Confinement meals can be delicious - With Tian Wei Signature
For my first month of confinement, I went with a confinement nanny and I mentioned that confinement meals are more delicious from my first pregnancy. For my second month post delivery, I tried out Tian Wei Signature because I have no time to cook as I have to start working on my own business and still take care of my baby.
Besides that, I wanted confinement meals so that the ingredients can boost my breast milk instead of normal tingkat meals. I wrote previously that I would get Tian Wei if I have a second baby and I did just that this time round.
Who is Tian Wei Signature?
This caterer has a wide variety of dishes, and they came up with some unique meal plans by incorporating a Mediterranean and Japanese twist to spice up normal confinement meals. After eating the confinement meals by 4 different companies, I can truly attest to their uniqueness and variety.
What confinement ingredients do they use?
Ginger – To keep the body warm and eliminate ‘wind’ inside the body
Red fermented wine – Beneficial for metabolism and lowering cholesterol levels
Pig trotters, livers and kidneys – Has high protein and iron content, gelatinous collagen and promotes blood circulation
Herbs and medicinal foods like Chinese Angelica root and black fungus – To regulate menstrual cycle, improve vitality and cleanse the arteries
Best part of all, no MSG or artificial flavourings! You can taste the sweet chicken stock they used for the meals that made the dishes so appetising. I think they do not use much salt as I do not feel thirsty after every meal.
What about breastmilk boosting ingredients?
"WE ARE ALL ABOUT LACTATION !" shouts Tian Wei on their website. You don't see this statement at all in other confinement meals so it assured me that this caterer is focused not just on post partum recovery of the mother but also the breast milk boosting aspect. Breastfeeding is and will continue to vex mothers, particularly because most mothers lactate poorly especially when we are physically weakened by child birth and mentally stressed and exhausted.
Thus, it is really important if we can eat tasty yet breast milk boosting meals that benefit mothers and also the baby. Some well known milk boosting ingredients are:
1) Green papaya
2) Salmon
3) Fenugreek
4) Cumin
5) Quinoa
6) Okra
7) Tomato
8) Spinach
To incorporate all these ingredients into the confinement meals is definitely a big, big plus for me. I am not really a fussy eater but my main concern is, the food has to be delicious. Tian Wei definitely can compete with normal tingkat food, and not just reigns in confinement food industry.
How about the ingredients used in the soups?
1) Ganoderma lucidum (reishi mushroom) – improves quality of sleep and helps against insomnia or fatigue
2) Eucommia Bark – known for its ability to improve immune system and restore energy
3) Polygonum multiflorum (Fo-ti) – beneficial against premature graying of hair and prevent ageing effects
4) Ginseng – nourishes the blood and provides energy
Some soups I really like include ABC soup, pork ribs soup with black beans and lotus roots and white fungus pork rib soup.
Highlights of my meals
I have drank super bitter sheng hua soups from other companies before and even the herbal tonics from my confinement nanny taste like medicine. That is why I was so shocked that Tian Wei's soup can be so tasty. Even my daughter stole the soups from me and drank them up readily, so you can be assured that these soups do not taste like tonics!
What's the best thing about Tian Wei?
Of course it's their unique signature - The fusion dishes! For every meal if you keep having normal confinement dishes which is 1 vegetable, 1 meat, 1 rice and 1 soup, it is definitely boring after some time. For these fusion dishes, the taste is very different and I really like having western food. The coq au vin, kurobuta pork loin and
Not just that, I am in love with their desserts! I have not seen desserts being incorporated into confinement meals so I was so happy to consume them. These desserts such as red bean soup are well known to be refreshing yet helps in blood loss.
My confinement was during the Mid Autumn Festival and Tian Wei surprised me with an agar-agar durian moon cake. It was quite watery because it's in jelly form so they actually called me to apologise and gave us lactation cookies the next day.
Where got such good thing? Apologise for the free food is really unheard of. Being a business owner myself, I appreciate these little efforts that showed how sincere the management is.
One more thing I like is their gentle warning to caution us on fish bones. The bones are usually big ones and found only when the whole fish is used. There are no small bones at all so mothers can eat without worry. I like the thoughtful reminder even when it is not necessary. This is definitely going above and beyond what is necessary to give us a peace of mind.
What are my favourite dishes?
I could count on one hand what I don't prefer, but still every meal was polished off. The portion was also quite large because I could share with my toddler daughter and sometimes, even my husband could eat a part of it. My favourite dishes, not just the fusion ones and those pictured above, is the Stir fried pork liver with beehoon and kailan with sweet and sour fish slices. I requested it to be served once a week and truly enjoyed eating them. They don't taste like confinement meals at all.
What is the price?
It cost $1,688 for 28 days with 2 meals a day. Definitely go for the early bird discount at $128!
Some friends told me that confinement meals are expensive and they would rather ask their parents or partners to cook. I feel that cooking is best left to the experts as you can get tasty meals every day that is nutritionally balanced yet able to boost breast milk. I would much rather save the time buying, preparing and washing and spend more time with the newborn.
Can I change anything?
I opted for no white rice because I want to lose weight faster and take more dietary fibre. Tian Wei is able to accede to my request and they have so many types of other rice for me to choose! To come up with different kinds of rice, they added some quinoa, barley, beans, seeds to increase the nutritional content. Luckily, there is no extra charge for such request! However, it is best not to opt out for too many ingredients as there may be more of the same food being sent.
After 2 weeks, I told them I am quite sick of rice so they actually gave me noodles on alternate days, also at no extra charge! I really enjoyed my bee hoon, spaghetti and other noodles. It felt so good to eat something different.
What can be improved?
I think their fusion dishes could have more side dishes and vegetables. The traditional Chinese meals have a larger serving of vegetables which is what I like. Not just that, I personally prefer their pork dishes to their baked fish because I was ultra sensitive to fishy smell throughout my pregnancy and even after. It's just me because my husband find the smell normal so I wonder how many mums have a sensitive nose like me.
Regarding my wish list on the future of confinement meals, I hope to have a choice of the meals. For example, if mummies have the option to go for Set A or Set B, that would really be quite awesome. I know none of the catering companies, not just confinement meals are allowing this currently so I hope my children might actually have this option in the future.
Conclusion
 |
| Tian Wei Signature - Seared salmon with cauliflower cream, tri-colour grains and red bean puree |
Who is Tian Wei Signature?
This caterer has a wide variety of dishes, and they came up with some unique meal plans by incorporating a Mediterranean and Japanese twist to spice up normal confinement meals. After eating the confinement meals by 4 different companies, I can truly attest to their uniqueness and variety.
 |
| Stir fried celery with lotus roots, baked fish with ginger mirin sauce, and barley millet rice with ABC soup. Portion seen here is less than half of what is served. |
What confinement ingredients do they use?
Ginger – To keep the body warm and eliminate ‘wind’ inside the body
Red fermented wine – Beneficial for metabolism and lowering cholesterol levels
Pig trotters, livers and kidneys – Has high protein and iron content, gelatinous collagen and promotes blood circulation
Herbs and medicinal foods like Chinese Angelica root and black fungus – To regulate menstrual cycle, improve vitality and cleanse the arteries
Best part of all, no MSG or artificial flavourings! You can taste the sweet chicken stock they used for the meals that made the dishes so appetising. I think they do not use much salt as I do not feel thirsty after every meal.
 |
| Braised fish fillet with tofu, stir fried celery with scallop and barley millet rice |
What about breastmilk boosting ingredients?
"WE ARE ALL ABOUT LACTATION !" shouts Tian Wei on their website. You don't see this statement at all in other confinement meals so it assured me that this caterer is focused not just on post partum recovery of the mother but also the breast milk boosting aspect. Breastfeeding is and will continue to vex mothers, particularly because most mothers lactate poorly especially when we are physically weakened by child birth and mentally stressed and exhausted.
Thus, it is really important if we can eat tasty yet breast milk boosting meals that benefit mothers and also the baby. Some well known milk boosting ingredients are:
1) Green papaya
2) Salmon
3) Fenugreek
4) Cumin
5) Quinoa
6) Okra
7) Tomato
8) Spinach
 |
| Lemongrass fenugreek braised fish fillet, stir fried kailan and pumpkin rice |
To incorporate all these ingredients into the confinement meals is definitely a big, big plus for me. I am not really a fussy eater but my main concern is, the food has to be delicious. Tian Wei definitely can compete with normal tingkat food, and not just reigns in confinement food industry.
How about the ingredients used in the soups?
1) Ganoderma lucidum (reishi mushroom) – improves quality of sleep and helps against insomnia or fatigue
2) Eucommia Bark – known for its ability to improve immune system and restore energy
3) Polygonum multiflorum (Fo-ti) – beneficial against premature graying of hair and prevent ageing effects
4) Ginseng – nourishes the blood and provides energy
Some soups I really like include ABC soup, pork ribs soup with black beans and lotus roots and white fungus pork rib soup.
 |
| Stir fried spinach with black fungus, mediterranean tomato cumin chicken stew, barley millet rice with fenugreek green papaya fish soup. |
Highlights of my meals
I have drank super bitter sheng hua soups from other companies before and even the herbal tonics from my confinement nanny taste like medicine. That is why I was so shocked that Tian Wei's soup can be so tasty. Even my daughter stole the soups from me and drank them up readily, so you can be assured that these soups do not taste like tonics!
 |
| Pea shoots with pork, braised fish maw with soft ribs and mushrooms, black barley mixed rice. Soup is angelicae sinesis chicken soup. |
Of course it's their unique signature - The fusion dishes! For every meal if you keep having normal confinement dishes which is 1 vegetable, 1 meat, 1 rice and 1 soup, it is definitely boring after some time. For these fusion dishes, the taste is very different and I really like having western food. The coq au vin, kurobuta pork loin and
 |
| Coq au vin, toasted oats millet mixed rice and papaya white fungus dessert |
Not just that, I am in love with their desserts! I have not seen desserts being incorporated into confinement meals so I was so happy to consume them. These desserts such as red bean soup are well known to be refreshing yet helps in blood loss.
 |
| Papaya white fungus dessert |
My confinement was during the Mid Autumn Festival and Tian Wei surprised me with an agar-agar durian moon cake. It was quite watery because it's in jelly form so they actually called me to apologise and gave us lactation cookies the next day.
Where got such good thing? Apologise for the free food is really unheard of. Being a business owner myself, I appreciate these little efforts that showed how sincere the management is.
 |
| Durian mooncake! |
One more thing I like is their gentle warning to caution us on fish bones. The bones are usually big ones and found only when the whole fish is used. There are no small bones at all so mothers can eat without worry. I like the thoughtful reminder even when it is not necessary. This is definitely going above and beyond what is necessary to give us a peace of mind.
 |
| May contain fish bones |
What are my favourite dishes?
I could count on one hand what I don't prefer, but still every meal was polished off. The portion was also quite large because I could share with my toddler daughter and sometimes, even my husband could eat a part of it. My favourite dishes, not just the fusion ones and those pictured above, is the Stir fried pork liver with beehoon and kailan with sweet and sour fish slices. I requested it to be served once a week and truly enjoyed eating them. They don't taste like confinement meals at all.
 |
| Stir fried pork liver with beehoon and kailan, sweet and sour fish slices and snow fungus hashima dessert |
What is the price?
It cost $1,688 for 28 days with 2 meals a day. Definitely go for the early bird discount at $128!
Some friends told me that confinement meals are expensive and they would rather ask their parents or partners to cook. I feel that cooking is best left to the experts as you can get tasty meals every day that is nutritionally balanced yet able to boost breast milk. I would much rather save the time buying, preparing and washing and spend more time with the newborn.
Can I change anything?
I opted for no white rice because I want to lose weight faster and take more dietary fibre. Tian Wei is able to accede to my request and they have so many types of other rice for me to choose! To come up with different kinds of rice, they added some quinoa, barley, beans, seeds to increase the nutritional content. Luckily, there is no extra charge for such request! However, it is best not to opt out for too many ingredients as there may be more of the same food being sent.
After 2 weeks, I told them I am quite sick of rice so they actually gave me noodles on alternate days, also at no extra charge! I really enjoyed my bee hoon, spaghetti and other noodles. It felt so good to eat something different.
 |
| Braised sesame chicken in sweet potato vermicelli |
 |
| Spaghetti pomodoro and caponata with kurobuta pork loin with apple mirin sauce |
What can be improved?
I think their fusion dishes could have more side dishes and vegetables. The traditional Chinese meals have a larger serving of vegetables which is what I like. Not just that, I personally prefer their pork dishes to their baked fish because I was ultra sensitive to fishy smell throughout my pregnancy and even after. It's just me because my husband find the smell normal so I wonder how many mums have a sensitive nose like me.
Regarding my wish list on the future of confinement meals, I hope to have a choice of the meals. For example, if mummies have the option to go for Set A or Set B, that would really be quite awesome. I know none of the catering companies, not just confinement meals are allowing this currently so I hope my children might actually have this option in the future.
Conclusion
It is so good to have confinement meals particularly because every meal is of tasty restaurant standard. Gone are the days when I have to endure bland, repetitive dishes. Confinement meals curated by top chefs really make me want to keep eating confinement meals again.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Disclaimer: This article was brought to you in collaboration with Tian Wei Signature but the reviews are solely my own subjective opinions. Like me on Facebook to be updated on more pregnancy and family finance issues.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Disclaimer: This article was brought to you in collaboration with Tian Wei Signature but the reviews are solely my own subjective opinions. Like me on Facebook to be updated on more pregnancy and family finance issues.
Jes
If you have benefited from this post, support our first business venture at snackfirst.com or like us on Facebook!
%2B(6).JPG)
0 comments:
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.