A fit, well-balanced lifestyle is all the rage right now — as we become increasingly particular about consuming healthier food options, hawker stalls have also doled out more nutritious dining choices in their menus to encourage us to eat healthily.

Gone are the days of salt-laden or greasy hawker food, as these hawkers are serving low-calorie food choices and using healthier ingredients such as healthier cooking oils, wholegrains as well as lower-sugar drinks.

For the uninitiated, eating more wholegrains are full of nutrients and aids in reducing the risk of developing chronic diseases such as heart diseases, diabetes and certain cancers. Those who have been feasting during the festive season will be happy to know that wholegrains may help you to manage your weight as they provide bulk to the diet. This promotes the feeling of fullness and helps reduce the risk of overeating!

These healthier meal options will be here to stay, as they are part of the stall’s permanent core menu offerings. Diners can expect various hawker stalls serving different items — from savoury snacks such as toasts or Min Jiang Kueh to the well-loved Hainanese Chicken Rice — to be actively participating in the Healthier Dining Programme.

Here are five different hawker stalls in Singapore that have rolled out wholegrain options in their menu!

XIANG JI HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE

Fans of chicken rice rejoice! You will be happy to know that the renowned Xiang Ji Hainanese Chicken Rice at Haig Road Market & Food Centre has included wholegrains in their rice. Not only will you be opting for a healthier alternative as compared to the usual, white rice chicken rice, but you will also still be able to enjoy this classic Singaporean favourite with less guilt.

The owners behind Xiang Ji have subtly mixed both brown and white rice together, while still managing to retain the familiar, gingery savouriness in the rice. Taste-wise, we were not able to tell much of a difference. Their grains were slightly more chewy, but remain light on the palate!

It was not oily either, and together with their tender chicken, the chicken rice was truly a delightful and filling meal.

Xiang Ji Hainanese Chicken Rice
14 Haig Road
#01-34 Haig Road Market & Cooked Food Centre
Singapore 430014
Tel: +65 9753 5837
Tues to Sun: 8am – 7pm
(Closed on Mondays)
Nearest Station: Paya Lebar

CONGEE DELIGHTS

Serving comfort food, Congee Delights is yet another hawker stall incorporating healthier ingredients in their porridge. The friendly aunty serves two different crowds each day: the health-conscious office crowd who opt for more nutritious brown rice in their porridge and those who go for the normal white rice.

She faithfully cooks up two huge pots of porridge in the morning, one being wholegrain rice, while the other is the usual white rice. This is because she wanted to cater to her growing pool of consumers who are looking for a healthier version of the popular comfort food.  

The best thing about Congee Delights is that you get to order any of her porridges on the menu and opt for your choice of rice base! We preferred the mixture of wholegrain and white rice, as it gave the porridge a much fluffier, nutty taste. It was also thicker and gave us a textural contrast of both different types of grains.

If you’re looking to start incorporating wholegrains into your meals but don’t know how, do give aunty’s mixed porridge a try!

Congee Delights
6 Jalan Bukit Merah
#01-45 ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre
Singapore 150006
Tel: +65 9423 3120
Nearest Station: Queenstown

TIONG BAHRU TEOCHEW KUEH

The famed Tiong Bahru Teochew Kueh should be your next place to visit if you are looking for kuehs that are flavourful, yet healthy. The folks behind this 45-year-old stall meticulously hand make each and every kueh in the morning, making sure to use wholegrains in all of their traditional treats.

Their Png Kueh, Black Bean Kueh and Glutinous Rice are the best sellers. Among all their kuehs, these three kuehs use Temasek Grain fragrant brown rice in their recipes. Temasek Rice is a special breed of wholegrain rice that Tiong Bahru Teochew Kueh uses; not only is it fragrant and sticky, it is also high in dietary fibre – 1 serving of Temasek Rice is said to contain 92 percent of daily wholegrain requirement (source: Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory Limited).

The star of the show is their Glutinous Rice, which among the three speciality kuehs, has the highest percentage of Temasek brown rice used. This allowed the dish to be naturally fragrant, while its savouriness was further enhanced by the use of hae bee (spicy dried shrimps) and pepper. The peanuts were also crunchy, pairing well with the soft rice.

The well-seasoned Png Kueh was also extremely toothsome, as the skin was soft and chewy with just the right amount of thickness. It also contains a generous filling of peanuts and fluffy Temasek brown rice, and the latter stood out — it had a natural fragrance that enhanced the seasoning and flavours in the kueh.

Tiong Bahru Teochew Kueh
30 Seng Poh Road
#02-02 Tiong Bahru Market & Food Centre
Singapore 168898
Tel: +65 9150 9076
Daily: 7:30 – 2pm
Nearest Station: Tiong Bahru

RED BAKE

Introducing Red Bake, a tiny bakery nestled in the bustling Geylang Bahru Market & Food Centre. Here, they serve affordable buns and toasts, and have also adopted the healthy dining programme initiative and included the use of wholegrain flour in a selected range of breads.

Their freshly baked wholegrain breads are usually sold out by early morning, but we managed to snag the last wholegrain piece in their bakery: The Egg Mayo and Ham Toast! We enjoyed how the bread, paired together with the soft mayo, had a comforting, textural mouthfeel. It also had a pleasant, fragrant wheat flavour.

Red Bake
69 Geylang Bahru
#01-56 Geylang Bahru Market & Food Centre
Singapore 330069
Tel: +65 6364 3669
Daily: 6am – 11pm
Nearest Station: Geylang Bahru

TIONG BAHRU MIAN JIAN KUEH

Last but not least, we tried out a crowd-favourite pancake stall, Tiong Bahru Min Jiang Kueh. Here, they serve a variety of different-flavoured pancakes, such as peanut and coconut. The stall owner has also been using wholegrain flour to bake her pancakes, which gives the wholegrain pancake a distinctive colour compared to pancakes baked with normal flour.

We chose the Peanut Min Jiang Kueh with wholegrain flour, which came in a slightly purplish hue. Filled with self-roasted ground peanuts, the pancake was thick and fluffy. It has a crispy crust, while the middle was soft and slightly chewy; it felt as if we were biting into a pillow full of goodness!

We particularly enjoyed her pancakes, which also came in a satisfying portion. Not to mention, her prices were affordable as well! This is definitely a min jiang kueh stall we will be back to visit.

Tiong Bahru Mian Jian Kueh
30 Seng Poh Road
#02-34 Tiong Bahru Market & Food Centre
Singapore 168898
Tel: +65 9834 6495
Weds to Sun: 6am – 2pm
(Closed on Mon & Tues)
Nearest Station: Tiong Bahru

In collaboration with Health Promotion Board, many hawker stalls island-wide have participated in the Healthier Dining Programme: an initiative that encourages store owners to incorporate nutritional ingredients in their menu, so that it becomes much more accessible and pervasive for everyone to consume a healthy meal while dining out.

So, the next time you decide to opt for a healthier option, definitely check these hawker stalls out with these Healthier Dining Programme labels. Tasty food can be healthier too!

This post was brought to you by Health Promotion Board Singapore.

Who loves wolfberries (also known as Goji berries) as I do? I am very familiar with wolfberries because my mom uses it to prepare oriental soups. For her, wolfberries are one of the key ingredients, as they are believed to be beneficial to the eyes, liver and kidney. Moreover, it is a natural sweetener – soups cooked with wolfberries are so much more flavourful. So boy, was I surprised when I found out about ChocGoji – chocolate covered wolfberries. Oh my god.

I love chocolate, and I love having wolfberries in my soup. But I would never have imagined covering wolfberries with chocolate. I think the Chocgoji’s slogan sums it up perfectly: chocolates-coated wolfberry is a match made in heaven.

If you are like me, snacking all the time, why not give ChocGoji a try? They come in three different chocolate coatings; milk chocolate, dark chocolate and sugar-free chocolate.

ChocGoji is the first of a range of nutritious traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) related snack, and honestly, I think it is a brilliant idea. Most people probably do not consume wolfberries on a regular basis, and I find it a shame because it is packed with so many nutritional benefits. For one, it actually contains 50 times more vitamin C per ounce as compared to oranges. Other goodness includes vitamin E, Cyperone and Physalin.

Top 10 Benefits of Goji Berries
1. Inhibits tumor growth and improves disease resistance
2. Powerful anti-oxidant which extends life, and improves the memory
3. Neutralize the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation
4. Help normalize blood pressure and balance blood sugar
5. Stimulates secretion of human growth hormone, to feel and look younger
6. Lowers cholesterol, helps with weight
7. Enhance sexual functions and improves fertility
8. Supports liver, eyes, kidneys and strengthens muscles and bones
9. Relieves insomnia, headaches and alleviates anxiety and stress
10. The “Happy Berry” is known to promote cheerfulness and brightens the spirit

Like mentioned earlier, ChocGoji comes in three different flavours: milk chocolate, dark chocolate and sugar-free chocolate. I love all three of them, and though I will probably be snacking on the sugar-free chocolate at night, I feel that dark chocolate goes particularly well with wolfberries.

I think ChocGoji is a great snack and if you are always on the lookout for healthy snack ideas, the chocolate covered wolfberries are something that you must definitely try,

ChocGoji is available island-wide in all NTUC, NTUC Xpress supermarkets, Cheers convenience stores, OG Departmental Store, Yue Hwa Chinese Products Pte Ltd, Four Seasons Gourmet Market (Marina Bay Link Mall), Cold Storage, Buzz, and SPC.

Folks, you can also go to ChoGoji’s facebook page to redeem a free packet of the delicious and healthy snack.