Everyday items to bring from the US to Singapore

[HogHollow]

Oh, great to hear that they have Horizon at Tanglin Marketplace!

S$12 per half gallon is a little steep. I think I was paying $9 US for the 2% gallon jug at my Vons in LA, so it's about twice the price here in Singapore.

Also good reference to know that low fat milk in Singapore is actually 1%.

I have my cereal with milk for breakfast everyday, so getting my milk right is really important for me to get properly started off for my day.

[malcontent]

B’fast cereal is another item that can be rather pricey here depending on which one you choose, and variety/availability is limited.

My hands-down favorite cereal here is one that is not even sold in the US… Kellogg’s Just Right (from Australia), which at around S$7 is priced right about in the middle of the cereal price range of between S$4 to S$11. And there is really no rhyme or reason, a simple box of Cheerios or Lucky Charms can be as high as SS11, whereas a box of Banana Nut Crunch or Honey Bunches of Oats can be as little as S$4 when on sale.

I eat cereal about once a week. My regular breakfast is whole grain rolled oats which is both economical and healthy. I eat that at least 3-4 times a week, adding only raw brown sugar.

[HogHollow]

Woah, a box of Cheerios costs $11? Jeez, maybe I'll need to switch to something else. The blueberry Cheerios I used to eat everyday were $3.87 US for the family sized box...

I guess exploring the grocery store will be another thing for me to do once I get out of quarantine.

[Lisafuller]

Oh, great to hear that they have Horizon at Tanglin Marketplace!

S$12 per half gallon is a little steep. I think I was paying $9 US for the 2% gallon jug at my Vons in LA, so it's about twice the price here in Singapore.

Also good reference to know that low fat milk in Singapore is actually 1%.

I have my cereal with milk for breakfast everyday, so getting my milk right is really important for me to get properly started off for my day.

Same here, can’t get my day going without a good bowl of cereal or oats! My favorite is Great Grains cranberry almond crunch.

[Lisafuller]

B’fast cereal is another item that can be rather pricey here depending on which one you choose, and variety/availability is limited.

My hands-down favorite cereal here is one that is not even sold in the US… Kellogg’s Just Right (from Australia), which at around S$7 is priced right about in the middle of the cereal price range of between S$4 to S$11. And there is really no rhyme or reason, a simple box of Cheerios or Lucky Charms can be as high as SS11, whereas a box of Banana Nut Crunch or Honey Bunches of Oats can be as little as S$4 when on sale.

I eat cereal about once a week. My regular breakfast is whole grain rolled oats which is both economical and healthy. I eat that at least 3-4 times a week, adding only raw brown sugar.

There is a way around this. Most cereals are available at ValuDollar for half the price of the ones you’d find at the supermarket, for exactly the same product. I get my Cranberry Almond Crunch for $4 give or take, when it usually costs between $6 and $7 at mainstream supermarkets.

[Lisafuller]

Woah, a box of Cheerios costs $11? Jeez, maybe I'll need to switch to something else. The blueberry Cheerios I used to eat everyday were $3.87 US for the family sized box...

I guess exploring the grocery store will be another thing for me to do once I get out of quarantine.

This is not the case everywhere, if you go to the dollar store (ValuDollar) or a “lower end” supermarket (Sheng Siong etc) you’d be able to find it for cheaper, sometimes even half the price.

[malcontent]

Woah, a box of Cheerios costs $11? Jeez, maybe I'll need to switch to something else. The blueberry Cheerios I used to eat everyday were $3.87 US for the family sized box...

I guess exploring the grocery store will be another thing for me to do once I get out of quarantine.

This is not the case everywhere, if you go to the dollar store (ValuDollar) or a “lower end” supermarket (Sheng Siong etc) you’d be able to find it for cheaper, sometimes even half the price.

This is true… but not for Cheerios! I have found Great Grains cereal for S$3.99 at Valu$ and that is as cheap as it gets, you just have to choose among whatever tiny selection is there.

[malcontent]

Woah, a box of Cheerios costs $11? Jeez, maybe I'll need to switch to something else. The blueberry Cheerios I used to eat everyday were $3.87 US for the family sized box...

I guess exploring the grocery store will be another thing for me to do once I get out of quarantine.

Actually quarantine is the perfect time to start exploring. Since Covid struck last year I haven’t set foot in a grocery store, they all have good online shopping and delivery, including all refrigerated and frozen items.

Here are the major players, in order of higher end to lower end - free delivery minimum is S$60 to S$100 depending on the store:

https://coldstorage.com.sg/
https://www.fairprice.com.sg/
https://shengsiong.com.sg/

I order from all three. Note that just because it’s a considered lower end doesn’t mean the stuff you get is any worse in quality, that’s usually not the case at all.

[malcontent]

Woah, a box of Cheerios costs $11? Jeez, maybe I'll need to switch to something else. The blueberry Cheerios I used to eat everyday were $3.87 US for the family sized box...

I guess exploring the grocery store will be another thing for me to do once I get out of quarantine.

Here is a great example at Fair Price “plain” Cheerios for S$10.50 and this is not even the family sized box.

https://fairprice.com.sg/product/gen-mi ... g-13058714

I have overhead staff in the grocery stores commenting that some products are strictly targeted at “ang mohs” (white folks) with an “ang moh price” - also known as a skin tax!

[Lisafuller]

Woah, a box of Cheerios costs $11? Jeez, maybe I'll need to switch to something else. The blueberry Cheerios I used to eat everyday were $3.87 US for the family sized box...

I guess exploring the grocery store will be another thing for me to do once I get out of quarantine.

This is not the case everywhere, if you go to the dollar store (ValuDollar) or a “lower end” supermarket (Sheng Siong etc) you’d be able to find it for cheaper, sometimes even half the price.

This is true… but not for Cheerios! I have found Great Grains cereal for S$3.99 at Valu$ and that is as cheap as it gets, you just have to choose among whatever tiny selection is there.

I haven’t looked for cheerios specifically, but they have a pretty decent selection of cereals including honey bunches, cornflakes, and great grains.

[Lisafuller]

Woah, a box of Cheerios costs $11? Jeez, maybe I'll need to switch to something else. The blueberry Cheerios I used to eat everyday were $3.87 US for the family sized box...

I guess exploring the grocery store will be another thing for me to do once I get out of quarantine.

Actually quarantine is the perfect time to start exploring. Since Covid struck last year I haven’t set foot in a grocery store, they all have good online shopping and delivery, including all refrigerated and frozen items.

Here are the major players, in order of higher end to lower end - free delivery minimum is S$60 to S$100 depending on the store:

https://coldstorage.com.sg/
https://www.fairprice.com.sg/
https://shengsiong.com.sg/

I order from all three. Note that just because it’s a considered lower end doesn’t mean the stuff you get is any worse in quality, that’s usually not the case at all.

True. Higher end or lower end usually has little to do with quality, more with price, location, and targeted consumer group.

[Lisafuller]

Woah, a box of Cheerios costs $11? Jeez, maybe I'll need to switch to something else. The blueberry Cheerios I used to eat everyday were $3.87 US for the family sized box...

I guess exploring the grocery store will be another thing for me to do once I get out of quarantine.

Here is a great example at Fair Price “plain” Cheerios for S$10.50 and this is not even the family sized box.

https://fairprice.com.sg/product/gen-mi ... g-13058714

I have overhead staff in the grocery stores commenting that some products are strictly targeted at “ang mohs” (white folks) with an “ang moh price” - also known as a skin tax!

This is definitely true. Products targeted at the Western consumer are typically heavily marked up, in comparison to local products, which are priced much more cheaply.

[malcontent]

I recall when I first moved here and a local neighbor spotted me with some Cold Storage bags — they suggested I check out FairPrice as prices were much cheaper.

At the time, I was still on my ang moh diet… and for ang moh food, FairPrice is barely cheaper, if at all - in fact for dairy products Cold Storage is the same or cheaper — especially cheese (I still don’t buy cheese at FairPrice for this reason). So, I dismissed their advice.

Now, 25 years later — I understand exactly what that neighbor was talking about. There are some key staple items in a local diet where the savings at FairPrice can add up.

For example, FairPrice is the only place that has the 25 kilo sacks of Umbrella Thai rice for S$65. In our household, including our live-in helper, we go through 25 kilos in 3-4 months. FP also has the large 5L jugs of canola oil, which lasts us 2-3 months. Rice & oil were two things I had NEVER purchased back then, ever!

[malcontent]

Woah, a box of Cheerios costs $11? Jeez, maybe I'll need to switch to something else. The blueberry Cheerios I used to eat everyday were $3.87 US for the family sized box...

I guess exploring the grocery store will be another thing for me to do once I get out of quarantine.

Here is a great example at Fair Price “plain” Cheerios for S$10.50 and this is not even the family sized box.

https://fairprice.com.sg/product/gen-mi ... g-13058714

I have overhead staff in the grocery stores commenting that some products are strictly targeted at “ang mohs” (white folks) with an “ang moh price” - also known as a skin tax!

This is definitely true. Products targeted at the Western consumer are typically heavily marked up, in comparison to local products, which are priced much more cheaply.

This is true, but to be honest, even local staple items like rice, oil, chicken, eggs, etc - at best they are similar in price to what you get in the US (eg. they sell bulk rice at the Asian grocery stores at a similar price in the US). Very few items here have surprised me in terms of how cheap they are. Many more items have surprised me in terms of how expensive they are!

Every time we go back to the US and go to the grocery store, there are always a lot of oohs and aahs, so many things are half or even a third of what it costs here! When we come back, we always run out of luggage space and have to box things, and then we run out of trunk and seating space in the car - it’s always a squeeze all the way to the airport!

[Lisafuller]

I recall when I first moved here and a local neighbor spotted me with some Cold Storage bags — they suggested I check out FairPrice as prices were much cheaper.

At the time, I was still on my ang moh diet… and for ang moh food, FairPrice is barely cheaper, if at all - in fact for dairy products Cold Storage is the same or cheaper — especially cheese (I still don’t buy cheese at FairPrice for this reason). So, I dismissed their advice.

Now, 25 years later — I understand exactly what that neighbor was talking about. There are some key staple items in a local diet where the savings at FairPrice can add up.

For example, FairPrice is the only place that has the 25 kilo sacks of Umbrella Thai rice for S$65. In our household, including our live-in helper, we go through 25 kilos in 3-4 months. FP also has the large 5L jugs of canola oil, which lasts us 2-3 months. Rice & oil were two things I had NEVER purchased back then, ever!

Ive noticed that most dairy products in general tend to be incredibly expensive at Fairprice, so much so that for ingredients like feta cheese, which we go through about a block a week, I’ve resorted to buying from specialty cheese shops. Luckily there’s one right down the street from me, the same block costs $5.80 whereas it would cost $9 at Fairprice. Ironic, considering the name.