5 delicious foods to buy from Marks & Spencer's chilled food section

They're already well-known for their amazing cookies and jams and chips, and now our favourite UK brand, Marks & Spencer, has upped the gourmet game.

There's now a dedicated chilled food section at the Wheelock Place outlet, and over 600 new, chilled and ready-to-reheat foods spanning the gamut from soups and dips, to cooked seafood and pastas, to cheeses and desserts.

We're also the first in the world to have a full Marks & Spencer cafe with table-side service (whereas even in the UK, the cafes are more of a self-service concept), also at the Wheelock store.

Here are our top five picks from the line-up at the chilled food section.

The chilled food section is located within the Food Hall section of Marks & Spencer's outlet at #01-K2 Wheelock Place, tel: 6733-8122. Open Sun-Thu, 10am-10pm; Fri & Sat, 10am-10.30pm.

WOOD-FIRED PIZZA (MARGHERITA)

How did they manage to keep the slow-roasted cherry tomatoes and mozzarella cheese tasting so fresh and vivid, we would really like to know.

The entire pizza was gone in a jiffy - the tomatoes were juicy and sweet, the mozzarella was still slightly stretchy with a good chew, and the tomato base (by now, we can safely say that Marks & Spencer is excellent on tomato sauces) had a pleasant tang. It sure helps that the whole pie was generously loaded too.

We did struggle to reheat the pie properly though. We followed the instructions, but by the time the toppings were ready, the base was still not as crusty as we'd like. We couldn't risk extending the duration longer either, as that would cause the cheese to overcook and scorch.

RED THAI FISHCAKES WITH SWEET CHILLI DIP [Editor's Rave]

We admit, we were initially sceptical about this one. Sure, the Brits are known for their Indian food, but can they do justice to Thai food?

Luckily, we were proven so very deliciously wrong.

The fish cakes carried the fragrance of lemongrass, and nailed the sweet-sour-spicy profile, thanks to the mixture of dried and fresh red chillies, garlic puree, coriander, cumin seeds and lime leaves. It's slow-burning, but by the third bite, it's pretty fiery.

The chilli dip is on the sweet side, good for tamping down the heat, but if you're a spice lover, you might find it distracting.

FOUR CHEESE RAVIOLI

Reheated pasta, more often than not, turns mushy, so we were pleased that the raviolis retained a good chew.

The cheese stuffing ─ ricotta, mozzarella, provolone and gorgonzola ─ was as flavourful as it sounds. It's light and accessible enough for those who aren't into strong cheeses, but there's enough cheesy oomph to make it satisfying even for regular cheese fans.

CHESTNUT MUSHROOM SOUP

Bored of the usual mushroom soup? Try this one instead.

We liked that the soup was generally quite silky, with little cubes of chestnut to give it some bite. The mushroom flavour was quite robust too.

We're not fans of heavy soups, and thankfully this one wasn't like that. That said, some of us on the team found the soup to be slightly thin, so you might want to pour it out and reheat on the stove to thicken it just a tad.

The portion is quite large, so it's good for at least two servings!

MELTING MIDDLE CHOCOLATE PUDDING

Can a supermarket lava cake really deliver on the warm, molten promise? Well, this one did.

We followed the instructions and popped it in the microwave for one minute, and let it rest for another three minutes before cutting in ─ the Belgian chocolate centre flowed out readily.

We loved the bittersweet balance, as it wasn't as jelak as most lava cakes we've encountered. The pudding is a bit too smooth and soft, but then again, it is advertised as that on the packaging so we can't really complain!

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