Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Food

Singapore is a haven for food lovers, with a whale of food centres and restaurants offering a host of cuisine, pampering the tastebuds of the mass.

Food centres have been renovated into spacious, hygienic dining places for all. Caterers have to pass through stringent checks on hygiene, food processing etc. The image of food centres is constantly been revamped.

Though all measures seem to be in place to ensure a good quality of food and dining place, I still lament on the quality of food being served in the food centres.

The benchmark of quality in my opinion is neither the taste of the food, nor the hygienic standard. Though these two criteria are paramount, another key criteria is how healthy the food is.

I believe some of the food served in our food centres may be too oily, or loaded with too many salt, MSG.

It will take a discerning tastebud to discover the excesses of oil, salt, MSG present in food.

With the majority of Singaporeans working and hencefore eating out lunch and sometimes dinner and breakfast almost daily, the choice of food to partake outside of homes is one that many Singaporeans make everyday.

With diet and exercise being the immutable determinants of health, this choice is one that individuals make important decisions on everyday.

The MSG, salt and oil present in food may be significant: it depends on the nature of food and the way the food preparer prepares the food.

We eat to fill our stomachs, we pay to fulfill this need when outside. But a solemn thought will be that we may be paying to be killed gradually if we choose unhealthy food everyday.

I will not delve on the effects of cholesterol and MSG on health as we are constantly bombarded by the slew of health messages from National Health Board (and I think it is good that health education is being emphasized so strongly in Singapore).

For myself, I go for less oil, less MSG and less fried food. But too often a time, I feel disappointed after patroning a new food stall when I find my tongue and mouth cloaked in oil and MSG.

I feel disgusted too.

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