I first encountered Tian Wei Signature at a baby fair. They were giving out samples of their food and to be honest, I was not too impressed then- the food was cold and looked pretty unappetising.
After 4 weeks of confinement, I had to look after the baby myself and did not want to cook. Despite the initial encounter with Tian Wei, I decided to order another 14 days of food as they had really good reviews. No regrets for doing so.
1. Taste
After eating 28 days of food cooked by the confinement nanny, these food tasted a lot more palatable. Not too bland but not too heavy to taste as though a whole bottle of sesame oil and a whole jar of ginger had just been poured into it.
My favourites include some of the fusion food (see next section), the Sweet and Sour Fish Slices and Stir Fried Pork Rib in Sweet Bean Sauce. They even have desserts for some meals, like Red Bean Puree with Orange Peel and Snow Fungus Peach Resin Hashima.
2. Variety
Tian Wei really stood out for their variety of food- 45 soups, 44 meat dishes and 42 vegetable dishes. I can't emphasise how important variety is- I really dreaded the repeated ginger dishes that my confinement nanny cooked. And when they put "Better variety, better mood", they got it absolutely right. I looked forward to every meal because it was tasty and not repetitive.
They have your traditional confinement food such as Braised Pork Trotter.
There was also fusion confinement food.
The Mediterranean Signatures- Seared Salmon with Cauliflower Cream and Tri Colour Grains and Tian Wei Signature Coq Au Vin were a nice break from the traditional dishes and they were surprisingly good. The chicken in the Coq Au Vin, in particular, was juicy and flavourful.
Other delicious Western food included the Basil Pumpkin Salmon, Black Pepper Fish Fillet with Basil and Chicken Chop with Basil & Pumpkin Sauce.
They also did not stick to only white rice. There were so many types of rice- barley millet rice, toasted oats millet mixed rice, black barley mixed rice etc. Ideally, the white rice should be replaced with a healthier alternative such as brown rice. There were also noodle dishes such as Trio Mushroom Ee-Fu Noodles and Stir Fried Pork Liver with White Beehoon and Kailan.
3. Portion
The portion was generous for one person but not sufficient for two to share, in case you were thinking of sharing. There were some meals where the portion was bigger and some where it was only good for one.
For example, the Dong Po Braised Pork and Fortune Herbal Chicken were good for two, whereas the Western meals were typically good for one.
4. Quality and price
I won't pretend that the confinement meal comes cheap. At $30 per meal, I consider the price rather steep. However, it is undeniable that the portions are generous, and they really use premium ingredients and are not shy to show them- the soup is always loaded with these ingredients, for example, ginseng, cordyceps etc.
5. Flexibility and customer service
One thing that really impressed me was Tian Wei's flexibility. These are the ways in which they have demonstrated their flexibility to cater to me, the fussy customer:
- Replaced ingredients which I did not like (no celery, pork liver etc.)
- Agreed not to deliver meals to me on weekends and replaced these with weekday meals instead.
- When I suggested that I did not need two red dates longan drinks at night (did not want to waste), without any prompting on my end, they suggested replacing 4 red dates longan drinks with dessert, which I gladly accepted.
It was also very easy to order meals and contact them. If you do not like calling in general, you can always use their online support. Their customer service was polite (although one of them did not understand my requirements initially, luckily another customer service officer explained things clearly subsequently).
6. Delivery
Their delivery times are between 10 am and 1 pm, and for dinner, between 4 pm and 7 pm. Their deliveries always came between these timings. The meals were delivered in a warmer bag and that was helpful since you may not consume the food immediately when it arrives.
The delivery men were also very courteous and friendly. I liked how they do not make a fuss about deliveries- they will just leave the warmer bag on my gate handle if no one answers the door bell / their knocks.
7. Areas for improvement
As mentioned above, it may be possible to offer the option of white rice / brown rice to customers.
The only food item that I remember feeling that it was not really appropriate was the Baked Fillet Fish with Ginger Mirin Sauce. It was good that they put a sticker on the outside of the box saying that the fish contained bones. To me, I felt like fish with bones should not be part of the confinement meal, as far as possible, because the last thing a busy mother wants is to slowly pick away at the bones when the baby is crying.
Also, all the food were contained in plastic boxes which can accumulate to a lot of plastic waste.
Overall, the experience with Tian Wei Signature is very good, and I recommend it especially for those who do not have confinement nannies.
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