What if I told you that 2017 has literally been designed to wreck your new year diet plans?
What if I told you that 2017 has literally been designed to wreck your new year diet plans? With the Lunar New Year creeping up on us unusually early in January, you have less than a month between the feasts of Christmas past and the impending love letters, bak kwa, and pineapple tarts.
But as you watch your #eatclean resolve crumble and workout regimes go out the window, be comforted by what the year has in store. 2016 saw unimaginable queues for baked cheese tarts and surprise Michelin-stars falling from a distant sky. If our guesses are correct, 2017 might just one-up the year past with more outrageous foodie trends happening right here in Singapore.
1. Eating Clean(er) Is Gonna Be Even Easier
Okay, so maybe those diet plans can hold on for just a little bit longer. Ever since the likes of VeganBurg touched down in Singapore in 2010, the idea of veganism and plant-based diets have caught on well with locals. What would 2017 have in store?
Main courses don’t necessarily have to be a rack of ribs or a shank of meat. At Humpback, a plate of cabbage can be just as satisfying, or even more so. If that’s a bit too tame for you, they’ve also got some good deals going on with their oysters…
2. Time To Get Bowled Over
As much as we would love for the bowling fad of the 90’s to return, we’re talking about healthy meals served in cute bowls.
We’ve already gone through smoothie and acai versions of this craze, but poké bowls are currently hogging the food fad limelight. Eateries such as A Poké Theory and Ninja Bowl are leading this raw food movement with their Instagram-worthy offerings. With the latter setting up shop at last week’s St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival, demand among Singaporeans is evidently high.
Will we see even more superfoods piled high on a bowl this year? Granola bowls with plenty of berries seem like a good idea, just saying.
3. Supper Is A Slippery Slope
Because what’s stopping you from going out for prata at 1AM? It’s probably the thought of having to actually travel out and get it. With the rise of (and fierce battle between) delivery services UberEATS, Foodpanda, and Deliveroo, customers stand to gain from their aggressive discount deals.
Supper is made easy even if you live in the most obscure of locations. Delivery startup The Hotbox aims to bring supper options to students living on campus at the infamously-far-flung Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
How long more till drones replace the work of deliverymen in Singapore? Could 2017 see the start of something new for late-night snackers?
4. It’s A Bird AND A Plane…
We’ve seen mixed-use development in urban planning, now get ready for… mixed-concept dining!
These are restaurants that come straight out of a hyperactive owner’s mind. Located at the Esplanade (facing the Outdoor Theatre), Alter Ego serves up healthy poké bowls alongside sinful morsels such as pizza fries and tater tots. The relatively new establishment embraces this juxtaposition and welcomes all to indulge in the same way too.
Gimmicks are truly the way to go in Singapore’s café scene, and with a new food fad rising every quarter, why stick to just one variety of food when you can offer two? Or even three?
Just like every foodie’s potential weight gain, more is more in Singapore’s food scene. How photogenic the food is directly influences the hype around that dish. Essentially, if it looks good on the gram, the place will get cramped.
If you’re looking to cut back on food this year, 2017 might not be the best year for you. Otherwise, dig in!
