Singapore (dpa) – Some of Singapore's neighborhood coffee shops, which are popular with locals and visitors alike, are getting a menu makeover. They are slimming down and offering healthier food. The Food King Coffee House in the Bukit Batok suburb has eight shops that have started serving dishes made with healthier ingredients, such as brown rice, wholegrain noodles and less fattening oil. A standard order of chicken rice comes without skin and with brown rice mixed in it. The adjustments mean the dish has 500 calories, compared with about 600 in a regular plate of chicken rice. Dishes that have been made healthier have their calorie count displayed on the menu. The initiative is the work of the country's Health Promotion Board. More Singaporeans are dining out and obesity rates are rising in the affluent city-state. The board's chief executive, Ang Hak Seng, said that under its Healthier Coffee Shop Initiative, there will be at least another 19 healthier coffee shops by the end of the year. “Many of our food establishments are selling less healthy food; therefore, those that sell healthy food will attract people who want to adopt a healthy lifestyle, and this number is growing,” he said. Eddie Lee, 30, has witnessed that trend himself. The owner of the Kelai Chicken Rice shop in the Food King Coffee House said he has seen an increase in younger customers. “The young say that they prefer brown rice mixed with white compared to the traditional white rice,” he said. Even the American food joint Botak Jones has jumped on board. Its outlet at Food King Coffee House has two dishes – tuna salad and Caesar salad with grilled salmon – that are below 500 calories. “Not everyone will think that all the food we sell is healthy,” said the chain's founder, Bernie Utchenik, who plans to push out a healthy menu at another 12 of his outlets. “Eating healthy is also about using natural ingredients.” The customer response to the initiative has been good. “It's not as oily as some of the other places,” said housewife Jessie Ng, who said she was delighted with the healthier food choices. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/rsNIS Tags: Coffee Shops, Food, Menu, Singapore Section: East Asia, Food, Health, Latest News
