The best way to eat economical rice in Singapore

Keppel Corp has dropped below $4.90, City Dev below $7 – what does one eat when feeling poor? The humble economical rice in Singapore of course! My low-budget lunch today is a $3 economy rice lunch from Jin Hua Delicious Economical Rice stall in Ghim Moh market & food centre. Fortunately, eating economically need not mean eating poorly.  Today I will share with you the best way to eat economical rice.

Jin Hua Economical Rice stall at Ghim Moh food centre is a small stall run by a few friendly folks. I find that the food here does not seem like the mass-produced sort that we sometimes find in some places. It has a home-cooked kind of taste. Prices have also been kept low. 2 meat 1 veg for $3 is very reasonable in this day and age. I selected curry vegetables, braised chicken and tofu with minced pork. Eating out of the styrofoam box is the usual (and often the only) way to do it. But whenever possible, it is not the best way to eat economical rice. The secret to eating economical rice at home or the office is a big white plate.

Plating the items separately is probably the nicest way. The meal instantly transforms from humble chai png to tapas small sharing plate dining (at 10 times the price or more)!  But that means a lot of washing up, which may not be very convenient.

The compromise is to transfer all the contents onto a single plate but this does not mean pouring it wholesale onto the plate, the improvement will only be negligible.

It is important to keep all the items separated, but with marginal overlapping. Do not stack food on top of the rice as that will look messy. Leave enough space around the edge of the plate so that it does not look congested. The circular white border frames the food, making it look like a work of art.  If the rice is too much to be confined within the centre of the plate, it should be left out, either for good (which will help reduce calories), or to be introduced onto the plate as the meal progresses. Finally, wipe away any sauce or debris that might have dripped onto the edges of the plate.  It will then look like this:

Simply transferring the contents out of the styrofoam box onto a white plate makes the world of a difference and is the best way to eat economical rice in Singapore. Eating it in this way transforms a humble $3 styrofoam box lunch to something so much nicer. By the way, the tofu with the minced pork topping is very good. Thank goodness for economical rice in Singapore in times like this!

Jin Hua Economical Rice
Ghim Moh Market and Food Centre
Block 20 Ghim Moh Road
Singapore 270020