Having tasty and hearty meals can make all the difference in one’s university life, especially since they serve as motivation for one to get through days filled with classes or intense studying. However, the ‘Freshman 15’ (a common term to describe the 15 pounds that students tend to gain in their first year of college education) is real, and the supper-filled nights may start to accumulate and feel burdensome for one’s health. If you are looking to balance out these late-night, guilty-pleasure meals, or simply seek out healthier food options to have as meals on campus, read the rest of this article for some recommendations!
What constitutes healthier food options?
Source: Harvard University
Meal preferences and the definition of ‘healthy food’ can vary depending on the individual. For the sake of this article, we typically refer to ‘healthier food’ as food that is lower in oil and salt content, and we hope to recommend an array of options that will satisfy you with a healthy intake of nutrients, such as proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and vitamins. However, the intent of this article is not to prescribe a certain form of diet and help you ascertain what you should, or should not, eat – rather, take this as suggestions for you to consider trying out while you are on campus!
UTown options
A myriad of food options awaits you in UTown. While these food places are punctuated with guilty pleasures such as bubble tea or cheese fries, there are many healthier food options available too, as long as you are willing to seek them out. We grab hold of Qi Xuan, a Y2 (going on Y3) Business Administration student who currently resides in Cinnamon College, and is also captain of NUS Dragon Boat (for AY21/22)! Nothing like a sportsperson to tell us how to maximise those healthy eating calories while living on campus.
Source: Qi Xuan
“I choose healthier options because of the lifestyle plan that was implemented for the team. Actively picking healthier options helps us to maintain our physical health, on top of training our discipline,” says Qi Xuan.
1. Hwang’s Korean Restaurant
Source: OSAU
Try the kimbap at this place. Kimbap is a roll of dried seaweed that tightly hugs cooked rice, and an assortment of healthy ingredients, which are typically carrots, cucumbers, eggs, pickles, and some meat. According to Qi Xuan, the kimbap is quite filling, and it also comes at a reasonable price! If you’re feeling extra hungry, you could pair it with their Bibimbap, yet another rice dish topped with a plethora of ingredients, and paired with a dollop of Gochujang (a yummy Korean red chilli paste). To spice things up, order the Hotstone Bibimbap instead of the normal bowl, and have yourself a piping hot, crispy underside to your sumptuous rice bowl!
2. Fine Food
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This air-conditioned food court boasts a wide variety of healthy food options. The La Mian Xiao Long Bao stall offers steamy, delicious Chinese food. “Depending on your mood, you could get the tomato egg noodles, or their dumpling noodle soup,” comments Qi Xuan.
If you are willing to splurge a little, the Mixed Greens stall is definitely one of the healthier options there, according to Qi Xuan. Their display of colourful ingredients is reminiscent of what you might find at SaladStop! or Poke Theory, and you definitely will be able to fill your bowl with a good mix of proteins, vegetables, and carbohydrates.
Experiencing a rare, cold and rainy day? Qi Xuan suggests giving the Five Grains Bee Hoon stall a try; they sell warm and nutritious noodle dishes that would be perfect for such a weather. Otherwise, the porridge from the Hong Kong Gourmet stall comes in a hearty portion, and can be paired with You Tiao (deep-fried dough strips) too, if you wish to indulge in a bit of fried food for the day.
3. Flavours@UTown (aka Food Clique)
Source: NUS UCI
Another food court, another array of options. The Yong Tau Foo stall here is a good place to turn to when in doubt. As Qi Xuan says, “Since you can choose ingredients, I go for the non-fried ones and pair them with rice, or noodle soup.”
Over at the Mixed Veg Rice (aka Caifan) stall, you could select the non-fried dishes and have them with brown rice. To end off your meal, grab a fruit cup from the Fruit Juice stall!
4. SuperSnacks
Source: NUS UCI
On days where you would like to indulge in a measured amount of guilty pleasure-type food, Qi Xuan suggests ordering the quesadilla from this popular supper place. She adds on that the guilt is lessened, since the quesadilla is not fried, and is hence not an oily food.
Healthier options outside of UTown
If we were to go on and rave about the other healthy food options available in NUS, this article would probably never end!
Nevertheless, here are a few honourable mentions:
- Yong Tau Foo @ The Deck
- Mr Bean @ National University Hospital
- Subway @ Yusof Ishak House
- Chinese Cooked Food @ Techno Edge Canteen
The food scene at NUS is ever-changing, so go forth and explore the options for yourself! (Psst, there will be a Subway opening in UTown when the new AY begins too, so do look forward to that). If you have any other solid recommendations to share, feel free to post them on Instagram and tag us @nusresidentiallife, we would love to hear them.
