While the meals served at the new hybrid canteen at Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) have drawn criticism this month, one Singaporean mother has come under the spotlight for her nutritious homemade bentos.
For years, Tan Siok Koon, 47, has been posting photos of the home-cooked meals that she prepares for her daughter on Facebook.
While she does not have a fixed budget for her bentos, Siok Koon recently challenged herself to prepare lunch boxes with a $3.60 budget to match prices under the central kitchen meal model, which was rolled out in 13 schools in January.
Speaking to AsiaOne on Monday (Jan 19), the home-based baking business owner shared that she saw online comments saying people should not expect a gourmet meal from a $3 budget, so she decided to prove them otherwise.
In a recent Facebook post, Siok Koon showed the cost breakdown of a bento:
- Stir-fried Shanghai green with shiitake mushrooms – $0.90
- Sliced cucumbers – $0.10
- 150 grams of brown and white rice – $0.20
- 60 grams of egg – $0.37
- Luncheon meat and potatoes with purple onion and frozen mixed vegetables – $1.70
These added up to $3.47, with a $0.20 container factored in.
As a parent, Siok Koon is unimpressed by the offerings from the new hybrid canteen model.
“Growing kids up to 18 years old need carbohydrates, but they need even more protein, vitamins, minerals and fibre,” she explained, adding that vendors should follow the My Healthy Plate guide created by the Health Promotion Board.
It was designed to encourage people to adopt healthier eating habits by dividing the plate into three portions: A quarter plate of wholegrains, a quarter plate of protein, and half a plate of fruits and vegetables.
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Siok Koon also suggested that vendors include heritage foods in bento boxes so that children can learn more about Singapore’s food culture.
“But I think, as long as these bentos are driven by profit, it will be tough to feed the kids well unless prices go up,” she said.
According to her, the new system erodes the “precious relationship” between stall vendors and students
“In primary school especially, forgetting one’s allowance is common. From my own experience to my daughter’s, we’ve both encountered kindness from stall vendors who say, ‘Never mind, pay tomorrow,’ or ‘Never mind if you’re short of 10 cents’.
“These gestures set examples for students and bring warmth to stressful days,” Siok Koon said.
Even though her daughter gets a healthy, hearty bento lunch every day, Siok Koon still encourages her to patronise the canteen stalls because it teaches an important life skill.
“My daughter has relationships with almost all the vendors, and she talks to me about them, about their food,” she shared.
Challenging, but worth it
While Siok Koon has been making bentos for her daughter for years, she did not initially intend to do so.
“When my daughter started Primary 1 in 2018, I didn’t plan to pack bentos for her. She bought canteen food during recess in school and found it delicious,” she said.
“I even balked when my mummy friends shared how much they were paying for leak-proof lunch boxes.”
But when Siok Koon saw her daughter — who has a blood condition called thalassemia minor — eat chicken rice every day in school for two weeks, she decided to take her child’s nutrition into her own hands.
Despite running her own business and taking care of the family, Siok Koon has prepared bento lunches for her child nearly every day.
“It definitely has its difficulties and challenges. If I don’t pack her bento, I get an additional hour of sleep,” the mum shared.
She also pointed out that the logistics of preparing the ingredients and planning varied menus can be hard, especially when all of this is done on top of her daily responsibilities.
‘Cookhouse’ and ‘prison’ food
Over the past few weeks, the meals served by the new hybrid canteen model at HCI have stirred controversy online.
The bentos consisted of rice as well as sides of vegetables and/or meat, plated in turquoise-coloured trays.
Apart from comparing the food to cookhouse meals, several netizens also said they looked like prison food.
In response to the criticism, HCI is working with Sats to refine bento meals, recipes and food presentation, said principal Lee Peck Ping on Jan 15.
They are also exploring the idea of an on-site kitchen to shorten the time from cooking to service, enhance food standards and improve quality control.
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