Are you watching your calories? Are you especially concerned about your saturated fat, cholesterol or sodium intake?

To help you along, Health Xchange, in collaboration with the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH), has developed an easy colour-code guide for quick reference. Colours are based on the following legend.

Colour Legend	Amount Per Serving
	Healthy
	Moderate
	High

​​Nasi Lemak (210g) - Rice made in coconut milk, wrapped in banana leaf with fried egg, anchovies​​

	​​Kcal	Protein (g)	Fat (g)	Saturated fat (g)
	​​​​​494	13	14	7.6
	Dietary fibre (g)	Carbs (g)	Cholesterol (mg)	Sodium (mg)
	​​6.5	80	​​76	​83​8​​​​

Comment: Although this dish is low in total fat, it is high in saturated fat which increases the risk of heart disease. So, have it only occasionally and don’t ask for extra ingredients like fried chicken wing!

Beehoon, Soto, Malay Style (Meehoon Soto) (902g) - Beehoon, chicken, bean sprouts, chilli, in soup, Malay style

	​Kcal	Protein (g)	Fat (g)	Saturated fat (g)
	359	20	​​17	6.8
	Dietary fibre (g)	Carbs (g)	Cholesterol (mg)	Sodium (mg)
	3.5	31	​62	​​1537​

Comment: This dish is low in calories and cholesterol. If you choose this dish, ask for more bean sprouts to increase the fibre content and leave the soup behind to reduce your consumption of saturated fat and sodium.

Lontong with Sayur Lodeh (775g) - Vegetables and dried bean curd in spicy coconut

	​Kcal	Protein (g)	​​Fat (g)	​​​Saturated fat (g)
	​​​798	46	​​40​	​​​21.9
	Dietary fibre (g)	Carbs (g)	Cholesterol (mg)	Sodium (mg)
	​​13.2	64	​​264	​​​1930​

Comment: Although this dish is a good source of protein and dietary fibre, it should be consumed occasionally as this dish alone exceeds the saturated fat allowance and almost all of the cholesterol and sodium allowance an adult should consume in a day. You can reduce the amount of fat, saturated fat and sodium consumed by leaving the soup behind.

Mee Siam (655g) - Thin, white rice noodles, hard-boiled egg, dried bean curd in tangy gravy

	​Kcal	Protein (g)	Fat (g)	Saturated fat (g)
	694	28	24	8.6
	Dietary fibre (g)	Carbs (g)	Cholesterol (mg)	Sodium (mg)
	​9.2	92	138	​2659​

Comment : This dish alone exceeds an adult’s sodium allowance of 2000mg a day! Leaving the gravy behind halves the sodium content, but will not significantly affect the fat and saturated fat contents.

Mee Rebus (571g) - Thick yellow egg noodles served in thick spicy gravy with hard-boiled egg

	​Kcal	Protein (g)	Fat (g)	Saturated fat (g)
	571	​23	17	​5.8
	Dietary fibre (g)	Carbs (g)	Cholesterol (mg)	Sodium (mg)
	8	82	206	​2​164​

Comment: This dish can be consumed occasionally if you do not have high blood pressure as the sodium content in this meal alone exceeds an adult’s sodium allowance of 2000mg a day. If you have high blood cholesterol, you can also reduce the fat and cholesterol content by not eating the egg yolk.

Mee Soto (541g) - Yellow noodles with shredded chicken in spicy soup

	​Kcal	Protein (g)	Fat (g)	Saturated fat (g)
	433	​19	13	​​5.4
	Dietary fibre (g)	Carbs (g)	Cholesterol (mg)	Sodium (mg)
	​3.8	60	​38	​​2​678​

Comments: This dish can be modified to make it healthier by asking for more beansprouts to increase the fibre content, and leaving the soup behind to reduce the sodium content.

Curry Puff (37g) - Curry potatoes wrapped in thick pastry and deep fried

	​Kcal	Protein (g)	Fat (g)	Saturated fat (g)
	​​131	4	​8	3.8
	Dietary fibre (g)	Carbs (g)	Cholesterol (mg)	Sodium (mg)
	0.6	11	​​0	​1​68​

Comment: Although this snack is moderately high in energy and cholesterol-free, it should not be eaten regularly as it is high in fat, saturated fat and sodium. It is also low in fibre.

Pisang Goreng (65g) - Banana coated with flour and egg, deep fried

	​Kcal	Protein (g)	Fat (g)	Saturated fat (g)
	197	1	5	​3.4
	Dietary fibre (g)	Carbs (g)	Cholesterol (mg)	​Sodium (mg)
	​2.3	36	​​​0	​103​

Comment: This snack should only be eaten occasionally as it is high in energy and saturated ​fat. If preparing this snack at home, you can reduce the saturated fat content by using oils with the Healthier Choice symbol (e.g. sunflower, safflower, peanut, corn or canola oils) for frying. However, this snack will still be high in energy and should be eaten occasionally.

Read on to learn about the nutritional content of other common hawker Malay ​food in Singapore​.

Ref. S13

Other articles to help you make better food choices when eating out:

Chinese Hawker Food: Ranking the Healthiest to Most Unhealthy Dishes

Indian Hawker Food: Ranking the Healthiest to Most Unhealthy Dishes

Eating at the Food Court: Tips to Make Healthier Choices