Just Dabao’s Shiok Bags: Surplus food never tasted better

Solving a food surplus issue as well as ensuring that consumers receive the best deals possible have a common solution—Just Dabao. A company that aims to redistribute perfectly edible excess food that would otherwise be thrown out, Just Dabao advocates reducing this amount of waste that occurs daily. As it is, our environment has definitely seen better days.

At the same time, customers like you and I get to purchase food tickets at a lower price and redeem these excess meals at Just Dabao’s selected merchants. While you won’t exactly have the option of customising your meal down to a tee, the options available on the Just Dabao site are delicious, tried, and true.

In keeping with the philosophy of sustainability, Just Dabao is also partnered up with reusable container service, barePack, so that consumers won’t be burning through single-use plastics every time they take away a meal. barePack members can keep the containers for as long as they retain their membership, while non-members can return the containers to any one of their 150 locations. We can’t help but stan a self-sustaining business model.

Here’s a look on what you can expect to find on Just Dabao’s merchant list:

1. Chengdu Bowl (S$14.90, S$10.90)

Flatlay of Chengdu Bowl offerings

Someone really said, “Sichuan food, but make it contemporary”, and that someone is Chengdu Bowl. Inspired by the ever-popular Hawaiian poke bowl, Chengdu Bowl offers a twist to the grain bowl concept by fusing authentic Sichuan flavours with both Chinese and Western elements.

Spicy stew from Chengdu Bowl

Your bowl is built with a main, side, and base with options such as chewy rice noodles, whole-grain brown rice, beef, fish, and chicken to choose from. Chengdu Bowl condenses Sichuan dining into manageable, personal bowls so you really don’t have to break the bank while getting your Chinese fix.

Ricebowl from Chengdu Bowl

As all Sichuan food tend to, the dishes from Chengdu Bowl present a much welcome kick that might or might not end in a clamour for cold milk to quell the heat. Either way, we promise it’s worth it. Equal parts numbing and spicy, the sauces and soups from Chengdu Bowl definitely add a sobering touch to the meal, complete with toothsome sides like braised quails eggs and pork belly.

2. Bunnie Bash

Gelato pints from Bunnie Bash

Shifting from retail to distribution and now back into the consumer market, Bunnie Bash has long been acquainted with the waffles and gelato scene. Started in 2014, they’ve made quite the journey but the best news is that we can all enjoy their glorious sweet treats anywhere, anytime instead of only at specific retail outlets.

A scoop of Milk & Wildflower Honey gelato

The past year has seen them developing their gelato pint packaging and growing their online shopping platform. Instead of letting ready stocks go to waste, selling them to consumers like you and I help ensure that everyone gets a good shot at trying their artisanal gelato that include flavours as unique as Choco Rocky Road and Milk & Wildflower Honey.

For starters, you won‘t go wrong with the Milk & Wildflower Honey flavour that boasts floral notes with a hint of sweetness. Go ahead and slap your scoops of ice cream over waffles made from Bunnie Bash’s waffle pancake batter. After all, it’s almost a crime to let perfectly good gelato slip through your fingers.

3. Habouji (S$28, S$16.90)

Pouring shot of bottled cocktail

Dalgona coffee was the song of some people’s ‘Circuit Breaker’, for others, sourdough. Despite the partial lockdown and the fact that all partying came to a stop, there was always that one unfazed friend who was determined to bring the festivities to them.

"Spicy Gimlet" Cocktail from Habouji

Enter bottled cocktails, and the handful of brands birthed out of their production especially during the dark, dark months of ‘Circuit Breaker’. Habouji is a bottled cocktail company that offers cheeky, fun concoctions that are so easy on the palate, and even easier to prepare.

Pouring shot of bottled cocktail

All you need is to portion the bottle into two glasses with ice and garnish, and you’re pretty much a certified home bartender at this point. At this lowered price point, it truly does prove that having a good time (and perhaps a hangover) doesn’t have to break the bank, after all.

4. Manhattan Meatball Company (S$13.50, S$7.90)

Flatlay of giant meatball in sauce

It’s a hamburg steak, it’s a beef patty—no, it’s just a palm-sized giant meatball, no biggie. Manhattan Meatball Company does as their title so aptly suggests; churn out meatballs the size of fists.

For well under S$10, being treated to a gravy-laden jumbo meatball over a bed of carbs really is a steal if you’re ever looking for one. I mean, how many of us can deny fantasising about a chunky, sauce-clad meatball as we drift off into deep sleep at some point in our lives?

A cross section of the giant meatball

From a list of their specially concocted gravies, you’ll find a whole host of flavour profiles such as Creamy Peppercorn Sauce, Cheddar Cheese and Bacon Sauce, and the ever opulent Creamy Mushroom Truffle Sauce. Spoiler alert, they’re all so gloriously indulgent.

5. Brown Bag Wines (S$50, S$29.90)

Pouring shot of wine

And so arrives a second alcoholic option on Just Dabao, once again testament to the variety of options on the site. Sustainability’s the name of the game at Brown Bag Wines, with organic, natural and biodynamic wines gracing the collection you’ll find here.

Red wine from Brown Bag Wines

All easy-drinking varieties, the wines you’ll find range from robust to medium-bodied, ripe cherry aromas to tobacco characteristics, and smooth to long finish. One thing’s for sure though, they all pair equally brilliantly with the likes of rich red meat such as lamb, duck, and beef.

6. The Salad Shop (S$10, S$5.40)

A close up of salad

We all know that salad shops abound in the CBD because working adults constantly need to feel better about their poor habits by digging into a salad every Monday afternoon. For as long as I can remember, The Salad Shop at Raffles Place has been serving the working community in the area with colourful bowls for all diets.

A topdown shot of The Salad Shop's salad

Also an advocate for green-living, The Salad Shop constantly explores new ways to engage in more environmentally-friendly implementations, such as cutting out approximately 13,000 pieces of order form, and 15,600 gallons of water per year.

In order to stop perfectly edible food from going to waste, the shop’s partnership with Just Dabao both alleviates the issue of surplus food as well as allows consumers like you and I to enjoy our salads at a discounted rate.

7. Baker’s Brew (S$58, S$36.90)

Earl Grey Lavender whole cake

The sweet-toothed readers will be well acquainted with the popular bakery, Baker’s Brew, which is long famed for their intricately and expertly designed cakes, as well as their gorgeously-packaged cookies.

A slice of Earl Grey Lavender cake

On the Just Dabao site, you’ll be able to snag yourself Baker’s Brew cakes—both sliced and whole—for just a fraction of the original price. As the bakes can last to be enjoyed another day, why not purchase a voucher for it so you can have your cake and eat it too?

A close up of Baker's Brew's logo

You’ll be surprised by the likes of Earl Grey Lavender, Ondeh Ondeh, Roasted Pistachio and Rose, Salted Caramel Chocolate, Matcha Azuki, the list goes on. But one thing’s for sure: a party in your palate and an impending food coma await.


Other articles you might like: 

Do your part to reduce single-use plastic & be rewarded with BYO Singapore Movement

Impossible Food reduces price by 30%. Is it enough to affect change?

Newest