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Calories · Malaysian & Singaporean

Calories in economy rice (cai png)

A typical restaurant serving of economy rice (cai png) (one plate of economy rice: white rice with two vegetable dishes and one meat dish, about 743 g) is about 850 calories, usually 680–1,100.

Restaurant portions vary; this is a typical estimate, not a label. Also called cai png, chap chye png, mixed rice, economic rice, cai fan.

~850
Economy rice (cai png)

The usual range

Drawn on one 0–2,000 scale shared by every dish page, so plates compare at a glance.

Protein, carbs and fat

  • Protein39 g
  • Carbs75 g
  • Fat41 g

One serving

Serving
one plate of economy rice: white rice with two vegetable dishes and one meat dish
Weight
~743 g
Per 100 g
~115

The dish

About economy rice (cai png)

Economy rice, cai png or mixed rice, is the point-and-pick stall: a mound of white rice with whatever you choose from a dozen trays of vegetables, meats, tofu and fish, often with curry gravy poured over. The classic order, two vegetables and one meat, lands near 850. Numbers from Singapore’s Health Promotion Board, built from its lab-analysed dishes for typical economy rice plates of 488 to 906 g.

Ways it comes

One dish, a few numbers

Economy rice (cai png) · rough numbers

  • One vegetable, one meat~680
  • Two meats, one of them fried~870
  • Two vegetables, two meats~1,100

What moves the number

Why one plate is 680 and another 1,100

  • Fried dishes: sweet and sour pork, fried chicken, fried fish
  • Curry gravy ladled over the rice
  • How much rice the stall scoops
  • A second meat dish

Ordering lighter

If you want a lighter plate

  • Pick one steamed or braised meat, not fried
  • Ask for no curry gravy on the rice
  • Ask for less rice and an extra vegetable

Side by side

Next to other Malaysian & Singaporean dishes

Malaysian & Singaporean · typical restaurant servingAll about Malaysian & Singaporean food →

  • Teh tarik~100one medium cup (200 ml) of hot teh tarik with condensed and evaporated milk · usually 50–150
  • Kopi~190one regular cup (250 ml) of kopi: local coffee with condensed and evaporated milk · usually 30–240
  • Popiah~210one fresh popiah roll filled with braised turnip, egg, Chinese sausage and sweet sauce · usually 170–300
  • Ice kachang~270one bowl of ice kachang: shaved ice over red beans, sweet corn, jelly and attap seeds, with syrups and gula melaka · usually 200–450
  • Chicken satay~290ten sticks of grilled chicken, peanut sauce, rice cakes and cucumber not included · usually 200–550
  • Chili crab~330a quarter of a Singapore chilli crab with its egg-and-chilli gravy, no buns · usually 250–750
  • Cendol~340one bowl of chendol: green rice-flour jelly, red beans and shaved ice in coconut milk and gula melaka · usually 250–500
  • Kaya toast~380one order of kaya butter toast: thin toasted bread sandwiched with kaya and a slab of cold butter · usually 300–710
  • Roti canai~420two plain pieces, curry not included · usually 330–600
  • Prawn mee~470one hawker bowl of prawn noodle soup with whole prawns, lean pork, fishcake and kangkong · usually 380–650
  • Bak kut teh~480one bowl of Singapore-style peppery pork rib soup with a bowl of rice · usually 220–1,000
  • Nasi lemak~490one basic plate with coconut rice, egg, anchovies, peanuts and sambal · usually 400–900

In PlateDiary

A rough number for the dishes you save — only if you want one.

Off unless you turn them on

Calories in PlateDiary are off unless you turn them on. Switch them on and, when PlateDiary AI reads your photo of the table, each dish gets one rough “~” number. Accept it or change it; a number you correct is remembered for that dish. With Calories off, the app looks exactly as it did before.

A read sends small pictures of the cut-out dishes, with the place's name as a hint — never the table photo, faces or your location. Calorie numbers never go to analytics, and nothing is written to a health app. PlateDiary AI starts with free tries; here is how it works.

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How these numbers were made

Method and sources

Last reviewed

Restaurant portions and cooking vary, so these are typical estimates for one serving, built from the sources below. Treat it as a rough number: your plate may land anywhere in the range.

If you manage a health condition, ask a doctor or registered dietitian.

AI helped draft this page; every number was checked against the sources.

  1. Singapore Food Insights Database (SG FoodID, Health Promotion Board) — Economic rice (2 vegetables, 1 meat), F05100041: 1 plate = 743 g (derived, 2026)
  2. Singapore Food Insights Database (SG FoodID, Health Promotion Board) — Economic rice (1 vegetable, 1 meat), F05100032: 1 plate = 553 g (derived, 2026)
  3. Singapore Food Insights Database (SG FoodID, Health Promotion Board) — Economic rice (2 meats (1 fried)), F05100036: 1 plate = 488 g (derived, 2026)
  4. Singapore Food Insights Database (SG FoodID, Health Promotion Board) — Economic rice (2 vegetables, 2 meats), F05100042: 1 plate = 906 g (derived, 2026)

Questions

Questions people ask.

How many calories are in economy rice (cai png)?

A typical restaurant serving of economy rice (cai png) (one plate of economy rice: white rice with two vegetable dishes and one meat dish, about 743 g) is about 850 calories, usually 680–1,100. The number depends mostly on the portion and how it is cooked.

How many calories in economy rice?

About 850 for two vegetables and one meat, and about 680 for one vegetable and one meat.

How many calories in cai png with two meats?

About 870 for two meats with one of them fried, and about 1,100 for two vegetables and two meats.

How do I make economy rice lighter?

Pick steamed fish or braised tofu over fried meat, skip the curry gravy, and ask for less rice.

What changes the calories in economy rice (cai png)?

Fried dishes: sweet and sour pork, fried chicken, fried fish. Curry gravy ladled over the rice.

How can I order economy rice (cai png) lighter?

Pick one steamed or braised meat, not fried. Ask for no curry gravy on the rice.

Can PlateDiary show calories for the dishes I eat out?

Yes, if you want it to: calories in PlateDiary are off unless you turn them on. Switch them on and each dish you save from a photo of the table gets one rough “~” number you can accept or change.