Hawker meals under 500 calories in Malaysia and Singapore

These dishes come in under 500 kcal for one typical serving. You can find most of them at hawker centres, kopitiams and food courts in both Malaysia and Singapore.

Dish	Calories	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Idli sambar2 idli with 1 bowl of sambar	250 kcal	10 g	43 g	5 g
Roti canai1 piece, plain (kosong), without curry	300 kcal	6 g	42 g	12 g
Masala dosa1 dosa with potato filling	350 kcal	8 g	50 g	13 g
Wonton noodle soup1 small bowl with 4 wontons, noodles and broth	360 kcal	20 g	46 g	11 g
Penang assam laksa1 bowl with prawn paste	380 kcal	18 g	70 g	3 g
Bak kut teh1 bowl of pork ribs and soup, without rice	400 kcal	30 g	8 g	27 g
Wantan mee1 plate, dry style with char siu and wantan	420 kcal	20 g	56 g	13 g
Fish ball noodles1 bowl, dry, with fish balls and fish cake	450 kcal	18 g	59 g	14 g
Fried carrot cake (chai tow kway)1 plate, white version, fried with egg	470 kcal	12 g	42 g	28 g

Read the serving for each dish before you compare. Bak kut teh is counted without rice. In the MOH list, each scoop of white rice (76 g) adds about 100 kcal. Roti canai is one plain piece, so two pieces come to about 600 kcal before any curry.

Some of the best-loved plates go over the line. They are not off limits. Knowing them helps you plan the rest of your day.

Dish	Calories	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Nasi lemak1 plate with egg, sambal, ikan bilis and peanuts	500 kcal	15 g	62 g	21 g
Kaya toast1 set: 1 portion of kaya butter toast and 2 soft-boiled eggs, no drink	510 kcal	18 g	41 g	30 g
Bak chor mee1 bowl, dry (mee pok), with minced pork and meatballs	510 kcal	20 g	57 g	23 g
Curry laksa1 bowl	550 kcal	22 g	52 g	28 g
Hainanese chicken rice1 plate with steamed chicken, chicken rice, chilli and ginger	560 kcal	28 g	80 g	14 g
Satay10 chicken sticks with peanut sauce	560 kcal	42 g	22 g	34 g
Mee goreng mamak1 plate	580 kcal	18 g	75 g	23 g
Hokkien prawn mee1 plate with prawns, squid, egg, sambal and lime	650 kcal	24 g	59 g	35 g
Char kway teow1 hawker plate with egg, prawns and cockles	740 kcal	23 g	76 g	38 g
Nasi kandar1 plate with fried chicken, mixed curry gravy and vegetables	800 kcal	32 g	95 g	33 g

Nasi lemak sits right at the line, at about 500 kcal with egg, sambal, ikan bilis and peanuts. Chicken rice is close too, at about 560 kcal, because the rice is cooked in chicken fat and stock. The heaviest plates here are char kway teow at about 740 kcal and nasi kandar with fried chicken at about 800 kcal.

Two dishes can look alike and still be far apart. These are the usual reasons.

• Coconut milk in the soup. Curry laksa is cooked in a coconut curry soup and has about 550 kcal. Penang assam laksa uses a sour fish and tamarind soup and has about 380 kcal.
• Lots of oil or lard in the wok. Char kway teow has about 38 g of fat per plate. A plate of dry wantan mee has about 13 g.
• Extra carbs. Rice on the side of a soup, a second roti or a bigger portion of noodles adds up fast. Each scoop of white rice is about 100 kcal in the MOH list.
• Fried sides. Fried wantan, fried tofu puffs and you tiao all add fat to a meal that was light on its own.
• A sweet drink. A Milo ais adds about 230 kcal. That alone can take a 400 kcal meal past 500.

Most people order a drink with the meal. Here is what some common pairs add up to.

To keep the meal under 500 kcal, make the drink light. In the MOH list, a cup of teh O (200 ml) has 20 kcal and a cup of kopi O with 1 teaspoon of sugar has 37 kcal. Ask for kosong for no sugar, or kurang manis for less. Our kopitiam drinks guide explains the other order words.

Yong tau foo can be one of the lightest hawker meals, but it depends on what you pick. Boiled pieces are small. Fried pieces and a big serving of noodles add up.

The two bowls at the bottom show the range. A bowl of mixed items is about 310 kcal, while a full 400 g set is about 540 kcal. Pick mostly boiled vegetables and tofu, have them in clear soup, and add noodles or rice as a separate item you count.

1. Start with a dish from the first table, such as assam laksa, wonton noodle soup or wantan mee.
2. Choose a clear or sour soup over a coconut milk soup.
3. Ask for more vegetables and fewer noodles, or nasi sikit (less rice).
4. Pick boiled, steamed or soup sides over fried ones. Skip the fried wantan and the you tiao.
5. Order your drink kosong or kurang manis, or have plain water.
6. Share the big plates. Char kway teow and satay are easy to split between two people.

Take a photo of your tray before you eat. Nibbs recognises Malaysian and Asian dishes such as laksa, wantan mee and char kway teow, and it splits a mixed plate into each item. It uses local portion sizes, so a hawker bowl is counted as a hawker bowl.

You can also type what you ate, for example "assam laksa and kopi O kosong". Check each item and portion, edit anything that looks wrong, and save. Your favourite stall order can become a saved food, so you can log it again with one tap.

For more dishes, see our dish calorie pages or the guide to tracking calories when you eat out.