The Calories In These 9 Common Singaporean Hawker Centre Dishes Will SURPRISE You

Singapore’s food heavens

There’s everything to love about hawker food – fuss-free, and delicious, served quickly and cheaply by seasoned hands.

But what makes them delicious is also their very undoing – especially when we look at their calorie count.

Are we fearful of hawker food now that we’re armed with this newly-gained knowledge? Perhaps more than slightly.

Is that going to stop us from indulging in them? Probably not.

1. Chicken Rice

It isn’t commonly throned our national dish for naught – succulent, flavourful chicken with rice rendered in chicken fat to perfection.

Calorie count: 607

Roasted/poached chicken with skin; rice cooked in chicken stock
(image)

2. Nasi Briyani Chicken

Never mind the food coma you’ll suffer after a hearty plate of Nasi Briyani – the aromatic dish is laced with spices, savoury with a hint of tanginess. Who could resist?

Calorie count: 877

Indian/Malay mixed fried saffron rice; fried/baked chicken; curry gravy
(image)

3. Char Kway Teow

With all the fatty ingredients it’s cooked in, we’re not even surprised. But we’re going for it anyway.

Calorie count: 745

Rice noodles wok-fried with pork lard and black sweet sauce; bean sprouts, eggs, fishcakes, cockles, Chinese sausage
(image)

4. Nasi Lemak

Nasi Lemak made the list of the 10 healthiest breakfasts around the world, and you can’t blame us for having our doubts (Isn’t that why it made the news in the first place?).

The rice is cooked in rich coconut milk, where more than half the fat is saturated. Also, deep-fried everything.

Calorie count: 657

Coconut rice; fried egg, fried anchovies, fried chicken wing as accompaniment; sambal chilli sauce
(image)

5. Fishball Noodles (dry)

Packed with umami flavour, most of the calories come from the sauce: rendered from lard, with a dollop of chilli or tomato sauce for a sweet and sour tang.

Calorie count: 482 (If you get the soup version: 372)

Chinese noodles tossed in sauce; fishballs and minced meat
(image)

6. Chye Png (mixed economy rice)

Nipping down to the hawker centre for a quick lunch, but want a healthy one? Go for mixed rice, they say.

But the calorie count suggests otherwise – for a seemingly comparably simple meal, the calorie count matches that of, say, chicken rice.

Calorie count: 580

Rice with 1 stir-fried meat and 2 vegetables
(image)

7. Ban Mian (soup)

The simple, old-school broth has just the right balance of sweet and salty, and the noodles, if prepared right, is soft to the bite yet chewy on the inside. Perfect for a rainy afternoon!

Calorie count: 475

Hakka wheat noodles with fish-based soup base; minced meat, mushrooms, egg, fried anchovies as an accompaniment
(image)

8. Chicken Satay (5 sticks)

Seems like a forgivable amount of calories, right?

But trust us, you won’t stop at 5, so that’s a lot more calories piling up!

Calorie count: 185

Skewered and grilled meat served with a thick peanut sauce
(image)

9. Kaya Toast (2 slices)

Sweet, rich coconut jam smothered on toast is a staple at many breakfast tables, and is a tasty choice for a lunch snack to-go as well.

Calorie count: 400

Toast with Kaya (coconut jam) spread and butter
(image)