One Square Meal A Day

No time to cook on weeknights? These women tried the tingkat services here to see if the dishes were as good as anything they could make themselves for family night.

Portrait of Tammy Strobel

No time to cook on weeknights? These women tried the tingkat services here to see if the dishes were as good as anything they could make themselves for family night.

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KCK FOOD www.kckfood.com, tel: 6443-5723.

Tingkat package From $224.70 per 20-day dinner package for two. Choose three dishes and a soup or four dishes. Steamed rice is an extra $10.70 per person for 20 days. The food is Halal-certified.

Trial package From $80.25 for five meals of three dishes and a soup or four dishes.

Delivery days & rescheduling Weekdays only, excluding public holidays. To skip a delivery, call two days in advance.

Special dietary requests Not available.

Packaging Tiffin carrier or top up 50 cents a day for disposable microwave containers. Soups come in large, sealed plastic cups.

The food There were hits and misses. Veggie and chicken dishes were mostly tasty, but the fish options were disappointing. Anything crumbed or battered turned soggy.

I liked that the dishes were cooked with little or no processed ingredients, and were not oily or greasy. The better dishes had that home-cooked flavour. We polished off the veggies at every meal, and it helped that KCK Food served hardier ones like cauliflower and carrots that remained crunchy. The variety of dishes was good, too, with seafood, veggies and chicken served daily.

However, I’d skip the soups. Throughout the week, they tasted similar and – except for the winter melon soup – lacked the character of the main ingredient.

VERDICT Selection was quite strong in terms of variety, and especially when it came to veggie and chicken dishes. – Lim Tsiao Hui, deputy editor. 7.5.

KIM’S KITCHEN www.kimskitchen.com.sg, tel: 6342-4988.

Tingkat package From $176.55 per 20-day dinner or lunch package for one. Choose three dishes and a soup or four dishes. Steamed rice is an extra $8.03 for 20 days. Top up $21.40 a month for microwave containers.

Trial package From $44.14 for five meals of three dishes and a soup or four dishes.

Delivery days & rescheduling Weekdays only, excluding public holidays. To skip a delivery, call one day in advance – and before 11am.

Special dietary requests Quite accommodating. You can request for non-spicy food, or boneless fish.

Packaging Disposable microwave containers for one-person and lunch packages. Dinners for two or more are delivered in tiffin carriers.

The food I was pleased that the dishes were naturally flavourful instead of being heavy on seasoning. The soups and meat dishes seemed home-cooked and tasty. I loved the steamed fish with ginger that was cooked just right, and the ginger was not overpowering.

The pear and white fungus soup in pork broth was quite an unusual combination. There was also some processed food, like hot dogs, which I did not mind as it was just one dish out of four.

The vegetables were a little disappointing – usually a stir-fry of mixed vegetables in combinations that were not well thought out. For instance, cabbage, carrot and cai xin together didn’t really work for me.

Both my husband and I are big eaters, and the portions were quite sufficient for the two of us.

VERDICT I liked the fiavours of the dishes. Pity about the veggie dishes. – Kayce Teo, senior assistant manager. 7.5.

SAVORY KITCHEN www.savorykitchen.com.sg, tel: 6315-0820.

Tingkat package From $230.05 per 20-day dinner package for two. Choose three dishes and a soup or four dishes. Steamed rice is an extra $10.70 per person for 20 days.

Trial package From $123.05 for 10 meals of three dishes and a soup or four dishes.

Delivery days & rescheduling Weekdays only, excluding public holidays. To skip a delivery, call one day in advance – and before 4pm.

Special dietary requests Quite accommodating. I asked for boneless fish and non-spicy food, and got both.

Packaging Disposable microwave containers for dishes; styrofoam boxes for the rice.

The food The dishes were similar to what you might find at a Chinese economy rice stall, only tastier and fresher – and without that greasy ‘sameness’. I didn’t mind the options, but my husband preferred a broader mix of Asian cooking.

Each day’s menu was SMS-ed every afternoon and that gave me something to look forward to. I could choose to rate the food as well. The three dishes and a soup package generally included a veggie dish and two meat dishes (like fried chicken and dumplings). The portions were more than enough for one small eater and one big eater.

Surprisingly, I preferred the meatless dishes and the soups because the flavours were lighter. Plus, the veggies were consistently crunchy and vibrant. I also always slurped up every last drop of soup! My favourites were the stir-fried sliced potatoes and green peas, and the pumpkin soup with shredded chicken.

VERDICT I thought tingkats would be boring, but I ended up really enjoying the deliveries. – Mia Chenyze, consumer & lifestyle writer. 8.5.

RONNIE KITCHEN www.ronniekitchen.com.sg, tel: 6753-1003.

Tingkat package From $160.50 per 20-day dinner or lunch package for one. Choose three dishes and a soup or four dishes. Steamed rice is an extra $10.70 for 20 days.

Trial package From $50.83 for five meals of three dishes and a soup or four dishes.

Delivery days & rescheduling Weekdays only, excluding public holidays. To skip a delivery day, call one day in advance – and before 3pm.

Special dietary requests Not available.

Packaging Disposable microwave containers for the dishes; styrofoam boxes for the rice.

The food The portions were huge. Our set for two gave us enough leftovers for my Singaporean fiance’s lunch the next day (he’s the big eater), so it was really worth it.

The daily menu balanced the mix of proteins, carbs and veggies well. I am usually sensitive to high-salt and MSG content in hawker food, so I was pleased that the meals did not leave me bloated or thirsty.

I enjoyed all the veggie dishes, and loved the fish dishes. The flesh was always tender, and the generous sauces were flavoursome without being overbearingly spicy. My fiance gave the food a thumbs up, too, proclaiming that all had a hearty, home-cooked quality.

VERDICT As much as I enjoyed the food, I prefer eating Western food more, so it was not the best fit for me. But the one-person package would be perfect for my fiance. – Jo Upcraft, freelance writer 7.5