Stephelle’s Kitchen: “Low-Cost” London

Stephelle’s Kitchen: London Edition

Chapter I: No Spice No Life

Chapter II: Life With a Glass Bottle

Chapter III: "Low-cost" London

Chapter IV: Italian Selection

first impression of the United Kingdom

particularly right at the heart of central London

 

living cost would be expensive

not so if you know

there are ways

particularly on food

that’s why picking up cooking does help

 

you don’t have to be professional

just take a look here

Stephelle’s Kitchen: Life With a Glass Bottle

 

when it comes to grocery shopping

I was gladly surprise

because things are not as expensive

as I would have imagined

 

majority of my grocery

came from this corner shop across the road

there are like 4 along that stretch of shops

competitive isn’t it

but they have their own flows of customers

some specialize in Halal food product

 

but of course

the one I went to

is obviously the most popular one

even from the name of the shop

you would have guessed why

 

I don’t know

some of the stuffs (I mean most)

come with special price promotion

which are not available when

I did a survey on the same products

at a major supermarket chain,

okay Tesco 

 

breakfast staple

 

(left) appetizer

(right) breakfast & dinner staple

 

lunch

 

snack 

 

the biscuit section

is my favourite area

this is basically how I settled my lunch

with one pound or less

 

that’s how I settle my lunch back here, anyway

and I don’t see much different

because take-away food from outside

is usually sandwiches or something along that line

which costs like two pound on average

 

unless you are willing to spend about

5 pound or more

for a Japanese noodle or rice take-away

which a lot of my fellow mates do everyday

and comments are like

it’s not really that good

 

probably since they are craving for

some Asian flavours

they still go for it

 

oh my

I would rather spend the 5 pound

on an extra dress at Primark

 

or accumulate the craving

for a proper Japanese lunch back here

which I will probably do

two days down the road..

 

my grocery loots

it is sort of like a de-stress session

after a long, pressured, cold and hungry day

 

the Teatime cookies is great

what’s more can you ask for

for the price of one Pound

 

then for the final two weeks

have to do some shopping rationing

and just topping up whatever is missing

I don’t wanna end up throwing food away

 

can indeed save a lot

if you choose not to dine out

 

not convincing?

dim sum brunch at Manchester

means could be more expensive in London, who knows

century egg and pork congee

this portion is more like one serving

at the price of 6 Pound

 

thankfully

I am born in this land

endowed with not only the sun

but the varieties of food available

we are talking about good food

at an affordable price

 

living on tight budget like this

could be fun..

for the period of one month, okay

for longer term

I cannot imagine

 

by the way

time to bitch about others

I can’t imagine

how some fellow

can dine out every single day

and they were happily speaking about

their Thai dinner, Korean restaurant etc etc

 

for me,

although I suck in Mathematics

I can’t help converting the money

into my own pathetic Ringgit Malaysia

on every single pence that I spend

 

and anyway

I cook good authentic Thai food

in my own room too

 

and if I really want 100% truly Thai food

I would save up and fly there, for real

why bothered to go for Thai Food

when you are at the other side of the earth

 

why do I sound so bitter?

probably I can’t stand listening to

the voice of boosting in front of everyone

 

oh my,

now I started to believe that

money does grow on tree

for some people