Nooxo's Grain Bowls and Smoothies

If, like me, you're one of the many people aiming to eat healthier in the new year after the excesses of the festive season or even trying out a food-related challenge such as Whole30 (whole30.com) or Veganuary (veganuary.com), then you'll be happy to hear about another healthy dining option to add to your rotation. Located in Chunxiu Lu dining destination Yu 育膳房 (or The Crib, as we are used to calling it), new concept Nooxo does just that, serving a range of dairy-free (and often plant-based and gluten-free) soups, grain bowls, and smoothies.

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The Mangoconut smoothie bowl, topped with coconut, goji berries, and Nooxo's own granola

Nooxo's food is based on the principles of vegan dining but this is not hair-shirt-wearing, punish-yourself-for-your-carnivorous-excesses healthy food: They aim to make plant-based dining tasty and appealing to even the most ardent of carnivores.

Founder Jay himself admits to not being a big fan of vegetables, so he wanted to create food that would appeal to people like him. The dishes were developed over a series of months by a Colombian chef who works for one of Australia's best-known vegan restaurants. Jay, who also hails from Colombia, explains that the name Nooxo is taken from the name of an indigenous tribe that inhabit the banks of Amazon as it runs through Colombia.

The Lentilnator bowl

I sampled a couple of the Nooxo bowls across several visits. Priced at RMB 45 (pretty much on a par with eateries like Moka Bros and Tribe Organic), all of the bowls are vegetarian or can easily be made vegan by simply removing toppings such as eggs. However, as Jay said, carnivores are not left out, either: there is an option to add grilled chicken (RMB 12) or grilled beef (from Inner Mongolia, RMB 18) to any of the bowls. My favorite of the bunch was undoubtedly the Lentilnator, a base of red rice and coix seed (also known as Job's tears) topped with cooked lentils, peppers, semi-dried tomatoes, guacamole, and a poached egg. Certainly visually appealing, I liked the slightly Mexican inspired flavor of this bowl.

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Photos: Robynne Tindall, dianping.com