Hawker Stations & MSG?

[Caroline in NY]

Do all hawker stations use MSG? And how about local mid to low range restaurants?

[yup]

Yes. You can buy it here, you know, in boxes at the supermarket. 

Really alarming how little awareness there is about it.

[Actually...]

Yes. You can buy it here, you know, in boxes at the supermarket. 

Really alarming how little awareness there is about it.

There are studies on both sides - MSG is bad, MSG is not bad. It really just depends on whether or not your body is sensitive to it, otherwise it's just another ingredient like any other.

OP, you can ask them to please not use "Ajinimoto" and they will oblige.

[TO be fair]

Some hawkers and restuarants proudly display "no msg" signs as others display "no lard, no pork" and "no transfats or reused cooking oil".

You can always ask, sometimes they even understand you!

In general, though, you will see hawkers, during the quieter times of day, sitting out front, chopping onions and chillies, stripping leaves off stalks etc. in a way you never see cheap food vendors in the West doing.

In UK, at least, cheap food means a nasty pizza slice or hotdog which has come straight from the factory and never had a fresh ingredient pass anywhere near it. When it comes to cheap quick food I think Singapore offers the healthier choice all considered. Don't be too scared.

[somewhat agree]

While uk fast food isn't healthy it is healthier than most of the stuff here.

Msg is ubiquitous as well, many use it even when claiming they don't. As for asking for a dish thay doesn't, since a load is spooned out of a big urn, you really believe that?

[HK4ME]

In the UK a doner kebab has fresh onion and salad the same way greasy cholestorol laden bee hoon or laksa stodge here has fresh chillies and onions in it. Dont underestimate just how unhealthy the vast majority of hawker food is here just because it all smells a bit 'exotic'.

At least in the UK there is a vast range of good DIY alternatives that are sadly lacking from the supermarkets here, and what you can get here is vastly overpriced.

[msgintolerant]

Out of curiosity, what side effects have you noticed after eating MSG.  Personally I have experienced:

- dry lips (within one hour)
-  headache (within one hour)
- itchiness
- insomnia

So, the annual Lo Hei lunch is never an event I look forward to...

Just would be interested to hear of any other side effects others get - if any!

[Old Mike]

My wife gets migraines if she eats food with MSG. It took us a long time to realise this, because MSG is in a surprising number of Western prepared foods. Just read the label on the packaging.

[Side affects]

Strange but true - my father gets mouth ulcers if he eats MSG. As with OM's wife, took us a while to work out why he kept getting them, now we know and he avoids (in UK)

[urticaria]

i get hives and lip or eye swelling when i eat food with MSG!

[Reused oil]

I noticed that some pour oil into the wok, bring to boil and return the exess back to the original oil pot before they go on to fry rice or noodle in the wok.  I have heard that oil used in this way causes cancer.

Anyhow, while I occasionally eat in food courts (reluctantly), I am very reluctant to eat at street hawkers because their standards of hygiene are seemingly even lower....

[CaliMom]

I am very sensitive to MSG.  Feel quite faint and numbness and tingling in my fingers  Very unpleasant.  But I love hawker food!  I've found that if I take a Claritin (over the counter allergy pill) as soon as I start to feel symptoms it seems to improve things pretty quickly.  Which is weird, because the FDA in the USA has stated that no one is actually allergic to MSG.  How is this so if the allergy pill fixes my symptoms?

[To CaliMom]

There's a difference between a food allergy and a food sensitivity or intolerance. A food allergy is a severe reaction, for example a swelling of the throat, which can be fatal, or rash, which can be painful. A food intolerance just means that your body has problems metabolizing the food, but it only causes unpleasant symptoms, like wind or headaches, rather than severe ones. Claritin works to control the symptoms of airborne allergens, like pollens, so is best for relieving watery eyes, sneezing, and related sinus and respiratory problems. I don't know why it would help your MSG problem, but if it does, then that's good news for you!