We enjoy trying local food and prefer to have a selection so we can pick what each of us want. This also helps with our kids as they are not always excited to try new food and sometimes just want a taste of home. These are some of our top tips to eat cheap when travelling while also getting a taste of the local cuisine.
🛍️ Shopping Malls
In most malls there are food courts either on the top/bottom floor. They have a wide range of foods to suit all. It is definitely our preferred method as we could all have what we wanted and they’re usually cheap. Keep an eye out as some food courts have a different way to pay for your food such as tokens or a special card which needs topping up. Locals/Staff will be happy to help if you get stuck.
🛒 Supermarkets
If you don’t have breakfast included get breakfast bits from supermarkets. All the supermarkets we went to in Hong Kong and Singapore had hot food as-well for VERY cheap which you can take away and eat as you go. You can also buy sandwich bits and have a fun picnic somewhere.
7️⃣ 7-Eleven
They are everywhere and they are amazing. You can get microwave meals and they are very reasonable and actually VERY tasty 🙈. Try the staple backpacking cheese and ham toasties or a quick microwave meal. They also sell iced tea/coffee.
🧑💻Food Apps
Food panda and Grab etc have deals for new sign ups and daily deals so make the most of it and order something to your door. They also do better deals than restaurants. For example meal deals, buy one get one free and free starters/desserts. When we felt lazy, we browsed a few apps and decided what we fancied to ea. then we simply waited for it to be delivered. Don’t worry about language barriers, it is a straight forward process and the apps allow you to track your driver. The delivery drivers we had also used Google translate to send us messages with updates.
🏘️ Street Vendors & Hawker Markets
They are everywhere and you can find really reasonable prices and good food. In Hong Kong we ate at a Michelin star restaurant for such reasonable prices. We were SHOCKED. You can find food courts or hawker markets dotted around and give you a large selection of foods to try.
