Snacks & Kuih

How Many Calories in Kuih Badak Berendam?

A soft glutinous rice ball stuffed with gula melaka and coconut, sitting in a pool of warm coconut milk santan.

100kcal / 1 piece (ball in santan)
Each piece of Kuih Badak Berendam comes in at 100 calories per ball (about 45g including the santan). That is not a lot on paper, but the calories stack fast because nobody eats just one. The glutinous dough accounts for 47 of those calories, the gula melaka and coconut filling adds 30, and the santan gravy sitting underneath contributes the last 23. So roughly 40% of the damage is from the sweet coconut sauce, which you are definitely spooning up.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 piece (ball in santan) (45g)AmountPer 100g
Calories100 kcal222 kcal
Protein1 g2 g
Carbs16 g36 g
Fat4 g9 g

Where the calories come from

Glutinous rice dough (cooked ball)20g
47 kcal
Gula melaka + grated coconut filling12g
30 kcal
Coconut milk santan (absorbed/poured)13g
23 kcal

The real talk

Kuih Badak Berendam is 100 calories a ball, which sounds harmless until you realise you just had four of them without thinking. The glutinous rice dough is dense with carbs (47 calories in just 20g of cooked dough), the gula melaka and coconut filling adds another 30 calories of pure sugar and fat, and then there is the santan pooled at the bottom that you are going to spoon up anyway. It is the kind of kuih that feels light because it is small, but the calorie density is actually pretty high for its size. If you are a regular kuih snacker, this is worth knowing about.

What changes the numbers most is the santan. A thin, diluted coconut milk sauce puts you at 80 calories per piece. A thick, festival-grade coconut cream version pushes you to 130. That is a 60% swing from the same basic kuih, just from how the gravy was made. The filling matters too: more gula melaka means more calories, obviously, but the coconut in the filling also carries fat. Nobody is saying avoid this lah, it is a genuinely good kuih. But if you are tracking, count the santan separately because that is where the invisible calories live.

Kuih Badak Berendam variants, ranked by calories

VariantCaloriesNotes
Plain glutinous ball, thin santan80 kcalSmaller ball, less sweet filling, diluted coconut milk sauce
Standard (gula melaka filling, full santan)100 kcalTypical hawker serving with coconut sugar filling and rich santan gravy
Extra-rich version (thick santan, larger ball)130 kcalHomemade or festival version with thicker coconut cream sauce and heavier filling

How to eat it lighter

Common questions

How many calories in Kuih Badak Berendam?
One piece is 100 calories for a 45g serving, which includes the glutinous ball, gula melaka filling, and the coconut milk santan. Eat three and you are at 300 calories from a snack that takes about 90 seconds to finish.
Is Kuih Badak Berendam fattening?
Not if you stick to one or two pieces. The problem is the santan gravy: thick coconut milk is calorie-dense and it is very easy to slurp up extra without realising. The balls themselves are not huge, but the sauce is where the calories quietly add up.
Can I eat kuih like this and still lose weight?
Yes, but portion control is real. Two pieces is 200 calories, which is totally manageable if you count it into your day. The issue is kuih are small and sweet, so your brain does not register them as a proper snack. Track them the same way you would track anything else.

Related foods

See all Snacks & Kuih calories, ranked →

Calorie and macro figures are estimates for a typical hawker or kopitiam serving. Actual numbers vary by stall, recipe and portion size. Use them as a guide, not gospel.

New to all this? Read how I went from 128kg to 86kg without cutting rice →

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