Is it cheaper to eat out?

[Inspire]

Is it cheaper to eat out?

Orlando Barton

Ask expats their top 3 reasons for living in Thailand and chances are you’ll hear the word “food” repeatedly.

Besides Thai cuisine being one of the world’s favorite, we are also blessed with great food from everywhere. And as a bonus, food is cheaper in Thailand … a lot cheaper.

According to Numbeo, a website that compares cost of living city on city, food costs in Pattaya are 34% cheaper than in my hometown. The only thing that I consume that costs more in Thailand is wine.

But here’s the real question … is it cheaper in Thailand to eat out or cook at home? Where I come from, it’s a no-brainer. The cost of operation in most western countries means that a restaurant will always cost more than cooking at home.

The story this week’s picture tells is a quest for the truth. Is it really cheaper to eat out?
I went to Foodland on Pattaya Klang, a mid-range grocery store that caters to western tastes. There I purchased a whole chicken, vegetables and all other ingredients necessary to cook a big pot of soup in my slow cooker.

After cooking and consuming the food, I repeated the process shopping at Rompho Market, a Thai indoor-outdoor market in Jomtien Beach. All the same ingredients were available and some extras you’ll only see at a Thai market like home-made chili paste.

Full story: http://www.inspirepattaya.com/lifestyle/cheaper-eat/

-- Inspire Pattaya 2016-06-19

[pod8460]

If you care about your health eating in is the best option as you can choose the quality of the ingredients. It's more expensive than street food but if you include self inflicted heath problems it's cheeper by a mile. You can't put a price on your health. In my opinion

[giddyup]

If you are happy to eat meals out that are loaded with MSG, fat, salt, sugar, unwashed vegetables, and god knows what else, then eating out is probably the cheaper option.

[ignis]

Mostly eat in home cooked, but yes there are some good places to eat out, and at 35 baht for very good meal is cheap [ only problem with the place I like is he opens 05:00 - noon only, the other place opens at 19:00 - 22:00 and the waiting for a table = to late for me really]... likewise the motorbikes with sidecars that comes down the Village, every day. you take your own plate out, they cook it there and then, even better as for me can state No salt + No sugar and even cheaper at 30 baht..

So yes is cheaper to eat out then cooking yourself, still only have maybe 2 meals not home cooked per week... had early Lunch out yesterday

Edited June 19, 2016 by ignis

[cornishcarlos]

35 baht... Lots of crispy pork and no msg or salt

I think if more than 3 people eating, then cheaper to cook at home but for just 1 or 2, eating out at local places wins hands down...

[shirtless]

Eating at home , much better food , better price and portion, no risk of food poisoning. thats the kicker for me i hate paying to get sick.

[chicowoodduck]

Soup and a nice salad for me all the time....skip the street garbage and fast food joints.....???

[Suradit69]

Eating at home , much better food , better price and portion, no risk of food poisoning. thats the kicker for me i hate paying to get sick.

Can't recall ever getting sick after eating street food or in local restaurants. One time that I remember being ill followed eating food served at a western chain restaurant here and then there was a restaurant meal eaten at Gatwick before embarking on a long haul flight which I spent travelling to and from the toilets.

The worst problem I've had in Thailand arose from keeping an opened jar of imported jam in the fridge too long. Thought it tasted a bit odd. A long, unpleasant night ensued in the loo.

Of course some farang are more sensitive ... and most likely sleep with a night-light on after checking under the bed for goblins.

As to price, it certainly can be cheaper to eat out, but there are things available in the more upscale restaurants that I can duplicate at home for far less money.

[Kabula]

If your single, many times it's cheaper to eat out.

It depends how many meals a day you eat and where you eat out.

[sirineou]

is it cheaper to eat crap or to eat at home?

I think it is cheaper to eat crap.

[MissAndry]

It's always cheaper to cook your own food, no matter where you live in the world.

A 35bht meal from a food stall in Thailand, only contains 10bht of ingredients.

Edited June 19, 2016 by MissAndry

[SoiBiker]

Depends where you shop - and whether you like Thai food.

[jeab1980]

So come to Thailand to live,: don't eat out because? ???? Eat in/don't go to bars,don't go with bar girls,hate the way Thais drive, accuse all police/ immigration /any official as current. Use your time Wisley by being a keyboard thai hater on here. I really wonder why some of you ever bothered coming in the first place.

[Don Mega]

If your single, many times it's cheaper to eat out.

It depends how many meals a day you eat and where you eat out.

Whilst Iam not single Iam the only one in my household that only eats western food, it is far cheaper for me to cook at home.

[zaphod reborn]

Eat anything imported into Thailand, or anything even remotely considered foreign like potatoes, and the cost of eating becomes higher than almost anywhere else, whether you eat out or cook at home. The only thing cheap in Thailand is street food, and you get what you pay for.

Edited June 19, 2016 by zaphod reborn

[sirineou]

It is always cheaper to purchase a lesser quality item than a higher quality item

The point is that if you ate out, the same quality food you eat home, It would be more expensive,

if it is cheaper to eat out, it is because you eat worst food.

And also the scale of economies. always cheaper to cook for many than to cook for one or few

[bazza40]

There are a number of choices.

I usually eat out for lunch. Very occasionally for dinner. Once a week for breakfast.

Eating out can be cheaper or more expensive, depending on the choice of restaurant. A pad thai at my favourite Thai restaurant in Lamphun Road is 30 baht, I could not cook it for that little if I purchased all the ingredients at Rimping. At the other end of the scale, lunch at Le Coq D'Or will set me back 2500 baht per person. Obviously reserved for special occasions.

It's not all that hard to find restaurants that serve good food. All you have to do is look for the ones that are crowded with Thais. Yes, I know they crowd into McDonald's and KFC too. There's a restaurant in Chiang Rai that does salmon sushi to die for. Both CM and CR have a big choice of ethnic restaurants, CM in particular.

Any time I feel the restaurant is too expensive, I just ask myself what I would be paying in Australia for the same food.

Edited June 19, 2016 by bazza40

[anfh]

Personnally never been ill after eating street food from anywhere. I have friend who would not eat at food stalls etc, used to get sick every time he came. I told him the bigger expensive restaurants and hotels do not store food correctly and re-use stuff so more likely to get sick. Food at stalls etc is cooked in front of you and is fresh, since he has started eating at these he has never been ill.

Obviously you may get good and bad places, but in general the street stalls are great, very cheap and meals are always tasty in my opinion.

As far as the comparison between costs is concerned, eating in if preparing meals for one or two is far more expensive. Also, the actual going out to eat is much more pleasurable that staying in to sweat over a hot cooker.

[BuaBS]

I can't cook like the Thai can , so eating out is always going to taste better . Eating out : a cheap Thai dish costs 30 B , but it's not going to fill me.

I need at least 3 times that much = 90 B. Making it myself : I can stuff myself for 15 B , it's not going to be delicious , but I'll be full for the rest of the day.

[Bernard Flint]

home cooking is tastier than eating out, whether thai or western. My wife is an amazing cook.Not a clue if cheaper or more expensive.

[anfh]

Last time i was over, was with a girl, she said she would come and cook at my condo, so we went to market etc to buy ingredients. Then she spent ages cooking etc. The food was great. BUT. - it would have cost less and been far quicker if we had just stopped off at one of the many small " restaurants" at the end of my soi.

[Doc46]

For me and my GF ,,We like our home Thai cooking ,,We like lots of good veggies and good meat,,,

Something you wont get in a restaurant or on the street,,,So a No Brainer We cook at home .

[new2here]

Hi, my experience is that did Thai food, or food that is more common to the local market, it's the price difference - expressed as a per unit or per serving basis - and >without< giving any economic consideration to the time you would have to input to buy, transport, prep and cook the food (so we're talking only ingredients) it is still cheaper to eat at home than outside .... but... I think the margin would be quite close... and if you did add in an economic cost for your "labor" I now suspect outside would be the nett lower unit cost (owing in part to the relative lower labor unit costs for food prep positions in typical 'street' food venues)

However, if we talk more western food, now I think it is >possible< to cook at home, and with your labor costs accounted for, come in at or just below street-food venue prices. However, here too, I think the driver would be labor and not as much ingredient costs; though I do think a street-food vendor con probably source ingredients at a lower unit cost than a single-serve person at home could do.

[MissAndry]

Eat anything imported into Thailand, or anything even remotely considered foreign like potatoes, and the cost of eating becomes higher than almost anywhere else, whether you eat out or cook at home. The only thing cheap in Thailand is street food, and you get what you pay for.

Potatoes from Tesco Lotus in Thailand are considerably cheaper than potatoes from Tesco in London UK.

[MissAndry]

A pad thai at my favourite Thai restaurant in Lamphun Road is 30 baht, I could not cook it for that little if I purchased all the ingredients at Rimping.

Sorry to be contentious, but here's a clue, the Thai restaurant in Lamphun road don't buy their groceries at Rimping.

If they did, they would be charging 100bht for pad Thai.

[cruisemonkey]

In Korea, China and Thailand, I've been asked the question forming title of this thread, or have had people make the statement "It's cheaper to eat out."

The people who ask the the question, or make the statement are idiots. Of course it's NOT cheaper to eat out (unless you're an incredibly 'dumb' grocery shopper). Food prepared at home will (probably) be be better quality... and half or less the cost.

[Emster23]

Of course buying at Foodland more expensive than local market. BUT if I want some lean Virginia ham (OMG that is good) they just don't seem to have it at Rompo. And if I want a killer burger, pop down to Friendship and get some of their ground round, plus all sorts of breads that can be used for buns. Thai food from stalls preferred by me. GF good cook, and she whips some up, which is also tasty and makes her feel good for doing what she thinks Thai women are supposed to do for their man.

[ajarnmarc]

So come to Thailand to live,: don't eat out because? ???? Eat in/don't go to bars,don't go with bar girls,hate the way Thais drive, accuse all police/ immigration /any official as current. Use your time Wisley by being a keyboard thai hater on here. I really wonder why some of you ever bothered coming in the first place.

So you'll have something to write about, surely...

[BuaBS]

Eat anything imported into Thailand, or anything even remotely considered foreign like potatoes, and the cost of eating becomes higher than almost anywhere else, whether you eat out or cook at home. The only thing cheap in Thailand is street food, and you get what you pay for.

Potatoes from Tesco Lotus in Thailand are considerably cheaper than potatoes from Tesco in London UK.

Depends on the season in europe.

[Roomuck]

I eat out everyday. I have only cooked four times in seven years, because I craved Kim chi spaghetti, and I don't know where to buy it.

I rack on it is cheaper, my girlfriend offers to cook, but I can't be bothered shopping for ingredients, or doing dishes.

Pattaya has great restaurants, my parents have just been here for the week. My dad doesn't eat rice.

We went Korean, Italian, Indian, Lebanese and all were a third of the price for similar restaurant food in Melbourne.

Also went to the Blue Olive, good quality and cheap.

Thailand rocks.