With more people working from home and fewer people dining out during the pandemic, tingkat delivery services have made a comeback.

And with new entrants heating up the competition and existing players upping their game, it is hardly bland and boring fare. Mr Clement Tiang, 47, managing director of homemeal delivery company Kim Paradise, says there is a stereotype that tingkat dishes are mostly the likes of egg fried rice, sweet and sour chicken, egg with tomato or fried cabbage.

"Tingkat has changed, especially in the past two years. There's more attention paid to flavours, freshness of ingredients, creation of different sauces, garnishing and plating," he adds.

The three-year-old Kim Paradise, which is part of food catering business Neo Group, offers plans with prices starting at $125+ a person for a 10-day package of three dishes and one soup. The company's tingkat sales has spiked 30 per cent since April last year, when the two-month circuit breaker started.

In the same period, its sister brand, Neo Garden, which has been offering tingkat delivery for 30 years, also saw business jump by 30 per cent.

Customers usually do not get to pick the dishes. But premium tingkat providers are now dishing out more choices. To stay ahead of the competition, Kim Paradise introduced daily specials in July last year, which are optional premium add-ons like sambal braised seabass ($26.80+), a dish more commonly served at Chinese restaurants.

Neo Garden launched its premium Omakase Tingkat package barely a month ago. Already, 650 customers have signed up. Price start at $185+ for a 10-day package of three dishes and one soup that serves two people. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, customers get to enjoy Italian, Peranakan or Korean cuisine.

Customers also get to order additional items such as handmade kuehs and pastries. For instance, there is rempah udang ($10+ for five pieces) and soon kueh ($8+ for 10 pieces).

With the pandemic putting a pause on corporate and other large-scale events, more caterers have been focusing on meal delivery.

Halal-certified Bayfront Catering Services, which started in 2013, began offering tingkat delivery in February last year. The pandemic had just hit Singapore and its catering business dipped 80 per cent from the cancellation of events.

Owner Ginnie Lim, 33, says tingkat sales - which have grown 20 per cent in the past year - now account for 60 per cent of the company's overall business.

Its five-day trial package costs $62.50+ for two people for three dishes and a soup, or four dishes, without rice.

Ms Lim says: "Competition is very keen and profit margins are not high with increasing food and fuel prices. It is common practice for consumers to switch between tingkat delivery services so they get to try a different style of cooking and variety of dishes."

To spice things up, she recently introduced dishes with mala flavours such as Mouthwatering Chicken - in line with the mala trend, which has been the rage here in recent years.

Tingkat providers say demand has also grown as consumers find the service more economical and convenient for everyday meals.

It is more affordable in the long term compared with ordering in via delivery platforms or directly from eateries, Mr Tiang notes. It is also not practical for those who work from home to cook regularly.

"The pandemic has impacted lifestyles. Not having to plan what to buy or cook is one less chore," he adds.

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TINGKAT DELIVERY BY RICHFOOD

The offerings here range from zi char-style dishes to home-style fare. The crispy cereal chicken, presented with plenty of aromatic curry leaves, is not as heavily salted as those sold at zi char stalls. But it is no less tasty. The pieces of fried chicken drumstick are well-marinated.

Home-style dishes include the classic steamed pork patty with preserved vegetables, which has mei cai (dry pickled Chinese mustard); or fried egg with preserved radish, though I find the radish bland.

The stir-fried spinach, simply fried in garlic, is excellent. The vegetables taste clean and arrive in a vibrant green, which is rare as cooked vegetables do not travel well.

Fans of soups will like the fig and Chinese yam with pork soup. You catch a whiff of the distinctive sweetness of figs as soon as you break open the bowl's vacuum seal. The flavoursome broth comes with slices of lean pork and at least one piece of Chinese yam. No monosodium glutamate is used.

A five-day trial package is priced at $62.50+ for two people for three dishes and a soup, or four dishes without rice. A package with brown rice costs $70+.

To order: www.tingkatdelivery.com or call 6261-4600 or 9388-2092

NEO GARDEN

For tingkat meals that are visually attractive and offer a variety of add-ons, go for Neo Garden's Omakase Tingkat.

Launched late last month, the menu has Tuesday and Thursday specials with Italian, Peranakan or Korean dishes.

The basil pesto penne with smoked duck breast is beautifully plated - resembling a takeaway from a nice restaurant. The portion is enough to feed two.

The sliced duck breast is carefully laid out on the perfectly cooked penne coated in basil and cream sauce, and garnished with chopped sun-dried tomato.

The chicken meatball with tomato sauce is appetising - the meat is tender and the sauce is tasty and tangy, while the Parmesan-crusted dory fish is decent.

The real highlight of the Omakase Tingkat is the option for add-ons. Kuehs are handmade in-house. The rempah udang ($10+ for five pieces) is addictive. Each little parcel of blue pea flower glutinous rice is generously filled with aromatic dried prawn.

There is also soon kueh ($8+ for 10 pieces), with a peppery filling of crisp jicama. They are topped with a fresh orchid garnish.

Price start at $185+ for two people for a 10-day package of three dishes and one soup.

To order: order.neogarden.com.sg/Tingkat/TingkatCategory or call 6896-7757

KIM PARADISE

While most tingkat meals replicate home-cooked fare, customers of Kim Paradise have the option of ordering restaurant-worthy daily specials at $26.80+ a dish.

For instance, Monday's daily special is sambal braised sea bass, which is more commonly whipped up in Chinese restaurants.

Fresh sea bass is used and its cavity is stuffed with spring onion and old ginger for steaming. The punchy sambal that blankets the fish is based on an 80-year-old Peranakan family recipe.

Details - such as the banana leaf that lines the bottom of the box and the garnishing of finely sliced curls of red chilli, spring onion and coriander leaves - are impressive.

Dishes are expertly cooked. The stir-fried brinjal comes with long beans and brinjal which are crunchy and which retain their colours well.

You get chunky pieces of fried premium dory in the ginger and scallion fish. Kim Paradise prepares its smooth-textured housemade egg tofu from scratch using eggs and soya milk.

The si shen chicken soup comes packed with chicken and ingredients such as Solomon's seal, wolfberries and red dates.

Price start at $125+ a person for a 10-day package of three dishes and one soup. It costs $160+ for two people.

To order: kimparadise.com.sg or call 6255-1000

SELECT CATERING

Curry chicken is a popular dish, but its oiliness may turn off healthconscious diners. And if not done well, you end up with diluted gravy.

You will not find these issues in Select Catering's version, which has deep flavours and a fragrance accentuated by curry leaves.

Part of the rotating menu of the deluxe tingkat package, the dish has an almost oil-free appearance. The curry gravy is the soupy type - not too thick, but so rich with spices you can even taste the pounded bits of lemongrass. You get bite-sized pieces of chicken leg (with bone) and potatoes. The dish of broccoli, cauliflower with shimeiji mushroom is appealing.

The broccoli and cauliflower are skilfully blanched to retain colour and crunch. Wolfberries add cheery accents.

The portion for two can easily feed four. The dish is on a par with vegetable dishes served at restaurants, but with lighter seasoning.

Other dishes include ginger and spring onion dory fish fillet; and egg tofu with small shelled prawns, squid and crab stick.

Customers have the option for the food to be delivered in stainless steel tingkats.

Prices start at $4.50+ a person a day for the economy package. The deluxe package starts at $5.50+ a person a day. For both packages, choose either three dishes and a soup or four dishes. A minimum one-month subscription for two people is required.

There is a delivery charge of $3+ a trip.

Customers have to pay an extra $1+ for each delivery with microwaveable boxes. There is no extra charge for the steel tingkats.

To order: Go to www.selectcatering.com.sg/tingkat-delivery or call 6852-3333

BAYFRONT CATERING SERVICES

Hesitant about committing to tingkat subscriptions for two weeks or a month? Try out the three- or five-day packages offered by halal-certified Bayfront Catering Services.

Its menu, which it refreshes every two to three months, does not offer beef or mutton.

Among the new dishes are kou shui ji (mouthwatering chicken), which is inspired by north-easten Chinese cuisine. It is the standout dish as it is not common on a tingkat menu.

The layer of chilli oil is a little off-putting, but the chicken is tasty and aromatic with a rich taste of sesame paste and peanuts. The dish is slightly spicy with a numbing sensation.

Also new is mapo tofu, where the tofu is uniformly cut into cubes. But it comes covered in mala oil, which is a tad overwhelming. The curry chicken, while decent, is also too greasy.

The stir-fried broccoli travels well and retains its vibrant colours. The lotus root soup, which comes with pieces of chicken, wins with its homemade taste.

Prices start from $33+ a person for a three-day package for three dishes and one soup, or four dishes.

Tingkat delivery services are not available for selected areas. For delivery to condominiums, delivery charges are $20+.

To order: bayfrontfood.sg or call 9119-9333