Price of Supermarket food

[Zeenit]

I must admit, I'm struggling to wean myself of cereals and to be honest, wouldn't know what to eat other than toast.

So, I'm an expat being ripped off to get my fill of Kellogs whether it be Frosties, Corn Flakes or Krispies.

I buy fresh fruit from our local market and a whole buch of fruit is less than $5.00. - for my husband.

But lucky for me breakfast has always been a cup of tea.

[Asian_Geekette]

Here's my long kept secret...if you're a Parma ham/Prosciutto lover you'll know that it will cost you about $90/kg here in Singapore. At Carrefour when they are about to finish the leg, the last bits go for about $20.00/kilo - unshaven, I just buy the last 6 inches. Just as good! Yum!

Hee hee hee! Now, it's not a secret anymore! But thank you for sharing that tip. Prosciutto! Yum, yum!

[quidsin]

I buy fresh fruit from our local market and a whole buch of fruit is less than $5.00. - for my husband.

Wow ! We avoid the markets due the special expat price we get compared to locals. I got a new special price the other day in the car wash. It was $6 the week before but this week it was $8 ?? when I questioned it , the guy just shrugged his shoulders as if he'd been under charging me $2 all year !

Wha pi**es me off about the special expat price thingy is that the real wealth in singapore is among fellow singaporeans...

[jpatokal]

One thing to stress is that there really are huge price differences between the supermarkets here: a cut of meat that sells at Sheng Siong for $5 -- usually the cheapest of the bunch -- can easily go for $15 at Jason's Marketplace at the other end of the spectrum. For example, you're complaining about $11 fish fingers, but I picked up a bag at SS for $4.50 last week.

Obviously, you're not going to find much in the way of Western luxuries at the Bukit Gorblok Shop'n'Save, but it's good to get in the habit of doing your daily rounds at the local places and only buying what you "need" at the gourmet shops. And the more local food you eat, the more you save.

[road.not.taken]

One thing to stress is that there really are huge price differences between the supermarkets here: a cut of meat that sells at Sheng Siong for $5 -- usually the cheapest of the bunch -- can easily go for $15 at Jason's Marketplace at the other end of the spectrum. For example, you're complaining about $11 fish fingers, but I picked up a bag at SS for $4.50 last week.

Obviously, you're not going to find much in the way of Western luxuries at the Bukit Gorblok Shop'n'Save, but it's good to get in the habit of doing your daily rounds at the local places and only buying what you "need" at the gourmet shops. And the more local food you eat, the more you save.

I agree, only I reverse it: I do great, big, stock-up, twice a month shopping at SS and Carefour, etc... and then do the little daily stuff at Cold Storage or Tanglin. Sometimes the price differences are huge, sometimes not so much.

[quidsin]

One thing to stress is that there really are huge price differences between the supermarkets here: a cut of meat that sells at Sheng Siong for $5 -- usually the cheapest of the bunch -- can easily go for $15 at Jason's Marketplace at the other end of the spectrum. For example, you're complaining about $11 fish fingers, but I picked up a bag at SS for $4.50 last week.

True, but then your compromising on quality. e.g the fish fingers your buying are most likely compressed fish meat. Ransid. On the $5 steak front , you ever heard of mad cows disease ?

Call me a snob but some people will eat any old crap as long as the $ is right....that fishball junk is another example.

[Tammy138]

I have been a bit sad just now and checked out the singapore supermarket websites...and places like Cold Storage are not cheap. Blueberries and raspberries are so expensive over there. Please tell me there are cheaper markets in Singapore..

[sundaymorningstaple]

NTUC & Sheng Siong (NTUC is the largest chain in Singapore and Sheng Siong is 2nd) However, you won't have quite the international selection but you will save 15 to 20% on your overall food bills.

I only use the "expat" oriented ones if it's something I absolutely cannot find a substitute for.

[cbavasi]

Blueberries will be expensive all year round - but the price does drop depending on the season where they are shipped from. They can be as low as $4. Same with strawberries... one week they are $8 and a month later they are $4. But then there is an abundance of fruit year-round we would find expensive at home - pineapple, watermelon, mango... etc. Carrefour has some excellent produce - and often much less then at other supermarkets. Sometimes they have fresh cherries at $3.95!

[jpatokal]

True, but then your compromising on quality. e.g the fish fingers your buying are most likely compressed fish meat. Ransid. On the $5 steak front , you ever heard of mad cows disease ?

All meat sold in Singapore is approved by the AVA and comes from the same sources -- they've got exactly the same Australian air-flown stickers on the packages of beef at Sheng Siong as they do at Jason's.

[quidsin]

I disagree.

You can see the difference in quality of steak between the two. Just because they have the same airflown sticker, doesn't mean the meat has come from the same farmer in Oz.

What about chickens? Have you ever wondered how a store can sell a chicken for $5 and still make a profit? Simple. The producer farms them for 5-6 weeks inside huge factories, keeps them standing for this time , feeds them high protein pelets and then carts them off by the truck load to be slaugtered in Singapore (this is the only time they'll see daylight).

Remember this next time your eating a $5 chicken from Giant or Sheng Siong or eating your $3 chicken rice....

[sundaymorningstaple]

The next thing you will be telling us is that generic foods are different than the branded labels that come from the same cannery. (I know better as I used to work in canning houses and the food is exactly the same with just the labels different. (which is sorta like the textile/clothing industry where different labels sewn into the article means it can be sold for 4 times as much or more.

[sundaymorningstaple]

And where do you think your Jason's or Cold Storage chicken comes from? Oh, a Tyson's chicken or a Perdue Chicken is the same no matter which grocer you buy it from. And frankly, if you buy a frozen bird, well it doesn't really matter too much anyway.

[quidsin]

I never said I got my chicken in Jason's or cold storage?

I actually order my free range chicken from a reputable butcher on the east and yes, I can taste the difference...

[sundaymorningstaple]

They are called Kampung Chickens here.