Eating Well Without Sacrificing The Good Stuff: Unfiltered With Chef Victor Yap

Chef Victor Yap of Fittie Sense makes the case for a more balanced approach to wellness, where rice, pasta and plenty of flavour still have a seat at the table.

Healthy eating has a bit of a reputation for being all steamed vegetables, sad salads, and food that leaves you wondering where the flavour went. But Chef Victor Yap, co-founder and chef-owner of Fittie Sense, a popular wellness and lifestyle restaurant in Bangsar, is here to challenge that idea.

For Victor, eating well doesn’t mean waving goodbye to carbs. Rice, pasta, and other good carbs still have a place on the plate, alongside balanced portions of protein and greens. His philosophy is refreshingly simple: carbs aren’t the enemy. What matters is the quality of the ingredients, how they’re prepared and, ultimately, what goes onto your plate.

We caught up with Victor to get his take on wellness eating, finding the right balance and how to eat well without making every meal feel like a punishment.

When you first started Fittie Sense, what did you feel was missing from the way people talked about healthy eating?

When we started nine years ago, healthy food in KL mostly meant salads, steamed chicken and fish, or whatever buzzword was current—gluten-free, meat-less. What was missing were complete meals built around what a person was actually trying to achieve. In my case, that was post-workout recovery: enough protein, carbs, healthy fats and vegetables in one plate, without leaving me bloated or lethargic afterwards.

You’ve always put flavour alongside nutrition. Was there ever a point where you had to choose between the two?

Not for me. Eating has always been about enjoyment as much as nourishment, and I’ve never found the two in conflict. I lean heavily on natural flavour—herbs, spices, aromatics—and there’s more than enough to draw from, especially across Asian, Mediterranean and Levantine cooking.

What’s the biggest misconception people still have about eating healthily and how would you like to change that?

That it’s limiting—that joy and flavour are the price of admission. The way we push back isn’t by arguing about it, it’s by what goes on the plate. We print the macros for everything and let people decide for themselves, and we serve the flatbread with the mezze rather than taking it away. It’s 2026; we’re all exposed to global cuisines and inspiration is a scroll away. There’s no reason healthy eating should taste like a compromise.

Do you think we’ve become too obsessed with labelling food as “good” or “bad”?

Yes, and a lot of that comes from marketing and media. My view is that it’s a spectrum, and it depends on the person. Someone with a gluten intolerance may well be better off with a gluten-free cake. But for someone tracking calories, the regular cake might actually suit their goal better—an almond meal carries more fat and calories than wheat flour. Same dish, opposite answer, depending on who’s eating it.

What are some ingredients or techniques you rely on to build flavour without simply adding more fat, sugar or salt?

Herbs and spices, always. And for us Malaysians, having chilli or sambal on hand goes a long way. I make my own because I want to know exactly how much oil and sugar goes in—chillies, garlic, onion, belacan if you like, a little molasses and sea salt. From there you can push it in any direction; ground cumin and coriander give it depth.

Is there a dish you’ve worked on where the healthier version actually turned out better than the original?

Our laksa. It starts the way any proper laksa does, with a robust homemade rempah, but we sauté with less oil and finish with a mix of stock and coconut milk. It’s less lemak, less richly heavy, and the cleaner flavour means you finish the bowl feeling light instead of weighed down.

What’s one ingredient people tend to demonise that you think deserves a second chance?

MSG. The fear traces back to a single letter published in 1968 not a study and the science has never supported it since. Glutamate is glutamate, whether it comes from a jar, from tomatoes, parmesan, mushrooms or soy sauce. We don’t use MSG at Fittie Sense, but I’d like people to understand it rather than fear it. A small pinch at home adds savoury depth and actually lets you use less salt.

Fittie Sense now gives diners more flexibility to build meals around their own needs. Why was personalisation important to you? 

Because nobody knows your goals better than you do. We print protein, carbs and fats for everything and let people build the plate themselves. A restaurant isn’t in a position to decide what healthy means for a stranger—a marathoner, someone managing their blood sugar, and someone out for a celebration all walk through the same door.

What does your own everyday eating look like when you’re not at Fittie Sense?

I eat at Fittie Sense often, I’ll admit—I like eating my own food because I know exactly what goes into it, and the menu was built around my own habits in the first place. Otherwise I lean towards Japanese, dim sum, and lighter Indian and Malay food. I’m also at our other places, Peaches and Cream Brasserie and apricot by Peaches and Cream, which carry wholesome options inspired by Fittie Sense favourites.

Fittie Sense has evolved quite a bit since it first opened. What has changed most about your idea of wellness dining?

I used to think our job was to feed people well. Now I think it’s to give them the information and let them feed themselves well. That’s the shift behind the Build Your Own section, and behind going from a wellness café to a proper full-service space where people linger—where a run club or a yoga group can gather. Wellness turned out to be less about the food than about the life the food sits inside.

Tell us about the new Fittie Sense menu that KL diners should absolutely try.

The new Chicken Kofte Mezze. It’s a colourful platter built around 100% chicken kofte—no fillers, just chicken seasoned with fresh herbs and spices, made daily. Alongside it, air-fried sweet potato falafel, fresh salsa and Lebanese slaw for that zest and crunch, and a yoghurt baba ganoush that ties everything together with a bit of creaminess. It comes with a flatbread, which completes the plate and makes the point we keep making: carbs are not the enemy.

All images are courtesy of Fittie Sense