7 high-calorie snacks for Singaporean New Year

Bak hwa pork, fried rice cakes, prawn cakes, peanut cakes, waffles, pineapple tarts, and honeycomb cookies are 7 popular snacks during Tet in Singapore. You should only eat a maximum of 2-3 pieces per day.

Kong Pun Pun, a nutritionist at Healthify Me, a digital health and wellness company, points out seven high-calorie snacks that are popular during Chinese New Year in Singapore. The dishes are mainly made from starch and contain a lot of carbohydrates, which can increase blood sugar and cause rapid weight gain.

Bak kwa pork

Unlike Vietnamese shredded pork jerky, bak kwa is Chinese-style dried pork, sliced into slices. It is high in fat and has a sweet and salty taste. A 50g piece can contain 250 calories, so Kong recommends not eating more than two pieces a day.

A 50g piece of pork bakkwa can contain 250 calories. Photo: StraitsTimes — A 50g piece of pork bakkwa can contain 250 calories. Photo: *StraitsTimes*

Fried rice cakes

Fried rice cakes are made from deep-fried glutinous rice flour. They are high in sugar and fat, which can cause a spike in blood sugar levels. A 3-ounce piece contains 177 calories, so don’t eat more than one a day.

Shrimp cakes

Two pieces of shrimp cakes, about 43g, can contain up to 120 calories, so do not eat more than 2-3 pieces per day.

You should not eat more than 2-3 pieces of shrimp cake per day. Photo: StraitsTimes — You should not eat more than 2-3 pieces of shrimp cake per day. Photo: *StraitsTimes*

Peanut Puff

These cakes are about the size of two fingers, made from wheat flour and rice flour, coated with ground peanuts, then deep-fried. They contain a lot of fat and sugar. A piece of peanut cake is only 22g but has 116 calories, so experts advise not to eat more than three pieces a day.

Love Letter Waffles

Love Letter waffles have a crispy shell, made mainly from rice flour combined with coconut milk, eggs and caramelized sugar, rolled up to resemble a letter. Since a 30g piece contains 82 calories, you should not eat more than two pieces a day.

A 30g Love Letter waffle contains 82 calories so you should not eat more than two a day. Photo: StraitsTimes — A 30g Love Letter waffle contains 82 calories so you should not eat more than two a day. Photo: *StraitsTimes*

Pineapple tart

Pineapple tarts are high in fat and sugar. A 20g slice can contain 73 calories, so eat no more than two a day.

Honeycomb cookies

Honeycomb biscuits are made entirely of wheat flour, fried crispy and thin. An 18g piece contains 65 calories, and you should only eat two pieces per day.

An 18g piece of honeycomb biscuit contains 65 calories, and you should only eat two pieces a day. Photo: StraitsTimes — An 18g piece of honeycomb biscuit contains 65 calories, and you should only eat two pieces a day. Photo: *StraitsTimes*

To avoid overeating during Tet, experts recommend serving snacks on plates, instead of leaving them in boxes or packages. Using smaller plates is also a way to slow down eating.

Dr Ng Lok Pui, head of preventive care at SingHealth General Clinic, recommends choosing healthier options such as unsweetened wholegrain biscuits, unseasoned oven-baked nuts and fresh fruit. Dr Pui says eating more protein and carbohydrates during the festive season will increase levels of serotonin, a chemical that regulates mood and sleep cycles.

“As a result, after a meal, we often feel very sleepy, or in a so-called ‘food coma’,” said Mr. Ng, adding that the body has to work harder to control the amount of carbohydrates, fats and sugars in meals like “dragon rolls”. In the long term, this will increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Ng Qing Xiang, 26, a traditional Chinese medicine doctor at Eu Yan Sang TCM clinic, agrees, saying that walking for about 20 to 30 minutes after consuming a large meal can help lower blood sugar.

"After consuming a large amount of sugar, the workload of the hormone insulin increases a lot, increasing the possibility of developing diabetes or making the condition worse," she said, advising to eat small but frequent meals to avoid sudden spikes in blood sugar.

According to Dr. Ng, tea can reduce blood sugar levels after eating a large amount of food. Tea contains polysaccharides, which can inhibit enzymes that convert starch into glucose, preventing sudden increases in blood sugar. In addition, jujube tea can aid in the digestion of fat and meat.

Doan Hung (According to StraitsTimes )

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