Singaporeans say ‘cooking at home is becoming expensive too’ as they cope with rising food and kopi prices

SINGAPORE: A Reddit post about rising hawker food and kopi prices has drawn responses from Singaporeans who said they’re facing the same financial strain. While some noted that cooking at home could help manage expenses, one netizen pointed out that “cooking at home is becoming expensive too”.

Another echoed this sentiment, saying that almost every product on supermarket shelves costs one or two dollars more these days.

“I used to pride myself on being able to make meals that cost less than S$2 a serving, but now that’s very hard, especially if you want to actually include appropriate amounts of vegetables,” she said, adding that a serving of fruit now costs at least 30 cents—and that is if you settle for Fuji apples from China or papaya.

She also noted how high meat prices have become. “I cook purely vegetarian, and seeing the meat prices, I am shocked that anyone can afford it. S$16 for a paltry, sad piece of salmon?! Tofu is still somewhat acceptable in price, but for the last year we haven’t bought dairy or mock meats, as they’re expensive.”

“The price creep on groceries is hard to acknowledge, because everything is just a little bit expensive – but we buy those things often, so the costs add up. And salaries are just not keeping up,” she added.

Others echoed the same sentiments, though some shared ways to keep food expenses down. One suggested buying frozen chicken in two-kilo packs, which go for about S$8 to S$9 on sale, as a cheaper meat option. Another recommended heading to Johor Bahru for groceries.

Some also said they used CDC vouchers for ingredients, cut out drinks when eating out, and chose hawker stalls with clearly labelled prices, such as fishball noodles instead of cai fan. Another suggested making kopi at home.

However, another commenter remarked, “I might sound controversial, but hawker prices are actually very affordable if you look at purchasing power. Just ask your Malaysian friends. Buying cai png with local purchasing power, Singapore vs Malaysia. It doesn’t even come close.”

“If you really want to save, cook at home. But the time and effort required might not be worth it unless you have a family,” he added.

Just last week, Singapore was ranked the world’s most affordable city for cheap eats by international food magazine Chef’s Pencil. A casual restaurant dish was found to cost just 0.2% of the city-state’s average monthly salary, or about US$9.30 (S$11.94), while coffee was considered moderately affordable at 3% of locals’ average monthly salary. /TISG

Read also: ‘Their margins are paper thin’: KF Seetoh speaks out for hawkers and coffeshops amid ‘ridiculous’ rental hikes, high gas prices, and rising cost of living