How much does it really cost to eat like a Singaporean? A comprehensive study reveals the hidden economics of our hawker culture—and why your daily meals might soon cost more.
In the humid buzz of Singapore’s hawker centres, where the clatter of plates mingles with the sizzle of woks and the aroma of char kway teow fills the air, a quiet economic reality is unfolding. The meals that have long defined Singapore’s identity as a food paradise are becoming increasingly expensive, threatening the very affordability that made hawker culture a UNESCO-recognized treasure.
The Institute of Policy Studies has released its second comprehensive study on food prices across Singapore’s eating establishments, painting a detailed picture of what it costs to sustain ourselves in one of the world’s most expensive cities. The findings, based on visits to 829 food establishments across 26 residential neighborhoods, reveal not just numbers on a menu board, but the changing economics of a cultural institution.
The Daily Bread: What Does It Cost to Eat in Singapore?
The headline figure is both simple and sobering: $16.89 per day for three meals eaten at hawker centres, kopitiams, and foodcourts. Multiply that by 30 days, and the average Singaporean spending on eating out reaches $506.70 per month—a substantial portion of household budgets, particularly for lower-income families.
But averages tell only part of the story. The research team, led by IPS research fellow Teo Kay Key, spent months between September 2022 and February 2023 documenting the prices of 18 common food and drink items across the island, from the humble kopi-o to the more substantial chicken chop.
Average Meal Costs by Type
| Meal Type | Average Cost |
|---|---|
| Breakfast | $4.81 |
| Lunch | $6.01 |
| Dinner | $6.20 |
| Daily Total | $16.89 |
| Monthly Total (30 days) | $506.70 |
What emerges is a portrait of breakfast as the great equalizer—the most affordable meal of the day at $4.81—while lunch and dinner command progressively higher prices as portion sizes grow and dish complexity increases.
The Geography of Affordability
Singapore may be small, but food prices vary significantly depending on where you break your fast or grab your lunch. The study found statistically significant price differences across regions for nine out of the 18 items surveyed, challenging the notion that Singapore’s compact size creates price uniformity.
Regional Price Patterns
Central Region: Surprisingly, drinks and chicken chop are cheaper here, defying the expectation that downtown areas always command premium prices.
Northern Neighborhoods: The breakfast set and fishball noodles find their cheapest expressions in estates like Sembawang and Yishun, where rental costs and competitive density create downward pressure on prices.
Western Heartlands: Prata lovers find the best deals in places like Jurong and Bukit Batok, where two pratas—one plain, one egg—average their lowest prices.
Cheapest Meals by Location
Breakfast Champions ($2.00)
- Bukit Panjang (breakfast set)
- Toa Payoh (breakfast set and kopi-o with nasi lemak)
- Jurong West (breakfast set)
Lunch Bargains ($2.00)
- Toa Payoh (kopi-o with nasi lemak)
- Sembawang (iced canned drink with vegetarian beehoon)
Dinner Value ($2.80)
- Jurong East (kopi-o with fishball noodles)
At the other end of the spectrum, certain neighborhoods command significantly higher prices. The most expensive breakfast meal surveyed reached $9.50 in Bishan—kopi with wanton noodles—while Queenstown and Tampines tied for the priciest lunch and dinner at $14.90 each, featuring iced Milo with either chicken briyani or chicken chop.
The Establishment Hierarchy: Where You Eat Matters
Not all eating establishments are created equal, and Singaporeans have long known this intuitively. The Makan Index 2.0 quantifies what our wallets have been telling us: where you choose to eat dramatically affects what you pay.
Price Hierarchy by Establishment Type
| Rank | Establishment Type | Price Level |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Highest) | Foodcourts | Most Expensive |
| 2 | Kopitiams | Mid-Range |
| 3 (Lowest) | Hawker Centres | Cheapest |
This pattern held true for most items surveyed, reflecting the different operating models and cost structures of these establishments. Foodcourts, often located in shopping malls with higher rents and air-conditioning costs, pass these expenses to consumers. Hawker centres, many of which are government-subsidized with controlled rental rates, remain the bastion of affordability.
However, three notable exceptions emerged:
Breakfast Set: Cheapest in hawker centres, but surprisingly cost the same in both kopitiams and foodcourts, suggesting standardized pricing for this popular morning meal.
Vegetarian Beehoon Set: Cheapest in hawker centres, followed by foodcourts, with kopitiams being most expensive—an unusual reversal that may reflect the specialty nature of vegetarian offerings.
Chicken Rice and Economic Rice: Kopitiams offered the best value, followed by hawker centres, with foodcourts charging the most. This suggests that kopitiams, as the traditional home of chicken rice, maintain competitive pricing for their signature dishes.
The Price Spectrum: From Kopi-O to Chicken Chop
Individual food and drink items tell their own stories of value and expense, reflecting both ingredient costs and consumer expectations.
Beverages: The Daily Essential
| Drink | Average Price |
|---|---|
| Kopi-O | $1.09 (cheapest) |
| Iced Milo | $1.81 (most expensive) |
The humble kopi-o remains Singapore’s most affordable beverage, a black coffee that fuels the nation at just over a dollar. Iced Milo, requiring both chocolate malt powder and ice, commands a 66% premium.
Main Dishes: The Affordable and the Aspirational
| Dish | Average Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Two Pratas (plain + egg) | $2.97 | Cheapest main option |
| Economic Beehoon | Under $4.00 | Remains affordable |
| Fishball Noodles | Under $4.00 | Budget-friendly staple |
| Chicken Rice | Variable | Wide price range |
| Wanton Noodles | Variable | Large price variation |
| Chicken Chop | $7.58 | Most expensive surveyed |
The chicken chop, at $7.58 on average, represents Singapore’s Western food aspirations—a breaded or grilled chicken cutlet with sides, commanding more than double the price of traditional local dishes. Yet even humble favorites like chicken rice and wanton noodles show surprising price variability, ranging from budget-friendly versions to premium offerings that can cost $6 or more.
The Innovation Factor: How Hawker Culture is Evolving
One of the study’s most intriguing findings concerns the growing price ranges within traditional dish categories. Economic rice and fishball noodles remain consistently affordable across establishments, but dishes like chicken rice and wanton noodles now exhibit much wider price variations.
The researchers attribute this to “dynamism and innovation in local food culture.” Increasingly, hawker stalls are moving beyond traditional offerings or adding premium twists to common dishes. Chicken rice might come with organic chicken or special heritage breeds. Wanton noodles might feature handmade dumplings or premium alkaline noodles. These innovations attract food enthusiasts willing to pay more, but they also signal a shift in hawker culture from purely functional sustenance to culinary experience.
This evolution is double-edged. It keeps hawker culture relevant and exciting for new generations, but it also risks pricing out the very heartland residents these centres were designed to serve.
The Price Creep: Tracking Increases Over Time
Between the two data collection periods (September-November 2022 and January-February 2023), the research team observed price increases for 13 out of 18 food items—a clear indication of inflationary pressure on food costs.
However, the study offered some reassurance: most stall owners did not increase prices during this period, and among those who did, increases were modest. At the 50 establishments revisited for comparison, average price increases did not exceed 30 cents, with most items rising by less than 10 cents.
Average Price Increases at Revisited Stalls
| Price Increase Range | Frequency |
|---|---|
| No increase | Most common |
| 1-10 cents | Majority of increases |
| 11-30 cents | Small number |
| Above 30 cents | None observed |
This restraint reflects the difficult position many hawker stall owners occupy. They face rising costs for ingredients, utilities, and labor, yet they understand that their customers—often neighbors and regular patrons—have limited budgets. Price increases must be gradual and carefully considered, or risk losing business to competitors just a few stalls away.
The Broader Context: Why Food Prices Matter
The Makan Index 2.0 arrives at a critical moment for Singapore’s economy and society. The report notes several factors putting pressure on food prices:
Global Supply Shocks: The Russia-Ukraine war disrupted grain and fertilizer supplies, rippling through global food markets and raising ingredient costs.
Regional Trade Disruptions: Malaysia’s mid-2022 ban on chicken exports to Singapore sent poultry prices soaring and exposed vulnerabilities in the food supply chain.
Domestic Policy Changes: The increase in goods and services tax added another layer of cost to food businesses and consumers.
Structural Economic Shifts: Rising wages, higher rental costs, and the aging of hawker operators create upward pressure on prices even without external shocks.
Food expenditure represents a significant portion of household budgets. The Department of Statistics’ five-yearly household expenditure survey found that food constituted 20.3% of average household spending in 2017-2018, second only to housing at 28.9%. Critically, more than half of food spending occurred at hawker centres, foodcourts, coffee shops, and similar establishments—underscoring how dependent Singaporeans are on these venues for daily sustenance.
The Future of Affordable Eating
The study’s conclusion is sobering: “The cost of eating out in Singapore is likely to continue to rise relative to individual and household incomes in the future.”
This projection stems from structural realities rather than temporary inflation. Hawker culture emerged in an era of cheaper ingredients, lower wages, and government-subsidized infrastructure. As Singapore has developed into a high-income nation, all these factors have shifted. The question now is whether real wages will increase at similar rates to food costs—and if not, what adjustments Singaporeans will need to make.
The report notes: “While hawker culture in Singapore is an essential and convenient source of hot, delicious meals for Singaporeans, it may no longer be able to remain as cheap relative to other meal options, given the changes in the economic environment.”
This is not merely an economic concern but a cultural one. Hawker centres are where community happens, where elderly residents gather for morning coffee, where office workers decompress over lunch, where families bond over weekend meals. If these spaces become unaffordable or disappear, something intangible but precious would be lost.
What the Numbers Mean for Everyday Life
For perspective, consider a household with two working adults and a child. If each adult spends the average $506.70 monthly on eating out, plus half that amount for the child, the family’s monthly food expenditure reaches approximately $1,267—a figure that would consume a substantial portion of median household income.
Lower-income households face even starker choices. A person earning $2,000 monthly would spend more than a quarter of gross income on eating out at these average prices, before accounting for groceries, utilities, transportation, and housing.
The data suggests strategic eating can yield significant savings. Consistently choosing hawker centres over foodcourts, opting for breakfast sets over à la carte orders, and knowing which neighborhoods offer better value could save hundreds of dollars monthly.
Sample Monthly Savings Strategies
| Strategy | Potential Monthly Savings |
|---|---|
| Hawker centres vs foodcourts (3 meals daily) | $60-90 |
| Budget breakfast options | $30-45 |
| Value-priced neighborhoods | $40-60 |
| Economic rice/beehoon over premium dishes | $50-80 |
| Total Potential Savings | $180-275 |
Conclusion: Preserving a Food Culture
The Makan Index 2.0 does more than catalog prices; it documents a society at an inflection point. Singapore’s hawker culture, recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage, faces economic pressures that threaten its accessibility and sustainability.
Policymakers, hawker operators, and consumers all have roles to play in preserving this culture. Government subsidies, rental controls, and support programs can help keep hawker centres affordable. Operators can balance innovation with accessibility, offering both premium options and budget staples. Consumers can continue patronizing hawker centres, understanding that paying fair prices helps sustain the livelihoods of stall owners.
The numbers in this report are not just statistics—they represent the daily choices and trade-offs that shape how Singaporeans live, work, and connect with one another. As the cost of eating out continues to rise, the challenge is to ensure that hawker culture remains what it has always been: a democratic space where everyone, regardless of income, can enjoy a good meal at a fair price.
In a city that prides itself on food, that would be a worthy goal indeed.
Methodology Note: The Makan Index 2.0 collected data from 829 establishments (92 hawker centres, 101 foodcourts, 636 kopitiams) across 26 residential neighborhoods between September 2022 and February 2023. Prices were recorded at face value without adjusting for quantity or quality differences. The study focused on 18 commonly available food and drink items across breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals.