tokyo

Tokyo has a reputation for being the most expensive city in the world, but the reality is that one can eat very well (meaning BOTH good quantity and quality) on a very limited budget. While one can just as easily spend $50-100 per meal, below is a sampling of full adult meals at reasonably priced restaurants:

Sushi – 9 plates – 2 pieces per plate – $10
McDonald’s Big Mac, fries, & drink - $6
Thai rice noodles - $10
Italian pasta - $14
Chinese ramen noodles - $10
Japanese udon noodles - $10
Sandwich - $4-$10
Chinese stir-fry chicken set with rice and soup - $10
Japanese tonkatsu set with rice and soup - $13
Japanese curry rice - $10
Indian tikka masala curry with naan bread - $20
Domino’s large pepperoni pizza - $22

We are a family of four - 2 small children 5 & 7 - and we almost always eat out for between $25-$50 in Tokyo. I am curious to know if similar priced meals can be had in Melbourne or Sydney. If you can post restaurant names and prices, all the better, but my general query is whether or not one can eat reasonably. These should be restaurants that you go to not simply because the food is cheap, but also because it is good. During a trip to London last year, I was appalled at how ridiculously expensive restaurants were...

One other interesting comparison would be lunch. In Tokyo, most people by lunch for between $6 – 12. How much do you spend on lunch in Australia?

possoms

Hi i'm still in the UK but was looking at this site the other day, hope its of some use

http://www.bestrestaurants.com.au/home.asp

Vash the Stampede

Are those prices in Aussie dollars, or Yank greenbacks?

My little sister has lived in Japan for the last three years, and reckons it's pretty expensive.

She still manages to eat well, though.

NickyC

I live fairly centrally in Sydney and you can eat very well here for much the same price-wise or even less in some cases. Not been to McDonalds for years but I believe a Big Mac meal is $5.95. Certainly Dominos pizzas are cheap as anything. Unfortunately my lot refuse to eat Dominos but we're always getting vouchers in the mailbox for special pizza deals. I think a large one is currently around the $8 mark.

You can get a typical food court meal (Indian, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, chicken/chips, Italian etc) for around $6-7 per person.

A sit-down restaurant will cost more than this. Most main courses in an ordinary neighbourhood Chinese/Thai/Indian restaurant would be around $10 each. So to feed four with rice would be around $45.

Pizzas in a sit-down Italian restaurant obviously costs more than a take-away Dominos (about as cheap as you get). In Sydney you can pay anything from $10-$50 for a restaurant main course - totally depends on what you want.

Forgot to mention sandwiches. You can get a decent sandwich (made on the spot for you) for $3-4, depending on fillings. All fresh and no pre-packaged stuff.

tokyo

Aussie dollars. And, yes, I agree, the prices are low, but if you know where to go (i.e. speak Japanese and don't hang out in the foreigh enclaves), it is a VERY reasonable city to live in. Cheap clothes (close to China) and cars (made in Japan), too. About the only downside is housing and parking, but if you accept the fact that you will have to live in a much smaller place like everyone else, rents in proportion to salary aren't bad at all. And quite honestly, a car is not necessary as the trains go absolutely everywhere, so combined with the low taxes, it is a great place to save money.

But getting back to food, lunch is perhaps the best price comparison, as literally the whole country can eat well for $6-$12. So how much does lunch cost in Australia?

tokyo

nickyc, thank you! This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. So I suppose we will be able to maintain our present lifestyle, namely 2-4 meals out a week, mainly during weekends when out and about. And, no, McDonald's is by no means our regular haunt, either, although from time-to-time it does come in handy when you have kids, and it does make for a good cost comparison. Once again, thanks!

kiwichild

Sounds reasonably priced BUT how much for a kilo of sirloin, rump of T-bone steak in your supermarkets?

Japan is well know for the abundance of cheap seafood on offer due to their fishing in other nations waters.

kiwichild

You can pick up a large pizza here for $9 or $10 and get a good large 'international' feed at a food court for around the same price or less.

NickyC

No problem - casual eating out here is not expensive, nothing like the prices you pay in the UK.

I was horrified on my last trip to the UK - one small, one medium and one large pizza cost 33 pounds delivered :scared: ! The equivalent here would not have cost more than $20.

And the quality of all this cheap food is great - we live in take-away central (Coogee beach), eat out quite a lot, and have never had any complaints about any food from anywhere.

kiwichild

2 large pizzas delivered in OZ about $25. Fuel price rises have added to this cost, prior to this the same would have been well under $20.