For quick healthy bites

Ewe Paik Leong checks out an outlet serving fast food that’s surprisingly healthy

FROM the outside, Figure Fuel projects an industrial look with its black metal and grille faćade. A banner at its entrance says: “No frying, no sugar, no preservatives”. Inside the rather compact space, a notice pasted on a wide wall claims: “Even Fast Food Can Be Healthy”.

Furnishings comprise red metal chairs, a red banquette running along one wall and black tables. Even the metallic ceiling is black

As I step up to to order, I recall reading from a health website that baked, roasted, grilled and steamed food are more wholesome than fried food. Scientific studies have established strong links between consuming fried food, obesity and heart disease. Harvard’s Department of Nutrition has also found that heavy fried-food eaters are at higher risk of type 2 diabetes.

Back to the food. The items on the lightbox menu are pigeon-holed into salads, mains (pizza, burger, Asian and Western), sides and beverages. Most of the dish names are zany and meaningless but luckily, they are accompanied by explanatory notes. Examples: Ali’s Shuffle and Brice Lee, amongst others, come under mains. For pizzas, there’re Yoda, Cattlebell, Poke Ball etc. Then, Super Fuel drink is actually lemongrass, pandan and honey; Immunity Boss, orange and lime.Coffee is absent but protein shakes, juices and tea are available.

I take my number, grab a table and look around. At a self-service counter for tomato and chilli sauce, a notice states: “Figure Fuel does not encourage the consumption of these two sauces.”

Waiting time is short even though several tables have been taken up. My dishes arrive in cardboard boxes and I am given a plastic glove to eat with my hand.

FIRST KICK

I start with chicken quesadillas. There are four slices accompanied by a salad of purple cabbage, lettuce and cherry tomatoes

Nasi Lemak is less successful.

Brice Lee delivers a coarse mouth-feel.

Hawaiian Alpha soothes rather than thrills.

2nd Floor, Sunway Velocity Mall

03-9286 8793, 012-2023 353 contact@figurefuel.com

www.figurefuel.com/ 10am to 10pm daily. Healthful fast food Quesadillas, Hawaiian Alpha pizza, Brice Lee

RM16 to RM10 for mains, RM5 to RM16 for beverages Casual but preachy

Slick and enthusiastic . OK, why not? drizzled with mayo. There’s an intrinsic funky soul in the chicken wrapped in cheesy tortillas, which the salad cuts through with its mild brightness.

Next, Brice Lee turns out to be fingers of grilled chicken breast atop a bed of red and brown rice. They are cramped with salad and topped with a sprinkle of sesame seeds. The chicken pieces are bland and are closer to a braised bird than one that is grilled. As expected, the rice is dry and coarse, but when all ingredients come together, it tastes like clean-tasting comfort food.

Nasi lemak turns out to be a misnomer because there’s no coconut milk in the rice. The soft-and-limp chicken pieces register as mildly peppery. I’m so used to crispyon-the-outside, soft-inside chicken pieces.

The sambal delivers chilli heat, albeit one-dimensional, and manages to pacify my taste buds. This dish only passes muster. I finish off with a cinnamon roll, which tastes like how a good cinnamon roll should: pillowy-soft and sweet savoury.

SECOND VISIT

On my second visit, I start with PHAT Bull. This is Aussie pulled beef with salad slicked with mayo. The cacophony of crunch and sweetness-sournessfrom the veggies overwhelms the pulled beef.

There’re occasional bits of meaty tenderness from the beef, though.A plastic glove accompanies my Hawaiian Alpha pizza which is topped with chicken, fresh pineapples, mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. When I chomp down on the pizza, the cheese and pineapples give a sour-creamy taste. Ah, lovely. This is a subtle pizza as both its cornicione and base underwhelm in terms of crispiness.

I finish off with sweet potato and pumpkin mash.It is rich and deep in flavour. This dish breathes the vitality of the earth but is not extraordinary.

Verdict: the food here has light touches rather than decadence, so the choice is yours — eat to live or live to eat.