It's easy to see why my diet has gone haywire, especially after the onset of the new year, with Chinese New Year and Valentines day fast approaching and the food tastings numbering up, one can't help but to load up on calorific foods. Most of you might not know this, but my struggle to balance out being a food evangelist and to pursue a standard of healthy living is very real, and I'm sure most of the others out there can empathise with me.
To be very honest, the juice diet fad has always struck me as ludicrous, capitalising on the power of highly acclaimed celebrities to increase the appeal of a certain sort of lifestyle. Hence when I was alerted of this new juice.salad.wrap kiosk located at Central, my interest was piqued.
Squash's slogan of 'not all juices are created equal' says it all. They focus on providing truly delicious and nutritious food and drinks to patrons mostly in the CBD area who are often stuck in the rut with unhealthy 'eat-on-the-go' lunch options. Besides their selection of freshly cold pressed juices, the salad bar adjacent to the cold presserie delivers a good spread of salads, meticulously picked to compliment the fresh concept of its juice business.
Before you diss the idea of cold pressed juices (like I did), let's just get on top of the issue: Why does it cost so much? One reason is the amount of produce used to make a single bottle of juice. LA-based Neighborhood Press for example contains 1.5 - 3kg per 450ml bottle. That's a lot of produce. And secondly, cold pressed juices are pricey because of the pressure needed to make the juice. Cold pressed juice companies use thousands of pounds of pressure to squeeze juices from their produce and since most of them contains no preservatives, shelf life dwindles and wastage instantly quadruples. In other words, just by determining how many pounds of fruit or vegetables go into a bottle of that very trendy Cold Pressed juice is enough to justify its price tag, but its simply not a selling point. Hence the tie-in with celebrities and lifestyle bloggers.
While we were there, getting all 'tipsy' from their healthy blends, we were fortunate enough to sample some of the more solid offerings that Squash has to offer. Centered around the Asian theme, there are innovative proteins such as Chicken Bulgogi, Spicy Thai Prawn and even their famous Ultimate Rojak Salad to tickle your fancy. Specially created for Chinese New Year, there's the healthy version of the usual Lo Hei, a medley of vegetables tossed around in sweet raspberry pulped sauce; the addition of raw pumpkin seeds, almonds and corn-tons (geddit?) adding to the crunch factor. Strangely, I found this very addictive and found my chopsticks making repeated visits to the plate.
The Ultimate Rojak Salad is definitely the highlight of Squash's interpretation on salad. Ease into the meal with the piquancy of the homemade prawn paste that teases the palate. Topped with crispy dried cuttle fish and taupok-tons, you'll be sure that even a person who is averse to greens would find this concoction easy to swallow.
The salad bar also allows for customised salads, choose a base of either greens or in house noodle salad, then proceed to select from the fresh range of toppings and the final cherry on the top would be other exotic additions which include chicken bulgogi, beef kimchi and mushroom egg frittata should you be feeling #fancy. Looking for a more solid finish, you can even opt to have the entire salad encased in a wrap! Possibilities are endless, and seemingly more guilt free without having to suffer the onslaught of dull and bland food.
As much as the salads provide something a little more substantial to munch on. I believe that the mainstay of Squash is still in their power juices. With 6 different flavors to boot, all of them enlivened by an innovative blend of fruits and vegetables, there's enough nutrients and vitamins to essentially live on them! My favourite of the lot was the Purity: Pear, Honeydew, Cucumber, Kale, Lemon and Ginger. It carries a very potent and herbaceous vibe that might not be everyones' cup of tea, but taking it in, you'll feel instantly refreshed; perhaps its all in the mind, but if you think about it, you can't go wrong with a medley like that. Squash currently provides 3-day or 5-day juice cleanse diets during which you need to drink 5 bottles a day and consume no other solid foods. Sounds crazy? I think not, the health benefits shrouded such a discipline include increased alertness, higher energy level and an increased libido. To that, I say hell yeh...
Squash: Juices.Salads.Wraps
The Central
6 Eu Tong Sen Street #B1-26
S(059817)
Operating Hours
Mon-Sat: 10am - 9pm
Sun: 10am - 6pm
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