Chef’s Finest by Food Fare

Launched in 2017, Chef’s Finest is a range of frozen ready meals by NTUC Foodfare catering to the busy lifestyles of Singaporeans who are unable to cook or find time to step out to buy food. Following the success of the first range, they later launched low-GI ready meals suitable for diabetics towards the end of 2018

I only got to know about Chef’s Finest as I was browsing the Fairprice grocery delivery app and saw the ready-cooked meals on offer. Each meal ranged between SGD 3.80 to SGD 5.90 and had clear calories indication on the packaging. I decided to get 1 to try as it could be a lunch option for me in saving money and cutting on calories. I liked the first pack so much that I ended up buying almost every option available to store in my workplace freezer

The Soy chicken w veg and chicken rice were quite fragrant as I was heating it up in the microwave. The rice is slightly dry and hard but it smells just like chicken rice sold outside but minus the oily flavour. The vegetable was too soft and mushy while the chicken pieces were small in size and slightly tough. The sauce which covers the chicken is quite salty but is ok when eaten with the rice

The sambal fish and prawn with turmeric rice look very pretty and appetising. The rice served in the box was rice barley and has a very nice bite to it as it was chewier than Thai fragrant rice. However, there was no turmeric taste in the rice at all. There were in total 3 prawns and a small piece of fish and while the flavours were very on point, the serving was too small. The vegetable was ok and not too mushy but the fish has a slight soil taste. The spicy level is low as the gravy is on the sweet side

I was quite excited when I saw they had clay pot chicken rice as I quite enjoy clay pot rice. The rice was on the softer side but with a light chicken rice fragrance. The vegetable was a bit soft but they gave a generous serving of 5 pieces of chicken. The meat was slightly tough to bite and saltier than preferred. I liked that the Chinese sausage was sliced up thinly so it went well with the rice. There was a whole piece of Chinese mushroom which still retains a good flavour

For rendang chicken, they had the Nonya version and the regular version and I bought both versions to try. In the end, I gave the regular version to my colleague which is why I did not have any photos to show. The turmeric rice has a mix of barley rice and was very yellow but with mild turmeric flavours. The curry itself was not very spicy but I would not really classify it as Nonya curry as the rich coconut flavour was somewhat missing from the gravy. The chicken meat was slightly dry but absorbed the curry flavour sufficiently. The vegetable was soft but not mushy

The seafood tomato rice was the first box I tried before launching into a buying frenzy hunting down all the different flavours. The rice was a mix of barley rice as well and soft to the bite which reminds me vaguely of risotto. The tomato flavour was strong with a sweet and tangy flavour and the cheese adds a creamy layer of flavour to the tomato paste. There were chunks of seafood like squid, fish and prawns and I really did enjoy this meal although some of the seafood got a bit tough after the reheating

I was not that keen to buy this as lemongrass baked chicken really did not appeal to me but I still bought it to try out every flavour that is non-beef. The rice like the other meal packs; is a mix of rice and barley which is a healthy selection. The string beans were surprisingly soft and lightly salted which is pretty nice to eat with the rice. The chicken while not looking very appetising; actually taste ok with a tinge of lemony flavour. Like the rest of the packets, the meat was also slightly dry

The chicken bolognese spaghetti in comparison to the rest of the meals is quite small in serving size. The chicken bolognese is dry and has not enough sauce to go with the pasta. In terms of flavour, the sauce is savoury with a slightly tangy tomato flavour. If there was more sauce and the serving increased, this would have been one of the best flavours

Last but not least is the Rosemary chicken which is the only meal costing above SGD 5. The size of the chicken thigh is decent and blanched broccoli and carrots are served on the side. Surprisingly, the thigh meat was tender and not dry like the other meals and the flavours are also quite decent. As there were no carbohydrates provided, this meal is not as filling as the rest even though it has the best flavour so far and the texture of the meat was most unlike a frozen meal

Overall, I think Chef’s Finest ready meal is a good alternative to instant noodles, frozen pizza, burgers or fries since most of them are healthier meals with the actual calorie count indicated on the packaging. There are also many different flavours to vary your meal plan. Most of the meal cost less than SGD 5 which is lesser than many food stores around the offices’ area, this is a good alternative to cup noodles for office workers who cannot find time to step out of the office

Chefs Finest can be found in all NTUC outlets and the online grocery app

-This is not a sponsored post as all meals were bought by myself-