In college, I spend an average of $10 per meal, or $30 a day. In a month, that’s about $900 on food. Whe you study abroad, you want to save that money to explore the country or the countries nearby. $900 a month for food is a good chunk of change. That’s in the States, but we are not in the States. We are in China. At the time I type this, $1 is 6.78 元. It usually hovers around 6.5 元 to $1, so today is a favorable rate. For the sake of simplicity, I will say that $6 is 40 元. For breakfast, lunch, and dinner I will spend on average 13 元. That said, let’s get to it.
Family Mart is a great place to start! The food is delicious, and I find that the prices are reasonable. For a meal, the average price is about 10 元 and for a baozi ( a steamed bun filled with meat or vegetables) is you pay around 4 元. The sandwiches are about 6 元each. Then there is the street food. Make sure to check that there are a lot of people lined up. This generally means people keep coming back, so it’s probably safe to eat. It also means that the food ingredients are constantly replaced, meaning that they don’t sit out for too long. I pay about 8 元 for a bucket of fried chicken, and about 9 元for fired rice with egg and vegies, but don’t eat it too frequently because I heard the oil they use is not good for you in the long run.
The safest place I found to get really cheap food was the SUFE canteen. If you are studying abroad at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, then get your ID card filled up with money, because you will save a lot on food. For a big bowl of noodles with beef and potatoes (it’s customizable) you pay around 4 元 at the SUFE red canteen on the second floor. Its filling. Another place I eat that is very delicious is in Wudong Rd. Next to Tohee apartments and on the street where Family Mart is, there are a lot of good food vendors, but one in particular that I like to go to is the Korean food one, it’s the yellow one. They have Korean cakes for 8-15元. I get one for 9元 that comes with cucumber, cheese, egg, and beef, and ham. It’s amazing. There is also a sit-down restaurant to the right of it that sells food plates of traditional Chinese food for about 10-15元 a plate. People usually go in groups there and order a lot of plates and share. Splitting the cost is very helpful in reducing the cost of food, and eating with friends is always fun. If you search around there are more places to eat that are cheap, like KFC. I get a chicken sandwich for 10元.
And that is how you survive under $6 a day for food in Shanghai. Till next time. 😉