TRIBE café on Gongti Dong Lu serves up healthy eats, with an emphasis on nutrition and organic produce; everything on the menu has a glossary of goodness that identifies what’s vegetarian, vegan, sugar free, gluten free, or probiotic. Their latest venture is TRIBE Nutrition, a customized meal-plan delivery service that brings fresh organic meals to your door.
Their suite of meal plans is designed to meet every need; whether you want to bulk up, slim down, or just want to eat healthy but don’t have the time or inclination to cook. There’s even one for kids ages 6-12: the “Happy Sprouts” meal plan. It’s simple to order; just let TRIBE know which meal plan you want, how many meals you need a day, and where and when to deliver it. Their chefs will cook and deliver your meals to you fresh daily, and your kids can enjoy tasty, nutrient-balanced meals at home or as part of their packed lunch for school.
Our Happy Sprout diner is 7-year-old Madelyn Young, a student at The International Montessori School of Beijing (MSB). From the US, Madelyn has been living in Beijing for two years. Her favorite foods are salami and cold-cuts, and she loves peperoni pizza. Madelyn samples a whole day’s worth of kid’s meals, and the portion sizes are very generous, perfect for growing kids.
Starting with a breakfast dish of savory rice and egg omelet, the rice is nutty and cooked well, the organic eggs full of flavor. The dish is topped off with a tangy and tasty tomato purée. Lunch is chicken Madeira with mushrooms and spaghetti. The chicken is very tender, coated in a tasty mixed mushroom sauce, with spinach. For a re-heated dish, the chicken remains moist and the pasta cooked just right.
Madelyn’s exclamation of “I love this chicken!” says it all.
Dinner is grilled sirloin with roast broccoli and beet whipped potatoes. The sirloin has great flavor, cooked slightly pink, which helps it remain tender after re-heating. The beet potatoes are a wonderfully pink hue. Beetroot is an acquired taste, and unfortunately one that Madelyn hasn’t picked up yet. However, her friend who came to hang out and watch the shoot absolutely loves the beet potatoes and digs in with gusto.
Madelyn samples three snacks; carrot, apple, celery, lime, and ginger juice, roast cauliflower with carrot hummus, and oatmeal cookies served with ginger apple sauce. Celery and ginger are the major flavors that come through in the juice, which may not suit all younger palates. The hummus is quite sharp, rather than being a sweet carrot flavor. The cookies with sauce are a huge hit, and are by far Madelyn’s favorite part of the whole meal.
The dishes are exciting and fun, and the presentation is very good. Some of the flavors will no doubt be new to the younger end of the “Happy Sprouts” age range. Breakfast is RMB 50, lunch RMB 60, dinner RMB 70, or for RMB 180 you receive three meals and three snacks. The food comes in sturdy microwaveable containers with serving instructions, packed into a reusable insulated bag. Each container details the number of calories, plus grams of carbohydrates, fat, and protein.
Right now, they only deliver to a specified zone around the TRIBE café and their kitchens. A detailed delivery map is on their website. The menu changes every week, and they do repeat some dishes throughout the week.
TRIBE Nutrition
(5900 3088, ask@tribenutrition.com) www.tribenutrition.com
TRIBE
Daily 10.30am-10.30pm. China View Plaza, 1/F, Bdg 3, Gongti Donglu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区工体东路2号中国红街大厦3号楼一层 (8587 1899)
www.tribeorganic.com
This article originally appeared on page 26-27 of the beijingkids September 2015 issue. Click here to read the issue for free on Issuu.com. To find out how you can get your own copy, email distribution@truerun.com.
Photos: Dave’s Studio
