There’s no denying that daily catered dinners are great — I mean, who doesn’t love to be rewarded with a free meal while working?
But we’d all get sick of eating the same thing on the regular, even if it’s our favourite food, so it’s no surprise that it can get hard to be excited about catered meals when it’s always the same few dishes sent around every week. We call it food fatigue.
However, the thing is, it’s actually easy to keep food fatigue at bay. Here are six smart ways to switch things up and keep daily catered meals a fun, exciting part of the job:
1. Opt for different carbohydrates
You don’t always just have to choose between rice and noodles, or try too hard to change things up with the trendy (but extremely common) quinoa and cous cous.
Find the perfect balance of familiarity and newness with Korean cold buckwheat noodles, like that found in our premium Korean catering partner Dosirak’s bento menu (an add-on for just $1), or Vietnamese rice vermicelli, found in Wrap & Roll’s Deluxe Vietnamese Bento Set served with Vietnamese shaking beef and fish cakes.
2. Explore beyond rice and dishes
Chinese food is delicious, but it doesn’t always have to mean getting a styrofoam box filled to the brim with rice, and a vegetable and meat dish.
Chinese food is extremely diverse, and there are many types, from Cantonese and Teochew to Peranakan, that offer a spectrum of different flavours.
For example, at Catersmith, you can relish in true-blue Cantonese with Four Seasons Restaurant’s bento boxes, chockfull of classic Hong Kong BBQ faves like succulent roast duck, crispy yet tender roasted pork belly and fragrant char siew. The meats are a world of a difference from what we usually get at a coffee shop.
Another must-have is the authentic Hainanese Chicken from Loy Kee. The business — which was first established in 1953 by Mr Loy when he arrived in Singapore from Hainan — still uses the same recipe to this day, even though it’s now helmed by Mr Loy Junior. With over 60 years of culinary traditions packed into each bite, this is not your usual chicken rice, and definitely a special pick for a catered dinner.
3. Try something new from the same place
Here at Catersmith, we’ve noticed that most people keep going back to the same safe, tried and tested options from the same restaurants.
While there’s comfort in the familiar, picking something different from the same place might lead to a pleasant surprise.
If you don’t want to stray too far from your faves, you can even just mix things up by adding something out-of-the-box to your usual order, like stewed phoenix claws to chicken rice, or Red House’s signature charcoal chilli crab bun to seafood fried rice.
It’s all about making little changes to add excitement to everyday meals.
4. Ask for off-menu specials
Ask and you shall receive — if you’re looking for off-menu items, just head to an eatery or caterer you really like and ask for them.
Exclusive items are usually offered as part of a promotion or through special requests and might not be on the menu. One great example is local restaurant Artichoke, which changes its offerings faster than can be reflected on its physical menu.
You don’t just get something new when you ask for off-menu dishes. Chances are, you’ll also be getting new items made with the best and freshest produce.
5. Customise your meal
There’s nothing better than crafting your own meal with zero effort (besides clicking the order button, that is). Cater fully-customisable food, like salad from a salad bar, a build-your-own maki from Maki-San, or a personalised rice bowl, like those from Dosirak.
This gives you the power to switch up the ingredients, sauces and even packaging, according to your mood for the day.
6. Ask your office neighbour
Think you know where to order all the good food? Think again. From experience, we all have one or two eateries that deliver to our offices, which we don’t know about, no matter how long we’ve been working in that company.
One great way to always be in the know of the best food that can be delivered to you is to trade food intel with an office neighbour — voila, you’ve just opened up new options for a great dinner!
Personally, I worked at the Mount Emily/ Selegie Road area for two years before I found out about this amazing nasi padang restaurant, a mere two minutes away from my office, after an office neighbour brought me out for lunch. You really never know what culinary treats you could be missing out on.
7. Order via Catersmith
Of course, the easiest, most convenient way to spice up daily catered meals is to order your food from Catersmith. There is a vast array of dishes from a wide repertoire of specialty kitchens and restaurants to choose from, so you’ll always be spoilt for choice by the numerous order combinations on offer.
We’ll also do the meal planning for you, so you won’t even have to worry about getting your food or fuss over multiple orders, vendors, deliveries and payments.
Want effortless yet exciting daily catered meals? Talk to us — the Catersmith team is just a call away and always ready to lend a hand.
