Seven Days, Three Meals a Day – Anucyia Victor Shows You How to Do It, and with Enough Money Left for a Bottle of Cider
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
21 meals for RM150 Recipes can be found at www.timeoutkl.w.timeou MONDAY com/brokeinklm/brokeinkl Breakfast Scrambled eggs on toast, coffee Lunch Chap fan, RM5 Dinner Steamed white rice, spicy stir fried Ah Sou Chap Fan, first floor, Wisma Central, chicken with curry leaves, wilted greens Jalan Ampang, KL. and tomato salsa TUESDAY Breakfast Coffee and nasi lemak bungkus, RM2 Lunch Homemade chicken soup with Dinner Pasta and homemade meatballs in Studio 69, Jalan Kerja Ayer Lama, Ampang, KL. crusty bread tomato sauce WEDNESDAY Breakfast Cereal with milk, a banana and Lunch Ipoh nga choy chicken rice, RM6 Dinner Honey and spice chicken drumstick orange juice New Restaurant Ipoh Chicken Rice, 107 with wilted lettuce, tomato salsa and Jalan Gasing, PJ. crushed garlic potatoes How to survive on a week Seven days, three meals a day – Anucyia Victor shows you how to do it, and with enough money left for a bottle of cider. Photography Amir Rashid 14 www.timeoutkl.com March 2013 21 meals for RM150 THURSDAY Breakfast Two slices of toast with butter Lunch Vegetarian chap fan, RM2 Dinner Chicken curry with carrots and and honey, a banana, and orange juice Ho Guang Vegetarian Fast Food, Jalan Semenyih, potatoes, dosa and coconut chutney Kajang (opposite police station) FRIDAY Breakfast Coffee and mihun bungkus with Lunch Homemade meatballs with mashed Dinner Seafood aglio e olio, RM5 a fried egg, RM2.50 Studio 69, Jalan Kerja potatoes, wilted greens and tomato salsa Humble Chef, 54 Jalan Medan Setia 2, Plaza Ayer Lama, Ampang, KL. Damansara, KL (014 229 6854). SATURDAY Breakfast Bacon, fried egg, sausage, Lunch Chicken rice, RM4 Restoran Al-Hafiz, Dinner Homemade chicken soup with sautéed mushrooms, baked beans and toast Jalan Memanda 7/11, Ampang, KL crusty bread SUNDAY Breakfast Cereal with milk, an apple and Lunch Pasta and homemade meatballs Dinner Shredded chicken salad with orange juice in tomato sauce Romaine, bacon bits, tomatoes, shallots and sugar snap peas March 2013 www.timeoutkl.com 15 21 meals for RM150 rust me, RM150 for one week’s worth I also have a new-found appreciation for of food may seem like a measly amount the weekly shopping struggles of those on a Tbut it can be done. All you need to do is shoestring budget. When you are on a tight budget judiciously, shop wisely, and accept the budget, meals have to be precisely planned. It fact that shopping on the cheap is not easy at requires some creative thinking if you don’t all. But it can be very rewarding, especially in want to eat the same thing every day. the purse area. Thanks to the wet market traders, I have Firstly, forget buying all your meat and my recipes cracked. And while not being poultry in one place. Hypermarkets and food an instinctive cook, I’ve spent enough time halls are great when you have cash to splash around people who are to know my way but for this case a wet market is where you around the kitchen. Necessity is the mother of should be (I went to the Taman Megah wet invention and I boldly experiment. Instead of market). And the earlier you get there, the a bolognaise, my buffalo mince is turned into fresher the produce. spicy meatballs; some which I have in a tomato RM14.80 for a whole chicken is a steal sauce with pasta and the rest with mashed especially when I’ve previously spent RM7 just potatoes and veggies (that makes three meals). for a tray of chicken drumsticks. If you are the The whole chicken becomes a roast, a curry, a queasy sort, the smells, sounds and slippery salad, a stir-fry and a hearty broth (another six floors of a wet market can be daunting. But meals). Breakfast is the most difficult meal to a whole chicken, expertly portioned by the crack but by keeping it simple with eggs, toast, friendly abang manning the market stall, can cereal, the odd packet of bihun goreng and fry- feed me for a week. So I hold my breath and add up treat at the weekend, I manage to start my my voice to the cacophony. days healthily (there, seven meals sorted). Delayed gratification: I tell the trader of my challenge and he Spend wisely and you could Eating out proves to be a challenge in itself. comes up with recipe suggestions. ‘Yang ini even afford a bottle of cider Even Jalan Alor with its relatively cheap hawker to reward yourself boleh buat kari,’ he says, picking up the wings GETTY IMAGES fare costs too much for me and I’m forced to seek and drumsticks. ‘Flavour ayam ni lebih hebat less expensive options. So I allow myself the dekat tulang. Boleh buat sup, juga. Kalau adik local brand (RM1.80). Beef mince (RM8.90) luxury to tapau the remaining five meals instead bijak, boleh masak macam-macam dengan is substituted with minced Indian buffalo (eating there would mean extra expenditure satu ekor ayam.’ It’s not an exchange I would (RM3.69). And forget Marmite; at over RM25 on drinks), feeling left out when I read tweets of have in my usual hypermarket when picking for a jar, my breakfast staple is now a luxury. friends who are out sampling gourmet burgers up a clingfilm-wrapped Styrofoam tray. His It’s a dispiriting experience and my cheer soon and sipping on sauvignon blanc. invaluable input ringing in my ears, I head fizzles out. So there – 21 meals over seven days. It can to the dry part of the market, where curry Later while standing in line at the cashier, be done and I ate quite well considering I had leaves, lemongrass and heaping mounds of I can feel my nerves fraying when I make approximately RM7 to spend on each meal; try red onions greet me. There are sacks of spice the mistake of glancing at the cart of a fellow getting a fry up for that price at a restaurant. and curry powders and jars of freshly ground shopper which spills over with artisan breads, I didn’t resort to instant noodles, I’ve curbed pastes towards the back of each stall and a hunk of honey-glazed ham and most painful my impulse buying tendencies, and most the spice aunty tells me what powders and of all, the mocking sounds of clinking wine importantly, I’ve learnt that a little can go a pastes complement bottles. I have trolley long way. When I tot up the receipts at the end each other. I leave jealousy. But I give of the week, it’s a pleasant surprise to find I’ve the market with my in to one weakness – spent a grand total of RM130.15– just enough bespoke curry powder bacon. change left for a bottle of cider. So I toast my and a heaving basket A pressing success with that; after all, a girl needs to live of goods, my purse I didn’t have to resort concern is whether a little. RM25 lighter. to instant noodles, I’ve I am getting all the Buoyed by my wet ‘’ nutrients I need from market experience, I’m curbed my impulse the cheaper products. SHOPPING LIST more positive about buying tendencies, and Does squeezy honey this challenge now. contain more sugar Eggs RM4.79 Tomorrow I will visit I’ve learnt that a little bit than nectar? (Maybe, Whole chicken RM14.80 my local supermarket can go a long way but I ignore it). Is the 1 pack buffalo mince RM3.69 (Jaya Grocer). Usually cheaper bread going Baguette RM1.79 to poison me with Sliced bread RM3.20 an impetuous shopper, Cereal RM 7.99 I force myself to make a list before heading out its additives? (It doesn’t, but I still worry). Baked beans RM1.80 and this immediately dampens my thrill. What’s surprising is the discovery that organic Tomato puree RM3.15 Walking down the aisles, I ignore the siren vegetables aren’t that much more expensive Dosa flour RM5 calls of extra virgin olive oil, imported pork than the usual kind, so I stock up on greens, Carrots RM3 sausages and the jars of Manuka honey with hoping the vitamins will offset any negative Potatoes RM2.50 effects of cheaper food. I’m drained by the Baby choy sum RM2 my name on them. I am here for peanut oil, Spring onions RM0.98 frozen sausages and squeezy bottle honey. entire experience having spent 90 minutes, Sugar snap peas RM1.99 Nothing can steer me from my goal. Imported instead of my usual 30, wandering the aisles in Curry leaves RM0.50 baked beans (RM4.69) are discarded for a search of bargains. Shredded coconut RM1 Celery RM1.50 Apple RM1 Banana RM2 TIPS & TRICKS Honey RM7.18 d Rice, dry pasta, baked beans, canned tomatoes, stock cubes and cream crackers Romaine lettuce RM2.99 are invaluable pantry cupboard staples. So you need to have these items ready for Tomatoes RM3 this challenge to work. Button mushrooms RM3.50 d Instead of buying multi-packs of vegetables, buy just what you need. FOR CHEAP Orange juice RM4.80 d Try minced buffalo. It has lower cholesterol, less fat and fewer calories than beef and GROCERIES, Milk RM4.65 is just as tasty. Frozen sausages RM4.95 SEE FOOD P42 Bacon RM9.90 7 ‘tapaus’ RM26.50 16 www.timeoutkl.com March 2013 Bottle of cider RM19.88 GRAND TOTAL RM150.03 Cheap drinks & parties and margarita on Mondays, wine on Tuesdays, and wine and sangria on Saturdays.