From fragrant, savoury bak kwa to buttery, flaky pineapple tarts, Chinese New Year treats probably contain more calories than you think.
In fact, most of these bite-sized snacks are more calorific than a bowl of white rice. We discovered just how many calories each snack contains. It’s not to spoil your fun, it’s so you can enjoy the festivities and balance your family’s health at the same time. We know you care, so we do too.
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Yikes! Putting this into numbers, a standard bowl of white rice has 280 calories. This means it would take a 55kg woman close to 30 minutes of non-stop jogging to burn it off.
Check out the calorie count of your favourite festive snacks – so you can choose to snack wisely and care better for your family’s health this CNY:
Eating just one slice o deliciously savoury Bak Kwa will take you two hours and 15 minutes of walking to burn off. Well, since taxis are hard to find at CNY time, maybe you can walk to some of your festive gatherings?
Per serving (1 slice): 370 calories
Expect your blood sugar to spike when you eat kueh lapis. This traditional layer cake contains copious amounts of butter, flour and sugar. It’s best enjoyed in small slices. Luckily it freezes well, wrapped in foil or sealed in a container. So you can always store some of the cake in the freezer to enjoy later.
Per serving (2 slices): 475 calories
Relish every bite of this crumbly, nutty treat because you’ll probably be thinking about how to work it off later.
Per serving (6 pieces): 306 calories
Pineapple tarts are laden with sugar – each serving of tart contains a whopping 14 teaspoons of sugar, used to caramelize the pineapples into jam. That’s more sugar than in a can of cola (330ml).
Per serving (4 pieces): 373 calories
These crispy and spicy shrimp rolls are deep fried, making them high in saturated fat which can increase your bad low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels.
Per serving (14 pieces): 319 calories
Exercise portion control – this snack usually comes in packets weighing 80 to 100g. Share this treat with your friends and family so you won’t overindulge.
Per serving (80g): 339 calories
This sticky, chewy candy contains rock sugar – lots of it. It’s all about eating in moderation.
Per serving (2 pieces): 436 calories
These seemingly small and innocent cookies are so sinful so don’t go too crazy when it comes to munching on them in front of the TV.
Per piece: 82.8 calories
You might think that green peas are healthy but these sweet treats are actually terrible for your waistline. Oh, and they don’t count towards your 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day ok?
Per piece: 53.33 calories
Love letters are not only pretty to look at, they also taste amazing. Guess what else? They’re loaded with extra calories. You’re gonna need a letter from your doctor after devouring these over CNY.
Per piece: 112 calories
You know how the saying goes… a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips! That rings true for kueh bangkit too, unfortunately. These tapioca treats are loaded with sugar but when compared with other snacks on this list, it’s might be the best “bad” biscuit these is.
Per piece: 15 calories
Nian Gao is a popular staple every Chinese New Year but the calorie count makes us shudder with fear.
Per serving (1 two-cm slice): 482 calories
Think nuts are the healthy alternative? Think again. Anything more than a handful of nutty goodness isn’t that great for your caloric intake and could cause your waistline to balloon.
Per serving (16 nuts): 55 calories
Fluffy, light and laden with calories! Don’t be fooled by these heavenly gems because they pack a calorific punch and once you start munching on one, you know you can’t stop. Best to leave them in their container this year ya?
Per piece: 33 calories
Yes, we know mandarin oranges are a CNY staple and you need to have them around for good luck. That doesn’t mean you actually have to eat them though cause while fruit contains natural sugars, it’s still sugar at the end of the day.
Per serving (1 orange): 50 calories
Text: Jillian See, Shape & Natalya Molok. This post was updated on January 9, 2020.