Sometimes we have the best of intentions but fail to see it through. I believe the appropriate Chinese phase is 心有餘而力不足 (i.e., heart is willing but no resources to do it). The plan for today was to have a healthy lunch at Sousfully (Upper Cross Street, Hong Lim Complex). But when we arrived, they ran out of soba and I was feeling the other options. So, we crossed and went over to People’s Park Food Centre.
World Obesity Day 2025
Unbehest to me then, it was also World’s Obesity Day (4 March). This perhaps is a good time to talk about food systems. While it largely refers to availability of ultra processed that is almost always high in sugar and fat, it is also somewhat applicable to hawker food culture.
Hawker food is a very contentious topic in Singapore. The main priority, it seems, is food affordability. This is confirmed by the National Environment Agency earlier this year when they indicated that affordable food options is one of their fundamental objectives. Sadly, providing nutritious foods or foods that are aligned to Singapore dietary guidelines is not one of their primary objectives.
Hawker is known for being high fat and high carb. Although many attempts have tried to demonstrate that healthier eating is possible, most of the meals are, in my opinion, by default, unhealthy.
For example, in this healthy food challenge found on The Straits Times, the journalist opted for brown rice and two veggies at mixed-rice stall and for chicken breast from chicken rice stall. Sure, this will definitely make for a healthy meal but how many people are actually going to do that? The cost of this meal would be $8.70, probably higher than what most Singaporeans would be happy to spend for a meal at the hawker centre.
I am not saying that it’s impossible to eat healthy at the hawker centre. I am saying that it’s difficult choice to make. Not only that, but the cost of food increases significantly as we opt for healthier options.
Hundreds of food establishments are owned by the Singapore government
The Singapore government owns a significant portion of hawkers and coffee shops in Singapore. There are 121 NEA-managed hawker centres in Singapore. On top of that, there are 776 HDB coffee shops. Out of which, 374 are owned by HDB.
They are trapped in a position where there is a need to ensure people can afford food. By 2026, all HDB-owned coffee shops would need to offer budget meals between $3 to $3.50. But at the price range, it is likely impossible to offer foods that are aligned to Singapore’s dietary guidelines.
In fact, there is enough some conflict when it comes to dietary recommendations by the Singapore government.
Singapore Dietary Guidelines 2003
The current Singapore Dietary Guidelines was last revised in 2003. If you were to ask me, that’s incredibly outdated. What I find most disturbing is that it still recommends two serving of vegetables and two serving of fruits per day.
For context, Australia guidelines recommend eating at least five servings of vegetables (on top of two serving of fruits). The Japanese government recommends up to 13 servings of vegetables (at least five to six).
Two serving of vegetables, by all standards, is very low. And of course, exceedingly easy to meet even if we were to choose hawker food.
My Healthy Plate
The contradiction comes when we look at the “my healthy plate” campaign by Health Promotion Board. The recommended healthy plate is 50% fruits and vegetables, 25% protein, and 25% whole grain carbs.
Assuming a person only eats two serving of vegetables per day. That is one or under one serving of vegetable per meal. That will mean half a serving of carbs and half a serving of protein per meal to meet the healthy plate guideline.
First, I don’t think anyone will feel full from that.
Second, that only works out to one to one and a half serving of protein per day. Which is half of what is recommended according to the healthy plate (i.e., three serving of proteins per day).
It is impossible to eat the minimum recommendation in the dietary guidelines and yet fulfill the healthy plate recommendations. The guidelines is outdated and we need a revamp to reflect what healthy eating should really look like.
Cheat day at People’s Park Food Centre
When we decided to head over to People’s Park Food Centre, healthy eating is now out of the question. There were talks of eating at other salad bars but I wasn’t feeling it.
You should definitely bring cash to People’s Park. Neither of us did and several stalls did not accept PayNow!
Ri Ri Hong Mala Xiang Guo 日日红麻辣香锅
We ended up going for mala cos there were raving reviews. They also accepted CDC vouchers. It was mostly vegetables with one serving of chicken. By ingredients, it would have been a healthy meal. But mala is oily and all. So, no. It was 100% a discretionary food choice (i.e., cheat meal).
We ordered brocoli, napa cabbage, egg plant, bean curd skin, chicken, and instant noodles. It was only $7. I think quite cheap for Singapore standards?
Hong Peng La Mian Xiao Long Bao 洪鹏拉面小笼包
I ordered guo tie from Hong Peng La Mian Xiao Long Bao but got deep fried dumplings instead. The vinegar (straight from the bottle) was also super salty. Honestly would not order it again. Would consider the steamed ones dumplings or xiao long bao next time. They are a Michelin Bib Gourmand stall so surely something has to be good?
There are quite a few stalls that sell dumplings. The plan is to go back to taste test all the different stalls!
Unknown yong tau foo
The last thing we got to share was yong tau foo from a stall without a name. haha! Like, the sign board just says yong tau foo. It doesn’t even have a unit number but it should be #01-1013. I tried to find a picture of the stall online but couldn’t as well.
No picture of the food but it was below average. The soup was very bland and didn’t have any umami kick, which is very strange for yong tau foo. They also had meatballs which were on the soggy side. I think cos the flour-to-meat ratio was very high.
It was not Yong Xiang or Poy Kee, which are the more popular yong tau foo stalls. If we had cash, we would probably have chosen from a different stall.
There is also another yong tau foo stall, Koo Kee, which a client would often go after his sessions. It is a franchise with multiple outlets all around Singapore.
Healthy eating in Singapore
Honestly, healthy eating in Singapore is tough. I can get behind that. I don’t eat out often, less than once a week if I have a choice, so I am not too concerned about the cheat meals I have.
The amount of affordable healthy food choices in Singapore is also really limited. By affordable, I mean below $5. By healthy, I mean something that has two to three serving of vegetables with one to two serving of lean protein.
I know there is fish soup but it’s low in satiation so I don’t find it an ideal healthy food choice. There is also cai png but most of the dishes are prepared with a lot of oil and/or sodium, which I also don’t appreciate.
Sure, we get salad bars in hawker centres. Manna Haus at Amoy Street. Prices start at $7.90 for a daily bowl. We also have Salad Co.Sg at Market Street Hawker. Prices start at $7.90 for Romaine lettuce base with 5 basic toppings or no Base with 6 basic toppings.
While I don’t think they are expensive for the quality of food you are getting, it’s certainly not cheap cheap.
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