Prices obtained from stalls listed above, accurate as of 10 Feb 2020. Subject to changes.
Given how price-sensitive Singapore consumers can be (especially when it comes to hawker food), hawkers are unwilling to increase prices despite their increasingly thin profit margins due to a combination of rising food cost and salaries for workers. Thus, resulting in affordable – some might even say ‘cheap’ – meal options typically ranging between S$3 to S$7. Of course, these costs vary based on food items. For instance, chicken rice will typically be pricier than a meatless meal, like chwee kueh (water rice cakes).
Thus, for fair comparison’s sake, the cost of 3 everyday hawker dishes that can also be found in restaurants or prepared at home have been averaged. Of the 3 meals, nasi lemak turned out the most expensive, presumably because of the number of ingredients it contains.