is a nice touch of ornament, below a white lampion.

I could spend hours in this Real Food mini complex, appreciating its owners’ statement that it is not a fast food joint and they have no intention of becoming one.

Except for the snakcs, Real Food does not offer pre-packed and processed food. Equipment such as slow-pressed juicer, low heat pan-frying, and making food based on order onsite (no pre-cut ingredients) are examples of why Real Food, now with five outlets, produce and serve only Slow Food.

-------------------------------

Images: Omar Niode Foundation