Hainanese chicken rice, satay, tau huay among Singaporeans' favourite national dishes: survey
SINGAPORE — Singaporeans love local hawker food so much that they consider it as an integral part of their daily lives.
The country has even submitted the nomination for its hawker culture to be recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), with more than 1.4 million pledges and over 31,000 written messages supporting the Unesco bid.
A survey covering 50 classic Singaporean dishes by UK-based YouGov released on Thursday (8 August) found that 96 per cent of Singaporeans enjoy their national cuisine. Hainanese chicken rice, satay, popiah, tau huay, and rojak were among the dishes most favoured by the locals.
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In the savoury category, Hainanese chicken rice emerged top with 89 per cent of Singaporeans who have tried the dish saying that they like it. This was followed by satay (87 per cent), char kuay teow (86 per cent), popiah (86 per cent), nasi lemak (84 per cent), and chai tow kway (84 per cent). Roti prata, wanton mee, laksa and otah were also among the top tier of dishes in the category.
Kway chap, lor mee, and frog porridge were at the bottom tier among savoury dishes.
Although 82 per cent of Singaporeans have tried frog porridge, only 50 per cent of those who have tried it say they have a taste for it.
Lor mee was second from bottom, with 63 per cent of those who have tried the noodle dish liking it.
In the sweet category, 84 per cent of Singaporeans who have savoured tau huay like the soft tofu dessert. It was the only dessert in the top tier of the category.
Rojak and kaya toast were in the high tier at 81 per cent and 76 per cent, respectively, followed by chee cheong fun, mee chiang kueh, chendol, pineapple tarts and ondeh-ondeh in the mid tier.
The least favourite sweet items were muah chee, kueh sapit, kueh seri muka and ang ku kueh.
The survey also showed different food preferences by age, race and gender.
For instance, younger Singaporeans (18 to 24 years old) are more likely to enjoy roti prata than older Singaporeans (aged 55 and above), at 96 per cent versus 81 per cent. Older Singaporeans are more likely to savour cheng tng than younger Singaporeans, at 82 per cent versus 45 per cent.
Ang ku kueh, a traditional Chinese dessert, is unsurprisingly more popular amongst Chinese people with 63 per cent liking it, followed by Malays at 55 per cent and Indians at 44 per cent.
Men are also more likely than women to enjoy goreng pisang (71 per cent vs. 65 per cent) and chendol (79 per cent vs. 70 per cent). Conversely, women are more likely to enjoy ondeh ondeh than men (76 per cent vs. 69 per cent).
