Penang : Food Prices Comparison (part 1)

Hubby and I have started living in Asia since a few months ago. We sort of staying with family and friends through out a few countries eg. Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. We like Penang because of its food varieties, easy of language and also easy flight from Indonesia.

Biggest cost when not staying with friends or families is lodging cost. So far we couldn't really save on that yet other than depending on Airbnb. Hopefully we could share some tips in the future once I manage to figure it out myself. 😃

The first week in Penang this year we just ate where we wanted. Tried whatever food we wanted. Just like travelers. I realized that when visiting a new place I tended to not care as much on expenses as I told myself I may not come back again. 

After the first week of "travelers high" settled, I started to look at our expenses log. 😟 This is not sustainable if we are going to continue our nomad life. I am naturally quite cautious with money so switching back to my old self was a snap.

Below are the food prices categories based on location and the average costs. In the US and Canada food places are mostly restaurants with occasional food court. Some of the restaurants are fine dining which then sort of set the price. In Penang, there are a lot of food courts, bigger ones in the malls or smaller ones in each neighborhoods. Same thing with restaurants, prices determine by location. Rent in the mall with air conditioner is higher thus push up the price of the food sold. The prices here were gathered based on Penang Island area.

Mall/Restaurant

Sample above for a meal for two at Little Nyonya at Queensbay Mall. We ordered three dishes - chicken satay, okra with sambal squid and nasi lemak set. We noticed quite a few places in the malls started charging service charge so that adds another 10% to the food bill. 

Another item that also add to food bill is drinks. In this case, I believe it was only one drink. Non alcoholic drinks price at the restaurant range from RM4-RM 10 (USD 0.90 - USD 2.25).

Total bill for that visit to Little Nyonya (with service charge) : RM 62.40 (USD 13.17).

This sample here was at Pho Vietz also at Queensbay Mall. Two bowls of pho noodle soup and no drinks. Total bill (no service charge) : RM 49 (USD 11.11).

The third sample here was from a small mom/pop restaurant at Tanjung Tokong area. The name of the restaurant is Mae Kong boat noodle and Thai cuisine. We ordered one bowl of noodle soup, a pork dish and a rice dish with minced pork. Along with that were lemon tea and a bottle of water. Total bill (no service charge) RM 41 (USD 9.30).