As mentioned in our previous article covering the cost of giving birth in Singapore, we just welcomed our little arrival and Tofu V has completed her confinement!
A common option in Singapore is to engage a confinement nanny who would help with everything from cooking of meals to caring for the baby.
We weren’t keen on employing a nanny and opted to engage confinement meal catering services instead. In theory, it would take away the stress associated with planning what to eat and actually having to buy or cook the meals. It would also mean having easy access to nutritional meals that aid recovery + boost milk production.
After sampling some of the meal services at various fairs and comparing prices, Tofu V booked with Tian Wei Signature. She got the 28 Days Double (Lunch + Dinner) at S$1710, which included a free Hot Box Electric Steamer.
Review of Tian Wei Signature Confinement Meals
We’ll review the meal service based on the following criteria: timing, taste, variety, flexibility, value, and customer service.
Timing
Tofu V was informed that the meals would be delivered within a certain time range, but she did not expect that the fluctuations would be so huge.
She sometimes received her lunch at 10am & dinner at 4pm, and on other days lunch would arrive at 12pm & dinner at 6.30pm. Not only was it wildly inconsistent, it also meant she sometimes had to eat at slightly odd hours or leave her food aside to eat later.
Here are the text messages with time stamps for reference:
That being said, it was nice of them to message when the food was delivered. Some delivery people would ring the doorbell, while others would just leave the food outside – presumably so that they don’t disturb the baby.
Taste
No food review is complete without photos. Thankfully, Tofu V made sure to snap photos of every single meal she had!
There were quite a few repeated dishes along the way (more on that later), so not everything is uploaded here.
Every meal comes with:
- 1 vegetable dish
- 1 protein/meat dish
- 1 portion of rice or noodles
- 1 flask of red date tea
- 1 flask of soup
According to the website, their meals are prepared with different herbs based on traditional Chinese medicine principles. There’s a strong emphasis on promoting recovery snd replenishment.
Tofu V is not a big fan of TCM & traditional herbs, and requested to take out dishes such as Braised Pork Trotter in Black Vinegar, and any pig intestines etc. Tian Wei Signature also made sure to exclude the use of alcohol in certain dishes as she is breastfeeding.
With all that considered, Tofu V did find that the confinement meals looked rather homely? Ordinary? Even Tofu G commented that it looked like caifan (mixed vegetable rice).
Taste-wise, Tofu V found most of the dishes ok : average, but not scrumptious. However, they tended to be rather oily, which she wasn’t a fan of. Some dishes also tasted rather dry – likely due to the fact that they were cooked & delivered very early but Tofu V ate them much later.
Her top favourites are actually the Milk-Boosting Fenugreek Green Papaya Milky Fish Soup and the Tomato Fish Soup with Tofu! These are not as rich and flavourful as Thomson’s signature soup, but are certainly comparable!
Variety
Tian Wei Signature claims that they have 43 different soups, 23 unique staples, 84 unique meat dishes, and 54 unique vegetable dishes.
However, Tofu V noted a consistent pattern of pork ribs (排骨) in almost all the soups delivered. The menu stated that the soups were different, but they looked and tasted almost the same everyday!
Carrots were also a constant presence in almost every dish (perhaps good for postpartum recovery?).
If you look closely at the food photos, you’ll also notice that there’s a tendency to repeat usage of ingredients across the dishes served during that meal, especially with the carrots, corn, and broccoli.
It’s not exactly fun to be eating the same ingredients everyday, especially if the dishes are supposed to be ‘unique’.
Flexibility
As Tofu V’s confinement coincided with holidays such as Christmas and New Year’s, there was quite a strong urge to have ‘cheat days’ and eat something nice during the festive season.
Thankfully, Tian Wei Signature allows customers to opt out of meals for particular days, in turn extending the food delivery service.
Tofu V also appreciated that there was some flexibility with the ingredients as she can be rather picky!
Value
Each of Tian Wei Signature’s confinement meal costs about S$30.50, including delivery.
At first glance, it looks quite pricey. However, Tofu V did consider that there were some meals which utilised expensive ingredients, especially the fish and the abalones (!)
While Tofu V would have much preferred other soups, it is undeniable that they boiled a fair share of herbs that would have cost a lot – not to mention the time & effort required!
Customer service
Towards the end of the meal service, there were two notable incidents/lapses.
The first was when the soup for one meal was not delivered.
They kindly offered to replace with an extra dessert the following day, which ended up being tang yuan:
The second incident that followed closely after was when Tofu V detected a strange soapy taste in her red date tea. We realised that the flask may not have been washed properly, and promptly informed customer service again. They immediately rectified by offering to deliver another flask of red date tea!
Granted, these were not ideal, but their customer service was quick to respond and offer rectifications.
So, is it worth ordering Tian Wei Signature confinement meals?
Tofu V isn’t sure if it’s just her personal preference, but she didn’t really enjoy the meals as much as she did with the samples at the baby fair. This is especially with the multiple good reviews that Tian Wei Signature has received online, be it from customers or influencers.
Overall, it was great for convenience and did help to make meals a lot less stressful, so we could concentrate on taking care of our baby. However, we found it lacking in most other aspects, especially in taste and variety.
Tofu V certainly recommends exploring other confinement meal service options if you’re more particular about the taste, or if you prefer spending less!
Leave a Reply