As part of our cultural heritage and national identity, hawker food remains a staple diet for most Singaporeans. But is hawker food healthy? It can be, according to Dr Leslie Tay, a general practitioner on HealthPass by OCBC.

While providing teleconsultation services forms part of his day job, Dr Tay is better known as Singapore's preeminent authority on local food. He is an award-winning food blogger, author, photographer, chef and TV host.

We sat down with Dr Tay to learn more about the food we should look out for and healthier options to choose from when dining at hawker centres.

Pictured: Dr Leslie Tay, Singapore’s favourite local food blogger and a general practitioner on HealthPass by OCBC

It’s all about choices

Dr Tay notes that while hawker food is notoriously known for sinful and fat-laden dishes, it is getting healthier. With more stalls offering lower calorie options and using healthier ingredients like whole grains, olive oil and canola oil, hawker food can be both cheap and good.

Let’s look at traditional favourites such as char kuay teow (742 calories) and fried bee hoon (679 calories). These dishes are heavy with carbohydrates, saturated fat content and calories. By choosing a tasty alternative like sliced fish soup (212 calories) or yong tao foo (297 calories), it can help to keep your waistline in check. Dr Tay also recommends Teochew porridge (<400 calories) with steamed fish and green leafy vegetables as a healthier option.

Health-conscious eaters particularly love yong tau foo as they are able to choose the ingredients that go into the dish and therefore make healthier choices.

Be wary of carbs

Many people fear carbohydrates when weight watching and rightly so. Too much carbohydrates can lead to higher blood sugar levels, causing your body to produce more insulin, which then tells your cells to save the extra glucose as fat. This can result in diabetes and other health issues down the road.

As a guideline, one serving of carbohydrates is roughly half a bowl of rice, half a bowl of noodles, two slices of bread, a large potato, or two pieces of small chapatis. Our Health Promotion Board (HPB) recommends five to seven servings of carbs a day for healthy adults — this should be spread out evenly and not consumed in one sitting so that your carb intake is adequately distributed across the day.

Dr Tay, who lists char kuay teow as one of his favourite local dishes, advises that instead of fearing carbs or avoiding them completely, look out for the healthier options which use brown rice, brown rice noodles and more veggies.

Misconceptions

“People think that rojak is healthier because it is a salad but it’s actually loaded with sugar!”, exclaims Dr Tay. Rojak (518 calories) is amongst the worst salads you can have with its fat and calories similar to a Big Mac (550 calories).

Rojak, Singapore’s favourite calorie-laden salad worth in excess of 500 calories

Another example is mixed rice which appears to be a healthy choice. However, the vegetables are typically tossed with oil to give it a shiny attractive look and to preserve it for a little longer. For the meats on offer, since hawkers usually cook them with a dark sauce, it means that you can’t tell the colour between the lean meat and the fatty parts.

As for sliced fish soup, while it is considered the healthier option for its protein and lower calorie count, it still contains a relatively high level of sodium, especially with the fried fish. Soup is a healthier alternative because you skip the oily sauce. However, try to avoid soup that contains coconut milk.

Sliced fish soup is a go-to low calorie option at the hawker centre

Thick, cloudy soups are also often rich in sodium and fat content. Remember that the next time you’re thinking of your favourite creamy bowl of laksa (610 calories), which is loaded with sodium. It is worthy to note that a sodium fuelled diet can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.

Your favourite bowl of laksa may be costing you 610 calories

The bottom line

Despite his renowned expertise as Singapore’s favourite hawker advocate, Dr Tay offers one piece of advice, “Most hawker food is designed to be cheap and tasty. If you want to eat healthily, learn to cook at home. Although I am an advocate for hawker food, I eat mostly at home and only visit the hawker centre if I find a really good stall to recommend.”

Weight watchers, consider yourself informed.