Tampines Food Co

Words by Natasha Chandra

Photos by Jonathan Lim & Natasha Chandra

As an introvert myself, I sometimes feel shy or intimidated interacting with service staff during mealtimes. If you face the same dilemma as me, fret not. This article is for you.

Recently, I was introduced to a futuristic dine-in concept that requires minimal interaction between people, a perfect place for introverts or anyone who wants an undisturbed mealtime.

Tucked away in a quiet industrial area in Tampines, Tampines Food Co is Singapore’s first digital food court. It is a common public space where you can order food from restaurants selling a range of cuisines, with Halal, Western, Indian and Asian food available.

Upon entering, I was greeted by a quaint dining area, with aesthetics similar to cafes I visited before. I headed to an order kiosk that directs diners to an online menu. This allows diners to place their orders via a quick response (QR) code from the comfort of their seats, eliminating the anxiety of holding up the queue at the kiosk while deciding what to order. Furthermore, dining in allows you unlimited orders. This means that you can mix and match in a single order across the 20+ participating brands listed in the Tampines Food Co’s online menu. These include brands like The Flame Shack, Send Noods, Smoo’D, Ayam Penyet and Potayto Potahto, amongst many more. With the availability of such offerings, diners can get the best of both worlds — convenience and variety. This makes Tampines Food Co a great option for groups who cannot come to a consensus on what to eat. Perfect!

After your orders are placed, they are directed to the respective restaurants to be prepared. During non-peak periods, the delivery is efficient and food arrives pretty quickly. However, be prepared to wait for your food during peak timings such as lunch and dinner time, especially if you order from popular brands such as The Flame Shack. If you are feeling a little bit more sociable and visiting with family or friends, there are board games available onsite for entertainment while waiting for your food. Otherwise, you are more than welcome to simply relax in the comfortable environment. A side perk — free coffee is available here on the weekends!

When your orders are ready, your order number will flash on screen and you can collect your food from a row of lockers. Simply open the respective locker, and your food would be waiting there for you. No need to interact with staff, unless there is a problem with your order. During my visit, I only interacted with one staff member, who sat behind the lockers making sure people got the right orders.

My one pet peeve with Tampines Food Co was how everything is served in disposable packaging. While there is a dine-in area, there were many delivery riders dropping by the eatery to collect orders from the lockers too. Rather than being a dine-in only eatery, Tampines Food Co seems to be more of a collection point for these riders, which explains the extensive usage of disposables. Perhaps this was the direction the eatery is heading towards, but having an aesthetic and “chill” place to enjoy a meal alone is a unique selling point of the place that can be expanded on. Besides being an eatery, Tampines Food Co is also open for space bookings for up to 80 people, and guests can create a customized menu for their events.

Digital food courts are not yet common around us, but Tampines Food Co is a F&B concept with a lot of potential. Its concept also allows a space for eatery start-up owners to gauge their consumer market before setting up a physical store. This encourages entrepreneurship which is a growing ambition for many people nowadays. With the food delivery industry on the rise, it would not be surprising to see such eatery concepts becoming popular in the near future. I love how it offers an avenue for new startups to experiment with a relatively small investment while offering many options for diners to choose from. While there are still ways to improve this eatery concept (such as providing sustainable cutlery and utensils), restaurants with this simple yet new dine-in concept are worth looking out for.

Tampines Food Co is located at 10 Tampines North Drive 4, #01-05 JTC Space, Singapore 528553. It opens Monday to Sunday, 10am to 10pm.