One pork pau has more calories than a whole bowl of wonton mee soup: 360 against 290. The bowl weighs over four times as much, and it still comes in 70 calories lower.
Where the numbers come from
- Dim sum: the Health Promotion Board's figures, published by the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) on SingHealth HealthXchange. The table lists calories and fat per piece.
- Wonton mee soup, bak chang and the kopitiam bites: measured by KKH and published on HealthXchange.
Pau vs wonton mee soup
| Pork pau | Wonton mee soup | |
|---|---|---|
| Serving | 1 piece, 123.6g | 1 bowl, 545g |
| Calories | 360 | 290 |
| Fat | 16g | 5g |
| Saturated fat | 5.6g | — |
| Protein | not listed | 19g |
| Sodium | not listed | 1,804mg |
Every dim sum piece, ranked
| Per piece | Weight | Calories | Fat | vs a bowl of wonton mee soup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pork pau | 123.6g | 360 | 16g | 124% |
| Lor mai kai | 149g | 322 | 7g | 111% |
| Bak chang | 132g | 276 | 10g | 95% |
| Yam cake, steamed | 133g | 193 | 3g | 67% |
| Spring roll, deep-fried | 22g | 70 | 4g | 24% |
| Chee cheong fun with char siew | 80.5g | 65 | 1g | 22% |
| Siew mai, steamed | 16g | 29 | 1g | 10% |
| Har gow, steamed | 18g | 27 | 1g | 9% |
Two pieces beat the whole bowl: the pork pau and the lor mai kai. Bak chang is close behind.
The maths worth remembering
- 1 pork pau ≈ 13 har gow
- 1 lor mai kai ≈ 11 siew mai
- 1 bowl of wonton mee soup ≈ 11 har gow
"Only because the pau is big?"
It's the opposite. The bowl weighs 545g and the pau 124g. Per 100g, the pau has about 291 calories and the noodle soup about 53, over five times more per bite. Bread dough and fatty filling are dense. Soup is mostly water.
Other bites at the kopitiam (KKH-measured, per piece)
| Bite | Weight | Calories | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roti prata, plain | 70g | 209 | 7g |
| Vegetable samosa | 68g | 206 | 11g |
| Pisang goreng | 65g | 197 | 5g |
| Curry puff | 37g | 131 | 8g |
| You tiao with octopus paste | 18g | 61 | 4g |
The bowl isn't the healthy one either
A bowl of wonton mee soup carries 1,804mg of sodium: 90% of the Health Promotion Board's 2,000mg limit for a whole day. KKH's advice is to leave the soup behind and ask for more vegetables. The dry version is 411 calories (330g), more than the pau.
What to do with this
- Enjoy the pau, but count it as a meal, not a snack before lunch.
- Split it. Half a pork pau is 180 calories; half a lor mai kai is 161.
- Pick the small pieces when you're snacking. KKH says 3 har gow (81 calories) or 3 siew mai (87) make a suitable snack if you're watching your weight. Go easy on the dipping sauce; KKH notes both are high in sodium.
- Lighter buns: KKH lists tuna bun, Japanese-style pancake and vegetable pau as lower-fat choices.
- Bak chang: KKH says to eat it occasionally, because it's high in energy, fat, saturated fat and sodium.
The limits
- The HPB dim sum table lists calories and fat only, so the pau's salt and protein aren't known.
- Every figure is one measured portion. Pau and dumpling sizes vary between shops, so treat these numbers as a guide.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories are in a pork pau?
A 123.6g pork pau has 360 calories and 16g of fat, according to Health Promotion Board figures published by KK Women's and Children's Hospital's dietitians.
Does a pau have more calories than a bowl of noodles?
It can. A pork pau (360 calories) has more than a 545g bowl of wonton mee soup (290 calories), even though the bowl weighs over four times as much.
How many calories are in har gow and siew mai?
About 27 calories per har gow (18g) and 29 per siew mai (16g). KKH says three pieces of either make a suitable snack if you're watching your weight.
How many calories are in lor mai kai?
A 149g lor mai kai has 322 calories and 7g of fat, more than a bowl of wonton mee soup.
What is the lowest-calorie dim sum?
Of the pieces in the HPB table, har gow (27 calories) and siew mai (29) are the lowest per piece, followed by chee cheong fun with char siew (65) and spring roll (70).
Sources
- KKH Department of Nutrition & Dietetics, "Local breakfast choices: is dim sum healthy?", SingHealth HealthXchange (table credited to the Health Promotion Board).
- KKH Department of Nutrition & Dietetics, Chinese hawker food colour-code guides (dim sum & char kway teow; wonton mee), SingHealth HealthXchange.
- KKH colour-code guides for Malay breakfast, Indian breads, and Indian noodles & rice, SingHealth HealthXchange.
- Health Promotion Board (sodium limit).
General information only, not medical or dietary advice.
