Eating in Philippine restaurants vs dining at home

[Dave Hounddriver]

Another member mentioned that expats are considered wealthy because they can eat in restaurants at least once a day.  Do you?

I find that restaurant dining, in Dumaguete, can be just as cheap as dining at home. I do not mean dining at the high end restaurants, but lets take Mang Inasal for example.  If you go there for a leg of bbq chicken with unlimited rice and a coke, it will cost you just over 100 pesos (maybe 120).  So what would it cost to buy the meat, condiments, uling (local charcoal), rice and a bottle of coke?  While I have not done an exact cost comparison, it seems just as cheap to me to eat out in many cases.

My break even point seems to be just over 300 pesos for a meal for 2.  So dining out with the wife, 3 times a week, for under 1,000 pesos, seems to knock about that much off the grocery budget.  Comments?

[Sander Martin]

I agree that it really depends where you eat out. Places that serve local food are quite well priced, but foreign food is quite expensive for what you get/quality (not talking about high end places or mcdonalds, just regular restaurants in malls).

When my finace was living and working in Cebu we used to eat out 2 times a day (she had a small room next to IT Park with no kitchen). We ate a 50/50mix of Filipino/western foods.

Id say my favourite was and is the local bbq (loved the bbq at Matias BBQ in Cebu - hundreds of people at lunch time every day cant be wrong). Its cheap and delicious. Western food was ok, but it costed us about 500pesos usualy for a meal for two.

Now shes pregnant (last month!!! Exciting times). And we live at her moms place in Iloilo till the baby comes out and we sort out her Euro visa and babys passport). We eat out together 2-3 times a week and maybe once in 1-2weeks with mom and sisters. Going out to eat with 5 people is usually around 1000pesos. We cook alot (all of us, including me). Cooking home is by far cheaper. We get our vegetables once a week from the big market (usually half the price of SM or Robinsons). I love cooking at home as it involves most the family and i get to cook my favorite dishes (and they seem to like everything i cook haha).

Our neighbors across the road sell bbq most nights and thats where we go if we are to lazy to cook. A big piece of BBQ chicken leg for 35pesos (delivered to our door once ready). Cook some rice and you have an awesome meal for just 40 pesos per person (35 for the bbq and 5 pesos for rice - i dont eat much rice).  Found no point to get a bbq going aslong as they are in business.

Edited April 13, 2016 by Sander Martin

[Jack Peterson]

32 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

 Comments?

 Plenty but in the Main I agree with you on this, My Problem is Choice, when we are all 3 out ( Daughter comes too sometimes) I end up buying 3 Different meals as we all have so different Tastes. That is when it can get expensive 

[Dave Hounddriver]

10 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

That is when it can get expensive

Yes, I found that letting the 'one not paying' order whatever they like off the menu tend to mean they order whatever is the highest priced item.  There seems to be no shame here with regards to sticking someone with a big bill.  Personally, when I am going for a meal with someone else paying the bill I tend to order a cheaper meal than I would if I was paying for my own.  But filipinas of any age are not like that unless it is severely drilled into them. or at least that is my experience.

HOWEVER, I find the same with the grocery budget if I am paying but they are buying.  Suddenly the shopping cart is filled with the most expensive, imported foods, cosmetics, and whitening lotions 

[Jack Peterson]

4 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

cosmetics, and whitening lotions 

 each to our own  Hmmmmmmmmm Strange I thought you were White 

 

OH! OH! I see, you are Paying "Y" is Buying Silly me 

Edited April 13, 2016 by Jack Peterson
Wednesday and I need Coffee

[Jack Peterson]

6 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

I find the same with the grocery budget

 Seriously though, ( "D" I do apologize for my Spats again)  Our Budget is going out of the Window just Lately, No point in going into Figures But I am Amazed at the amount of  "Extras we are buying Lately I really am beginning to Understand why So many of us do Actually Eat out More than at Home but then again, with the helpers as well, it can be 4 Different Meals each time So maybe eating out would be Cheaper ( I will mention it at some time)

No wonder I am Like I am,  Have to be to stay sane  

[Dave Hounddriver]

20 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

Our Budget is going out of the Window just Lately

I hear that!  Filipinas love to live beyond their means.  Is it just me and you, JP, who notice this?  The one supplying the money has to take a firm hand.  I am only now attempting to rein in my grocery budget because I had been trying to teach Yvonne some budgeting skills and its useless.  By that I mean:  I gave her a certain amount and asked her to budget the groceries.  She learned to buy a limited amount of groceries, spend the excess money on bags, shoes, cameras, clothes and cosmetics, and then ask for more money later in the week because we were out of groceries.

It is soooooooo much easier to budget when single.

EDIT:  And this is why dining at home can cost more than eating in restaurants.  They don't sell bags, shoes, cameras, or cosmetics in restaurants . . . .  yet  (edited to put discussion back on topic  )

Edited April 13, 2016 by Dave Hounddriver

[Jack Peterson]

2 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

It is soooooooo much easier to budget when single.

 Uno 100% Correcto.  What amazes me though is that When I try and do a belt Tightening exercise. the Expenditure sometimes is More, Even when I was in Spain the more I tried to save to send Home (Here) the more it cost but then, I was never a Good Shopper 

[frosty (chris)]

7 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

I hear that!  Filipinas love to live beyond their means.  Is it just me and you, JP, who notice this?  The one supplying the money has to take a firm hand.  I am only now attempting to rein in my grocery budget because I had been trying to teach Yvonne some budgeting skills and its useless.  By that I mean:  I gave her a certain amount and asked her to budget the groceries.  She learned to buy a limited amount of groceries, spend the excess money on bags, shoes, cameras, clothes and cosmetics, and then ask for more money later in the week because we were out of groceries.

It is soooooooo much easier to budget when single.

I gave up trying to teach SWMBO to budget, the more money she has the more she spends. Now when we go shopping I make a list of everything I think we need, funny we come home with all these extra's that some how magically appeared in the shopping cart and don't get me started on buying shoes geez

[Jack Peterson]

4 minutes ago, frosty (chris) said:

SWMBO

 OK  I'll Bite!  This is a new one on Me Anyone else?