Food Picks: Little Farms' Tanglin flagship, Quick Greens' food truck, Baker X's new home bakers

Since Little Farms opened its first outlet in 2016 at Valley Point Shopping Centre, I have come to expect high quality fresh produce from the speciality grocer.

Its newest store, a 6,800 sq ft space at Tanglin Mall which opened in June, exceeds my expectations.

That is mainly because of the grocer's recent acquisition of my favourite sourdough specialist Starter Lab. It operates a bakery at the store front, where the bread is baked on-site.

There are also impressive cheese and meat counters at the entrance, with friendly staff on hand to make recommendations. Farther in, a wide array of pantry staples and fresh produce await - comprising organic, gluten-free, vegan and ketogenic offerings.

The same standard of produce is showcased at its 75-seat in-house cafe Little Farms Table.

To start, try the smoked heirloom tomatoes tartine ($17) with vegan cheese on rosemary loaf; cured King Salmon ($24) with crisp tortillas, poached eggs and avocado; and spice-charred cauliflower ($21) with pomegranate, red cabbage and a mint yogurt and molasses dressing.

For mains, go for New Zealand Akaroa Salmon ($34) with artichoke, capers, fennel and orange; or roast Mount Barker chicken breast ($26) with root vegetables, pearl barley risotto, feta and kale.

The juicy and tender chicken is a standout and you have to take home the raw version from the grocer section too.

Some items exclusively on the dinner menu feature Starter Lab's creations. Order the 10-inch sourdough flatbreads (from $20++) or the signature "Starter" Blinis Board ($20++ for three; $30++ for five), which comes with griddle-fried four-inch crispy pancakes served with toppings such as feta, tomatoes and greens from the in-store "edible wall".

Where: 02-136/138 Tanglin Mall, 163 Tanglin Road
MRT: Orchard
Open: Retail: 7.30am to 9.30pm (daily); cafe: 7.30am to 9.30pm (Sundays to Thursdays), 7.30am to 10pm (Fridays and Saturdays)
Tel: 3163-6344
Info: Little Farms' website

Baker X, a baking studio and cafe initiative at Orchard Central established last December to support local home-bakers, has entered its second phase.

Until November, six home-based bakers will set up shop - one at a time and rent-free - to get a taste of running a physical store.

One of the cafe's earlier tenants, Ree and Mummy, which sells nut toffees and cheesecakes, is set to open its first outlet - Ree.Connects - at Katong V mall in August.

In the meantime, head to the 10-seat Baker X for French- and Japanese-inspired mousse cake ($10.50 a slice) from Arc-en-ciel, which will be there till Aug 7. Offerings include Dali dark chocolate mousse cake; Antoine, a pear caramel mousse cake; and Gabriel, a raspberry pistachio mousse cake.

From Aug 9 to 31, get your hands on Joo Bakes' popular butter cake and lemon drizzle cake; followed by Supplymeetdough's ondeh ondeh cookies and Shanghai-style mooncakes from Sept 2 to 18 - perfect for the Mid-Autumn Festival on Sept 10.

The final three businesses are One Tough Cookie (Sept 20 to Oct 16), which will sell dark chocolate chip cookies, sticky date pudding with toffee and gluten-free dark chocolate cake; Guilt Free Food (Oct 18 to 30), which makes cinnamon rolls and Luigi Pizza Rolls; and Dilutedcoke (Nov 1 to 13), which offers pistachio tiramisu, black sesame raisin tart and genmaicha nori tart.

Where: 04-29 Orchard Central, 181 Orchard Road
MRT: Somerset
Open: 11am to 10pm daily

For plant-based food on the go, check out Quick Greens' recently launched food truck outside Cineleisure Orchard.

It offers the same vegan-friendly menu as its first physical outlet at Funan.

The menu features products from plant-based brand Arlene, created by Ms Helene Raudaschl, founder of gourmet purveyor Indoguna Singapore and a co-founder of Quick Greens.

I tried Arlene's frozen products, made with Hong Kong's plant-based OmniMeat, when they launched in 2021. But, some things, especially plant-based products, are best left to food businesses who can make the ingredients shine.

Highlights include the Vegan Sweet Heat Stack burger ($15.80) with vegan patty, roasted peppers, lettuce, tomato pickles and spiced chipotle sauce; Kung Fu'd wrap ($13.80) with vegan kibbeh, brown rice, mushroom and porcini garlic pickle, shallots and ginger soya dressing.

The combination of ingredients offers enough flavour and crunch, so I do not feel the need for real meat.

You can opt for a spinach or chia seed wrap or a salad bowl version of the wraps.

Non-alcoholic drinks (from $4) are available, as well as vegetable sticks ($4.80) and protein balls ($4.80) if you need a snack.

Where: Outdoor Atrium North, Cineleisure Orchard, 8 Grange Road; 02-04 Funan, 107 North Bridge Road
MRT: Somerset/City Hall
Open: 11am to 9pm daily
Tel: 6011-0027 (Funan)
Info: Quick Green's website