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?

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.

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