who wouldn't want the heathier alternative?

i refer to this article which says that the health ministry is going to launch a programme to get hawkers to use heathier ingredients in their cooking.

i may be ignorant, but i didn't know that we could ask for healthier alternatives when ordering our food at hawker centers. i mean, i knew i had the right to request for extra chilli or requesting not to have pork liver or cockles. but asking for low saturated fat?

how many hawkers would even bat an eyelid to your requests for special 'heathier' alternative ingredients?

just look at our type of 'singapore' food: laksa, chicken rice, char kway teow.

would switching to low-fat saturated oils make a difference? in taste or in authenticity?

also, doesn't it boil down to cost of ingredients? i've heard of hawkers buying very cheap low-grade cooking oils and ingredients, just so their profit margins are bigger.

'cheaper' ingredients and 'heathier' ingredients don't seem to complement each other in terms of hawker economics.

so what if i want my 'heathier' char kway teow? will the hawker accede to my request? at what expense (if any)?

then let's look at the first paragraph of the article:

"Half of all Singaporeans will likely benefit from eating healthier hawker fare, if it's prepared using low-fat saturated oils and condensed milk. "

i'm sure the consumer would welcome the heathier choice. but would the hawker be prepared?

how is the health ministry tacking this? there's no use in encouraging singaporeans to eat healthy when the costs of ingredients remains high.