Food -- During Economic Downturn

Status of the PerutBesi duo:
- Hit by the economic downturn
- Salary remains, prices of food went up
- Price for transportation went up despite decrease in petrol price
- Going only for food that are 'pocket-friendly' (for now...well, occasionally, we'll go for good stuff!)

So what are 'pocket-friendly' food? Here's what PerutBesi thinks:
(Note: photos are taken from Google)

1. White bread (RM2.10/loaf)
Yes, it's a loaf of white bread (wholemeal will cost more!). One loaf of white bread, if eaten 'sparingly' could last you for 3 days (1 bread-meal/day: 3-4 slices/meal)! To make the meal less miserable, the bread could be accompanied by jam, butter/marjerine, or even dipped into coffee/milo/tea.

2. Biscuits (RM7.00 - RM10.00/tin) or (RM1.00 - RM4.00/packet) or free if your office provides it :D
This goes well with Milo/coffee/tea as well. No spreads required with the biscuits. If you're considering to save on the beverage as well, plain water could help in a 'smooth swallow' of the dry meal :S I don't think this will help a "cookie monster's" pocket...

3. Roti Canai (RM0.80 - RM1.50)
Assumably one of the cheapest, yet filling food found in Malaysia. Prices ranges from RM0.80 - RM1.50/piece, depending no where you eat it. If you want to get the RM0.80 ones, go to some side stall a.k.a mamak. Bear in mind that cleanliness is not taken into account ;)

4. Nasi lemak (RM1.00 - RM1.50)
We're going by just ONE packet of PLAIN nasi lemak without any meat (unless you consider the miserly anchovies a.k.a ikan bilis as 'meat'). It gives you a somewhat 'balanced' diet - carbs from the rice, protein from the 1/2 hard boil egg

5. Plain Fried Noodles (RM1.30 - RM2.00)
Generally, you can get quite a generous helping when it comes to such fried noodles. You'll definitely find some beansprout and/or green vegetables in the noodles, & some stalls even offer some pieces of fish cake/chicken/pork slices in the noodles. Such noodles goes well with chilli or sambal, & it doesn't taste too bad :P

6. Homemade Sandwiches (RM 2.00 - RM5.00)
Ok, cash spent to get your own sandwiches will depend on what you put into your sandwich. The cheapest thing will be eggs (1 tray of 10 eggs comes up to RM3.20 on the average of Grade C eggs). Mayonaise & other seasoning, when bought in larger amounts could last you for months! If you chose to put chicken, ham, or tuna, it will surely affect your pocket a little more. Ham especially is expensive!! Cucumbers, lettuce, and tomatoes are optional, though would be lovely to have in a complete sandwich *drools*

7. Mixed Rice (RM2.80 - RM5.00)
Economy rice or mixed rice would be the cheapest & most substantial food that you could ever have for a meal, especially for lunch and/or dinner. Depending on the side dishes that you take, a meal could come to as cheap as RM2.80 (2 veggie or 1 veggie + 1 beancurd). The meal could last you for hours & it's pretty pocket friendly too! At least you get to decide on what side dishes you want to have with your plain rice... :)

I think we may consider introducing some 'pocket-friendly' food places! What do you think? any suggestions on what you would like to read on our blog?


Disclaimer: PerutBesi/The Ruthless Eaters (http://perutbesi.blogspot.com) shall not be held responsible for any health-related problems (e.g. gastric, food poisoning) caused by our recommendations.


- Ruth