I was recently invited to Frunatic, a 30-seater fine dining restaurant located in Palais Renaissance, for a nutritional therapeutic 8-course meal that was aptly named "Beautifying & Detoxifying" (S$108.80). Their philosophy is to use nutrition to help maintain, restore and improve the health of all individuals.
Stepping into Frunatic, I must say that I do like their modern contemporary design which borders on a slight minimalistic Nordic feel. Launched late last year, Frunatic is the fruition (all puns intended) of 5 years of research and development.
Founder of Frunatic, Mr Jason Fong, had invested over S$7 million into the R&D of Frunatic which was driven out of passion and conviction. "As Asia gears towards consuming more organic food and beverages and adopts clean eating habits, the health and wellness sector continues to grow to meet these demands. Frunatic stresses on a strict food production that preserves and maximises nutrients in the meals, as a regular supply of good nutrients helps to protect the body from environmental cellular damage and delay cellular malfunction that occurs with ageing," he said.
The meals here do not contain diary, gluten, wheat, trans-fats, additives and all forms of preservatives. As mentioned earlier, the food prep for Frunatic is very strict and with very high standards in order to ensure maximum nutrients are retained in their foods: they only use ceramic knives to prevent any temperature increases during the cutting of the ingredients as steel blades are supposedly rougher; cooking the foods at low temperatures (with exception to the grains); alkaline ionised water is used in the preparation of food and drinks as well as in washing the ingredients to remove pesticides.
The meticulousness continues as seen from how they have also infused TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) herbs and super foods into their foods for optimum results.
The Food
Starting off our "Beautifying and Detoxifying" meal was a lukewarm tea made from Forget Me Not blossoms and Goji berries. It was slightly sweet due to the goji berries and had a very mild floral flavour. Steeped in the alkaline ionised water, this tea helps to boost immunity and improve metabolism while also promoting healthy skin. I do know that goji berries are also good for the eyes, which is why I do use them in my kombucha brewing too.
Second course was a Superberry Smoothie that reminded me of my usual breakfast smoothies as it contains spinach, blue and blackberries as well as almond milk. I liked how smooth it was and I was pleasantly surprised that the passionfruit did not make it too sour or 'crunchy' thanks to the seeds.
Our host, Gerardine, had the Anti-fatigue meal instead and for her second course, it was a Tropical Energising Smoothie which was a blend of mango and banana with hint of ginger and cinnamon powders.
The third course was a Chickpea Salad and Quinoa which is where the proteins are starting to come in. I liked the chive vinaigrette, which was a surprise because I'm not particularly fond of chives or spring onions. However, it served as a nice accompaniment to the quinoa.
The Southwest Tofu Scramble from the Anti-fatigue menu looked really good and Gerardine was nice enough to share a bite with us. I could not tell that there was no egg in this and I loved the meatiness that the mushroom gave to the dish.
I had noticed that the menus are vegan and when I asked Gerardine about this, she shared that the concept behind the meals is that you should have a meatless meal at least once a week to help your body detox and reset itself. Moreover, they do not try to be a vegan restaurant but rather, focusing more on creating healthy, clean meals that use plants.
The next course was a Citrus Sensation with Chia Seeds, which contains grapefruit, orange, lemon and sweetened with sweet Granny Smith apples. In preparing the drinks, the juices are only cold-pressed to ensure the maximum retention of nutrients. They have also infused the juice with their therapeutic electrolyte powder (potassium and magnesium), which is why this juice is a good drink after a hard workout.
Above is the Chocolate Banana Fibre Bites which was very dense. It was not crispy but reminded me of my protein brownie but with a bit more chew in it. I'm starting to feel that my lunch was a series of dessert, with exception to the quinoa dish.
Below is the Beet Roots Chips which were dehydrated at very low temperatures for 3 days before serving with dusting of savoury nutritional yeast. I loved these beet chips and was hoping for a bit more though...hahaha.
For mains, we had the Japanese Yam Noodles but I felt that this was a bit of a misnomer. There were two types of handmade noodles - one made with brown rice and the other with fresh Japanese yam and edamame. The accompanying broth was made with mushrooms, vinegar and ginger but the flavours were really very subtle. I love Japanese yam and one of my favourite ways to eat it is grated with chopped maguro. However, they do not serve a lot of the yam in this dish so one is spared the slime that the yam naturally produces. I'm also curious whether the carrots were cut in that particular shape purely for presentation sake?
For dessert, we had chocolate mousse cake and we were all very surprised that it was gluten-free, diary-free and even sugar free!
The Verdict
This is the most delicious clean meal that I've ever had in a restaurant (with Sufoods in second place). I liked how I did not even think too much about it being a vegan meal and I enjoyed it a lot more than your bowl of salad or even a trip to a Chinese vegetarian restaurant. Yes, the meal was filling and you do not walk out feeling dissatisfied nor bloated
However, I do wish that the meal had a few more savoury dishes. This is perhaps the Asian in me or the side of me that has also given up quite a lot of sugar which leans on more savoury foods. Moreover, the air-conditioning in the restaurant was freezing and the foods that were served at lower temperatures (nothing piping hot for sure) made me feel that I enjoyed the food a little less than I would've as I was half craving for something hot while the other half wanted the meal to end soon so that I could go out to defrost.
Should you try it? Definitely! I truly believe that we are all eating too much crappy processed foods and that it is important to look after your health. As the saying goes, "We are what we eat" so do try out their lunch meal. Quote my name or "The Wellness Insider" at Frunatic from now till 30 Apr 2018 to get S$50 off. There you go...no more excuses to eat clean at least once!
Frunatic
390 Orchard Road
Palais Renaissance #B1-06
Singapore 238871
Tel: +65 6736 0288
Website: www.frunatic.com
The packages
If you're keen to explore a longer term health goal, Frunatic also offers nutritional therapeutic programmes where you'll get a health assessment to see what nutrients you would require. Their nutritionist and dietician would then tailor and prescribe set meals that suit your health condition.
Their Nutritional Therapeutic Meal Trial Package is S$888++ and is for 10 meals (one meal per week) as well as a pre and post assessment by their nutritionist; delivery of the meals to your home or office is included or you can also choose to dine in their restaurant.
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