Reduced Priced Food in Singapore

Food in Singapore can be expensive. There is one main reason for this - we live on an island and nearly everything has to be shipped or flown in. International food in Singapore can be VERY expensive. I was browsing the fruit and vegetables in the supermarket of Isetan yesterday and came across 15 strawberries that cost $129.00. Yes, you read that right. $8.60 a strawberry!!! WHAT?! I'm sure they are wonderful strawberries and very special, but there is no way that I would EVER spend $8.60 on one strawberry.

The beautiful strawberries from Isetan

Another example of how expensive it can be here is the cost for a 6 pack of Walkers cheese and onion crisps. In the UK they cost around £2 I think, so about $4. I saw a 6 pack in cold storage the other day and it cost $9.80 - over double the cost of what you would pay in the UK. No Walkers crisps for us while we're living here then!!

A 6 pack of Walkers crisps for $9.80 from Cold Storage I think

When we lived in the UK I would visit the reduced section of supermarkets to see if I could find a bargain. If you look carefully in Singapore you can find food for reduced prices, quite often 50% off, if not more.

I went to Orchard Road today for a wander. I found Isetan supermarket yesterday (a Japanese supermarket I think) and the Sun Moulin bakery next to it is wonderful, they do an amazing French baguette style loaf for about $2.30 - yummy! I'll have to do a blog about the Sun Moulin bakery as it really is amazing. I decided to walk up Orchard Road from here to see what I could see.

I passed the Thai Embassy, went through a shopping arcade where there are multiple tailors, beauty salons and a sex shop. I crossed the road into another mall and found a Jason's The Gourmet Grocer (1, Claymore Drive). This Jason's isn't on the main drag, so isn't as busy as the one in the Ion Orchard shopping mall. I found a number of items that had been reduced, all of which were in the refridgerated section.

The three products I bought today, truffle cream cheese, harissa hummus and organic butter

Each of these items are nearing their sell by date, so you have to be aware that you only have a few days to use these items, although I would be happy to freeze the butter and use it at a later date, that's a personal choice and it's up to you if you want to do that!

Truffle cream cheese

The truffle cream cheese should have been $14.95, but I paid $3.80 for it. It's really tasty too. I wouldn't pay almost $15 for it, but at $3.80 it went very well with my fresh baguette.

Rachel's organic butter

The pack of Rachel's organic butter should have been $8.70. I paid half price for it, so $4.35. I actully bought two of these as we like making shortbread in our house and this will come in handy.

Yumi's fiery Tunisian harissa hummus

This Yumi's fiery Tunisian harissa hummus should have been $9.19. I paid $2.30 for it. As you may be able to see, it has to be eaten by tomorrow. Challenge accepted!!

So for the four items I bought today, two packs of the butter, the hummus and the cream cheese, I should have paid $41.54. I actually paid $14.80. That's a good deal if you ask me!

I was in the same store yesterday and came across a pack of Waitrose organic cheddar cheese. It should have cost $12, but I only paid $6 for it. Cheese here can be very expensive, so I was pleased with that price.

I'm always on the look out for a bargain and I will be going back to this Jason's to see if I can find some more. Do you shop in the reduced price section? What has been your best bargain?

Bugis Area - Thai Express

Last Tuesday I went exploring a new area (to me) in Singapore. I had driven past the Bugis area a few times on the bus and thought it looked interesting. There are a few malls in here as well as some markets where you can buy touristy items. I had a good wander around the whole area and think this is one of my new favourite places to visit. It is a great mix of modern and traditional - there's even a beautiful and busy temple near Bugis Street called Kwan Im Temple. This area is near Arab Street which is another area I love.

I love the mural on this building near Bugis

To get to the Bugis area you can either take East West line MRT to Bugis station (EW12) or the Down Town line MRT to Bugis station (DT14).


After a couple of hours of wandering it was lunchtime and I needed food so I could carry on my exploring. I noticed quite a few of the restaurants in the Bugis Junction mall had special lunchtime deals for set menus. I decided on Thai Expess, somewhere that I hadn't been before.

The Thai Express set lunch menu choices

The restaurant wasn't that busy at 1pm when I arrived. I was seated right away and given my menu. I decided on Set Menu 2 - Sanook Honey Chicken with Rice. The set menu comes with a starter, main and dessert. There is an option to 'Top Up' for an extra $2.00, this gives you a choice or beverage or an additional starter.

Set Menu 2 - Sanook Honey Chicken with Rice

When I ordered I asked for the Set Menu 2 and was asked if I wanted to 'Top Up'. I don't like iced tea - the only two options for a beverage and didn't need an extra starter, so declined. I asked if I could just have a tap water, but was told I couldn't have that, so had to order a mineral water - this was less than $2.00, so wasn't too bad.

Set Menu 2 - Sanook Honey Chicken with Rice consists of:
Honey chicken served with jasmine rice
Tom kha mushroom soup
Sweet potato with ginger slice dessert

The food arrived fairly quickly and I must say it was all delicious!

The soup was a little spicy and had loads of lemon grass floating in it as well as some big pieces of mushrooms. I think the broth for the soup was coconut milk based, yummy!
The main course didn't look that large, but was filling. There wasn't much sauce, but it was still full of flavor. I had to leave some rice as I was getting pretty full and wanted to try the sweet potato dessert. I've never had sweet potato as a dessert and didn't know what to expect. It was ok, although I think I would have preferred the coconut rice and mango dessert I saw advertised on the table.

When I came to pay I was given a water squirt gun to help celebrate the Thai festival of water - Songkran. I'm not too sure what all the business men and women I saw in there were going to do with their squirt guns, but I've given mine to my son.

The set menu I chose was $9.90, the water was $1.80 and then there was a 10% service charge and the usual tax on top of that. In total I think I spent just under $14.00 which for a filling meal in a good atmosphere was well worth it for me.

Have you been to Thai Express? What was your favorite dish?

Fairprice Finest Bishan - Junction 8

You don't have to stick to the wet markets to find a bargain. There are quite a few supermarkets which can be great value for money.

On Monday, on my way home I went through Junction 8 at Bishan where I picked up a couple of things that I needed. To get to Junction 8 you can take the Circle Line MRT (CC15) or the North South Line MRT (NS17). Fairprice Finest is in the basement of Junction 8. They have a great selection of fruit, vegetables, meats and canned goods. It can get very busy and there is usually a long line to check out. For this reason I usually use the self check out.

I only needed a couple of things, so it was a quick in and out.

The first things I picked up were two packs of mushrooms, oyster and shitake.

Bought for a total of $3.10 at Fairprice Finest Junction 8

These two packs were a real bargain. The oyster mushrooms cost $1.10 and the shitake were $2.00. I know in the US these would cost a lot more. I will be using these in a Weight Watchers mushroom risotto later in the week.

Next I bought my new favourite healthy treat - two Thai young coconuts.

Bought for $1.20 each at Fairprice Finest Junction 8

These are delicious! They are in the refrigerated section and my recommendation is that you look for the ones that have already been partially opened which can save you the huge hassle of cracking them open. These only cost $1.20 each. They have wonderful, refreshing coconut water inside, then you can get a spoon and scrape out the insides. Perfect for a warm Singapore afternoon treat!

Young Thai coconut ready to open

All you have to do is pry open the top, either decant the water into a glass, or just put in a straw and drink the water.

Young Thai coconut ready to drink

How do you eat yours?

The lid of the coconut just waiting to be eaten

Holland Village Wet Market

To get to the Holland Village wet market you need to get the Circle line MRT to Holland Village (CC21). Take Exit B, go up the escalator and turn left, walk down Lorong Liput (on your right) where you will see the covered Holland Village Market and Food Centre. The market has one level of food stalls where you can buy cheap meals and drinks. The level below contains a small wet market which is what I will be talking about today.

I went to the Holland Village market on a Monday, which I wouldn't recommend as most of the stalls are closed on a Monday - you live and learn! I knew that most markets are only open until around 1pm, but hadn't realised that a lot of stalls were shut on a Monday. I had gone down to buy some fresh noodles and bean sprouts from the noodle Uncle, but he wasn't there. Never mind, instead I went to a couple of other stalls where I bought some fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers.

When you find a stall that you like the look of, most places will give you a basket where you can put in what you want. Today, as it was so quiet, the Aunty just picked everything for me and gave me her undivided attention. I got some good bargains, but think I over paid for some of the other things.

Bought for $5.30 at Holland Village Market

 I paid $5.30 for two pack of the baby corn, a pack of sugar snap peas, one lemon, a good handful of Italian basil and the bean sprouts - great value!

Bought for $10.00 at Holland Village Market

 I paid $10.00 for two big handfuls of fresh mixed lettuce and the 6 small tomatoes on the vine - not such great value. I won't be buying these again, although they did taste lovely.

I then went to the next door stall and bought three stems of beautiful orchids.

Bought for $3.10 at Holland Village Market

Orchids looking pretty in my Emma Bridgewater milk bottle vase

The purple and red stems cost $1.00 each and the yellow ones cost $1.10  - bargain!


I then went to the last stall where the lovely owner chatted to me, asking if I had been here long as he hadn't seen me there before. I believe that if you get to know the stall owners they will quite often throw in an extra little bit fruit or veg if you're a regular. I bought two avocados here, they were ripe and delicious. They cost $2.10 each. I think they are good value for money.

Bought for $2.10 each at Holland Village Market

 I came home and made a lovely salad which I had for lunch.

Fresh salad made from the spoils from Holland Village Market

I will be back to this wet market as it's not too overwhelming and I think there are some great bargains to be had.

Singapore - the most expensive city in the world?

We have been in Singapore since January 2015 and I have been trying to work out if Singapore really is one of the most expensive city's in the world.

View from our first visit to Singapore in July 2014 - take from the Mandarin Orient Hotel

I'm hoping that this blog will be a guide to help other people, either living or vising this great city, to help them save a little money now and again. It will be a mix of shopping tips, ideas for free or cheap days out and some recipes that I have found that save us money.

I am a stay at home mum to a six year old son. My husband travels a lot for business, so I'm the one who does most of the shopping for every day items. I'm British, but we have spent the last 6 years in the USA, moving to Singapore in January of this year. I love Singapore, especially the public transport system. After 6 years of living in Texas, it's great to be able to take a bus or train, rather than having to drive everywhere.

View from our first 'home' in Singapore January 2014 - Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel

I have always loved saving money and would much rather buy something if it's on sale, rather than spending the full price on it. So far I have found that Singapore can be as expensive as you want it to be. For example I have found that if you look in some of the stores you could pay around $20.00 for a punnet of strawberries - I'm sure they are wonderful strawberries, but I would much rather go to the wet market and buy a punnet for $3.00. Wet markets can be daunting places, but I'm quite happy to try new places to see if I can get good value for money.

Holland Village Wet Market goodies - which cost just over $5.00

I'm still finding my way around Singapore and hope you will come with me on this exciting journey.

Linking into Bloglovin.
<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/13974149/?claim=zg6dxsvw6pj">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>