Like Tree73Likes

Groceries!

Closed Thread
Page 2 of 10 FirstFirst 1 2 3 4 5 ... LastLast
  1. #11

    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Posts
    1,015

    Elliee, try arithmetic. 100 per day X 30 days = 3000. Easy, eh? And since some months have even more days...and one cup of Starbucks will cost 25 or more, and the daily paper 8, and the cold cola in the afternoon 10...i can assure you that the arithmetic does not lie. Spend HK$100 per day just walking around, very easy.

    TheBrit and dear giant like this.

  2. #12

    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    383
    Quote Originally Posted by jobin:
    Elliee, try arithmetic. 100 per day X 30 days = 3000. Easy, eh? And since some months have even more days...and one cup of Starbucks will cost 25 or more, and the daily paper 8, and the cold cola in the afternoon 10...i can assure you that the arithmetic does not lie. Spend HK$100 per day just walking around, very easy.
    Hey assh@t, guess what, I can count. I didn't say that I only spend 100/ day every single day (hence the 3k-4k RANGE). I said that 100 is possible without hardship/ starving or depriving yourself. I DID say that "expensive coffee" (a la Starbucks) was EXCLUDED from my food budget calculation, I DID say that the 100 was not to cover all expenses (so no newspapers or other non-food incidentals are included), ONLY FOOD. A can of cola doesn't cost 10 dollars anywhere that I've seen it (but I don't drink soda so not really included in my equation).

    OP: I typically eat a piece of fruit and some yogurt and maybe a slice of toast at home for breakfast. Lunch, local place or lunch special at a restaurant around Central, dinner typically cooked at home, generally includes a meat, pasta or potato and vegetable. As noted, I generally spend 3 - 4k per month in total on food, which I still believe is a reliable estimate.

  3. #13

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    13,099
    Quote Originally Posted by elliee:
    Hey assh@t, guess what, I can count. I didn't say that I only spend 100/ day every single day (hence the 3k-4k RANGE).
    You have to forgive him and his ilk for their ignorance and short sightedness.

    You can clearly see from his quote "You will have a difficult time surviving in HK, as a western person," that he belongs to the group of people that cant accept the adage "when in rome..." who's belief can typically be summarized as follows:
    Western people:
    - cant live north of the 22 Degrees 18 minutes line
    - cant eat local diet, local produce and local meat
    - cant drink local water
    - cant go to local schools
    - cant go to local hairdressers
    - cant go to local doctors
    - cant go to local hospitals (except Matilda and Adventist)
    and many many more.

    If you value your sanity and wallet, best to avoid such people
    cw1483 likes this.

  4. #14

    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Wanchai
    Posts
    5,063
    Quote Originally Posted by elliee:
    Hey assh@t, guess what, I can count. I didn't say that I only spend 100/ day every single day (hence the 3k-4k RANGE). I said that 100 is possible without hardship/ starving or depriving yourself. I DID say that "expensive coffee" (a la Starbucks) was EXCLUDED from my food budget calculation, I DID say that the 100 was not to cover all expenses (so no newspapers or other non-food incidentals are included), ONLY FOOD. A can of cola doesn't cost 10 dollars anywhere that I've seen it (but I don't drink soda so not really included in my equation).

    OP: I typically eat a piece of fruit and some yogurt and maybe a slice of toast at home for breakfast. Lunch, local place or lunch special at a restaurant around Central, dinner typically cooked at home, generally includes a meat, pasta or potato and vegetable. As noted, I generally spend 3 - 4k per month in total on food, which I still believe is a reliable estimate.
    Excuse the pedant in me but you are agreeing with Jobin. 3-4k per month is, on average, $100 per day. Jobin said it would be a struggle on less than $100 a day not less than $100 every day.
    dear giant likes this.

  5. #15

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Gold Coast Marina
    Posts
    17,934

    I do think that it would be a struggle to survive on $100 a day for all food, but if you just mean groceries (ie stuff you buy for breakfast and dinner some nights a week, eating out for lunch as most people do in the office) then it's fine.

    For me a typical day would be - breakfast is a piece of toast or cereal (so less than $10); lunch is purchased in Great foodhall, normally HKD40-80 incl a bottle of soda depending on which of the specials I choose, all "western"; dinner is a box curry from M&S + rice + salad (about HKD80 I guess). So that would be circa HKD130-160. If you add another bottle of pop/water/coffee; an afternoon snack (even a piece of fruit); eating out in any restaurants ever, then it all adds up.


  6. #16

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    13,099
    Quote Originally Posted by MovingIn07:
    I do think that it would be a struggle to survive on $100 a day for all food, but if you just mean groceries (ie stuff you buy for breakfast and dinner some nights a week, eating out for lunch as most people do in the office) then it's fine.
    Its only a struggle if you keep western eating patterns . If you follow typical local style diet, its very doable. I look at M&S as western..Local would be to go to the chopshop for CharSiuFaan + salty egg for around $30-$35

    For me:
    Bfast == Toast and cheese or noodles or leftovers ie: cheap
    Lunch == Bring from home or get take out box : under $30
    Dinner == Most nights its home cooked asian style (Rice + veg with small amount of meat). Typically well under $50 per person.

    Some nights we do like to go out and blow the budget completely out of proportion (eg : visited Strip a couple of days ago) but thats an exception with most days being under $100
    Last edited by HowardCoombs; 18-06-2012 at 03:03 PM. Reason: fix sp
    cw1483 likes this.

  7. #17

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Gold Coast Marina
    Posts
    17,934

    Except that the OP did not actually ask "is 100 a day doable" they asked what a reasonable amount was to budget. So, at the "budget end", 100 a day might work. But "reasonable" accounts for a wider range, imho, including a person wanting to eat western! Nothing wrong with that. You can eat "western" pretty cheaply if you choose the right places, or spend an absolute fortune.

    I, for one, NEVER venture inside Citisuper, but if that's your idea of a grocery score, 100HKD a day aint gonna work


  8. #18

    What is a 'western' diet anyway, in terms of cost that could be pasta with some tomato based sauce topped with cheese (cheap) or it could be a huge prime bit of steak with some leafy salad (more pricey).

    As a couple we spend around 3k, I don't feel like we are frugal either but we don't particularly buy organic or eat that much meat (but the meat we do buy is near enough always imported). That doesn't cover our dinners out but I do make our lunches from leftovers as we find it healthier and sometimes just tastier. We don't strictly eat 'western' food, we eat whatever looks and smells good.


  9. #19

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    13,099
    Quote Originally Posted by MovingIn07:
    Except that the OP did not actually ask "is 100 a day doable"...
    Oh, yea, forgot about the OP who asked for
    "I generally eat pretty healthy choices (not a strictly whole foods or organic girl) but I definitely enjoy great veg, fruits, whole grain breads and low fat dairy. "

    That is definitely not a local diet and $100 probably wont cut it...
    dear giant and MovingIn07 like this.

  10. #20

    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Ap Lei Chau
    Posts
    97

    If you cook at home, make salads and use veggies a lot, homegrown foods delivers local and organic produce and is very affordable. I get the pre-selected regular box for my family of four and rarely have to go to the store to get more produce since it covers the weekly basics plus in season surprises like pumpkins, strawberries, star fruit, figs or other local fruits and vegetables.

    dear giant likes this.

Closed Thread
Page 2 of 10 FirstFirst 1 2 3 4 5 ... LastLast