I had always been curious to visit the Marhaba Lounge Singapore and on a long layover in Singapore I thought this was the perfect opportunity to visit the lounge when I was flying out of Changi one morning. I accessed this lounge with my Priority Pass membership. This lounge had a basic breakfast buffet which surprised me as I had been in the Marhaba Lounge in Melbourne which had a decent variety of foods. While the foods on offer in the Marhaba Lounge Singapore were fairly limited the lounge still offered both hot and cold breakfast foods and there were some nutritious elements to the foods on offer.
What’s Healthy?
- They don’t look great, but these boiled eggs are packed full of nutrients and antioxidants. Boiled eggs are not only nutritious but also versatile – you can have them a number of ways for breakfast or as a snack.
- Japanese curry was served with beef, carrot and potato and rice. It was great to see the vegetables in the curry as some varieties of Japanese curries I have had in other lounges have consisted mainly of sauce with just some small amounts of beef.
- Along with the Japanese curry there was a Kadai vegetable curry available on the hot buffet. This curry was filled with vegetables such as corn, potatoes, carrots, green beans and peas. It was great to see this curry seemed to have a good ratio or sauce to vegetables – there were plenty of vegetables when taking a spoonful.
- Bowls of red and green apples were available. I didn’t see any other fruit available on the breakfast buffet. And because I couldn’t get a picture of the apples without the milk in front I will mention the milk too – there was full cream milk and soya milk available. (Don’t mind me in my active wear in the mirror – I had put it on to go for a walk around the airport to get my steps up during my transit stopover).
- There were a small variety of salad ingredients available including mixed leaves, edamame beans and corn kernels (in the red pot to the right). The yellow pot contained thousand island dressing. While it was great to see salad ingredients available for breakfast, the variety was lacking.
- I didn’t get a chance to check out these bowls as the area was quite busy and i didn’t get time. I think they were DIY bowls with an assortment of toppings such as mushrooms and spring onions.
- There was also a jar of peanuts available which while being a nutritious snack are dangerous to for people flying who have a peanut allergy. If you choose to eat nuts then ensure you help keep people flying with allergies safe by not dropping nuts in the lounge, don’t take nuts from the lounge onto the plane, and do not use utensils to service nuts out of the jar other than the designated spoon. After consuming nuts don’t touch any surfaces in the lounge until you wash your hands.
Not so great. Caution.
- There were small chicken sausages available on the hot buffet. While these were the only processed meat available, there was no bacon or chicken/turkey ham, care still must be taken not to consume these too often (or have too many at any one time). Processed meats can have salt, preservatives and other additives in them which have been linked with some diet related diseases. If you enjoy sausages then choose a small one to have and don’t have them every time you visit this lounge if you travel often.
- Waffles were served with mixed berry compote, however I thought the waffles looked a little dry and not very inviting. If you like waffles be mindful of the toppings that you add. It can be very tempting to make them quite sweet by adding compotes, sugar/syrups etc (depending what is available in the lounge). This lounge had a mixed berry compote available – compotes can be high in added sugars so try not to add too much.
- Croissants, pastries, and white bread were available, which along with the waffles are sources of refined carbohydrates. These ‘white breads and pastries’ are generally low in fibre which is not great for gut health. While travelling it is important to keep eat foods that are a source of fibre to help keep our guts healthy and bowel movements regular. If you like bread then choose the wholemeal variety as this will contain more fibre than white.
- Chicken congee was available on the hot buffet – you can see the steam coming out of the pot in this photo. While chicken congee is a popular breakfast dish be mindful it can be quite salty which is one reason why I have placed it in the mindful category. According to the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety a bowl of chicken congee can contain 90% of the WHO’s recommended daily sodium intake.
- There were two kinds of cereals available in the Marhaba Lounge Singapore for breakfast – one looked like corn based flakes and the other looked like it was made of wheat based flakes with oats (looked kind of like a Just Right type cereal). Cereals can be a source of wholegrains and fibres, but can also be a source of added sugars. And so because I didn’t see labels mentioning exactly which cereals these were at the time I was in the lounge, I am placing the cereals here in the ‘Caution’ list just as a reminder to try and choose wholegrain based cereals that are high in fibre and minimally processed.
Last word on the Marhaba Lounge Singapore
The Marhaba Lounge Singapore had a simple food offering with both hot and cold food buffets. While the buffet didn’t have an extensive variety of foods or dishes available for breakfast, what it did have stretched across a range of cuisines including western, Chinese, Japanese and Indian. There were some nutritious foods available and it was possible to make a fairly balanced, healthy meal. There just wasn’t a lot of choice in how you did this. I would be interested in visiting the Marhaba Lounge Singapore after breakfast during their all day dining to see what the meals are like.
