Almost all the hostels our group stayed had full kitchen facilities so our group could prepare our own meals especially dinners in the evening. All the Hosteling International or HI affiliated hostels ie Apples Hostel in Philadelphia, HI Washington, HI Niagara Falls, HI Ottawa Jail Hostels, HI Boston provide free breakfasts (07.00>10.00). Every morning, I look forward to enjoy eating my breakfast in the hostels - a mix of healthy food ie yogurt, cereals, milk, tea or coffee, breads, fresh fruit, fruit juice, eggs etc to kick start the day with sufficient calories for our bodies !
Eating out for a quick lunch ie takeaway street or fast food could cost say US$5 for a slice of pizza or burger. A plate of rice with vegetables or meat could cost US$10 to US$12. Sit in lunch or dinner in cafés or restaurants could cost 30% to 50% more due to payment of service fees & tips (10% -15%) etc. A buffet lunch could cost US$12 to US$13 in a Chinese restaurant. In touristy places or food courts, a plate of Chinese fried rice or won ton noodles could cost US$15. So for your daily food expenses you may have to budget a minimum of US$15 -US$20 or slightly more in order to have a decent meal ! Mineral water or soft drink cost US$1.50 to $2.50 per bottle. Packing your own sandwiches for lunch, buying fast food from convenient stores or supermarkets cost slightly less & cooking your own simple dinners in hotel's kitchen (cost sharing with your travel buddies) could save you some money & considerably reduce your food bill & the saving could be used to pay for entrance fees to museums etc. Due to a lower exchange rate, food in Canadian cities is generally cheaper by 20% !
Eating out for a quick lunch ie takeaway street or fast food could cost say US$5 for a slice of pizza or burger. A plate of rice with vegetables or meat could cost US$10 to US$12. Sit in lunch or dinner in cafés or restaurants could cost 30% to 50% more due to payment of service fees & tips (10% -15%) etc. A buffet lunch could cost US$12 to US$13 in a Chinese restaurant. In touristy places or food courts, a plate of Chinese fried rice or won ton noodles could cost US$15. So for your daily food expenses you may have to budget a minimum of US$15 -US$20 or slightly more in order to have a decent meal ! Mineral water or soft drink cost US$1.50 to $2.50 per bottle. Packing your own sandwiches for lunch, buying fast food from convenient stores or supermarkets cost slightly less & cooking your own simple dinners in hotel's kitchen (cost sharing with your travel buddies) could save you some money & considerably reduce your food bill & the saving could be used to pay for entrance fees to museums etc. Due to a lower exchange rate, food in Canadian cities is generally cheaper by 20% !
Throughout my free & easy visit to the East Coast of USA & Canada, I had taken pictures of the food pricing (takeaway, street food & restaurants) & the food I had eaten occasionally; hope the indicative food pricing helps in planning your food budget when travelling to these two countries !
1) New York, USA - street food in Manhattan area, get ready a US$10 note or top up another US$2 or US$5 if you want a bigger portion or adds on - cheesy sausage burger (US$12), spicy chicken biryani with soda (US$7), vegetable fried rice (US$8), lamb salad (US$6), chili chicken & lamb over rice with soda (US$8), Subway egg & cheese burger (US$2.99), Subway bacon egg & cheese burger (S$3.99), open halal food buffet in supermarket (US$7.99 per lb, so pick the food with a light weight & not so much of meat !)
Chinese Food in New York Chinatown, USA - steamed rice with meat (takeaway US$2.50 - sales gimmick price, no stock most of the time), rice noodle soup with Tilapia fillets (US$12), milk tea (US$5)
2) Food in Philadelphia, USA - international renowned Philadelphia cheese, cheese steak, Land Lakes light butter for making sandwiches
3) Food in Washington DC, USA - buffet lunch all day in food court - US$8.60 per lb ? Street food probably the cheapest - cheese burger US$5, cheese pizza US$3.50, Salt Pretzel US$3.50, soda or water US$2.50, Jumbo dog burger US$4, beef dog burger US$3, chicken & shrimp over rice or noodles US$9.99, salmon over rice US$10.99, beef hibachi over rice US$8.99, BBQ fly chicken pizza US$10, Subway 6" burger US$3.99, Tempura rolls US$18.95
4) Food in Niagra Falls (USA) - a touristy town, a busy Chinatown food court nearby served an excellent variety of Chinese & spicy Indian food ie Won Ton noodle Soup or beef Ho Fun soup US$15.99, chicken or spare rib noodle or dumplings soup US$14.99, Tandoori chicken US$16.99, Samosa Chaat US$13.99, Pani Puri US$8.99, vegetable plate US$13.99, chicken curry US$15.99 ! Won ton noodle with roasted pork (double portion) in my home place (Subang Jaya) costs RM7.50 (US$1.81) !
5) Food in Toronto, Canada - cheaper in price compared with USA (lower exchange rate against Malaysian Ringgit CAD$1=Rm3.12, US$1=Rm4.14); taco meal CAD$10.50, sandwich & wrap CAD$4.99, fried chicken (3 pieces) CAD$5.49, sliced garden vegetable pizza CAD4.99, stir fried green bean & Kung Po chicken CAD$11.95, Shanghai noodle CAD$9.90
6) Food in Ottawa, Canada - fried noodles, economy rice with vegetables or meat, Obama cookies - oops forgot to take pictures of the pricing of these food !
7) Food in Montreal, Canada - chicken & lamb curry CAD12.95, vegetable curry CAD10.95, sesame beef CAD9.99, salt & pepper shrimps CAD10.99, braised beef tendon with brown sauce & noodles CAD11.99
8) Hostels free breakfast in USA & Canada (East Coast) - a healthy mix of breakfast cereals & oat flakes, toasted breads, beef patties, puddings, pan cakes, yogurt, apples, melons, oranges, bananas, fruit juices, fruit cocktails, hard boiled eggs, jam, cheese & butter, coffee & tea etc
10) Last but not the least, I took a few pictures of mock-up samples of meals specially prepared for past American Presidents & First Ladies in the White House ! The President's Food ! Who ordered the jelly beans ? Who ordered the rice pudding ? Who ordered the fried chicken or squirrel soup ? If you make the right guess, I will give you a piece of Kentucky fried chicken drumstick & a side dish of sliced century eggs topped with picked ginger or a Chinese style deep fried chicken leg !
11) Eating out with my travel buddies in USA & Canada (East Coast) - a sliced mushroom pizza in Toronto (CAD4.99); beef sausage burger (CAD$12) & Beavertails pastry apple & cinnamon (CAD7) in Ottawa; grilled chicken whole piece (CAD$12.50) & famous smoked beef steak in Montreal (CAD12.50)
12) Cooking & dining in hostel's kitchen in USA & Canada (East Coast) - my own cooked meals sharing with my travel buddies at hostels in USA & Canada (East Coast) - simple but satisfying, mixed vegetable soup (tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, broccoli, basil etc), marinated stir fried chicken (drumsticks or fillets) or pork, chicken sausages or salmon, scrabble eggs, steamed rice & stir fried rice noodle, anchovy chili, food ingredients ie Adabi seasoning powder, olive oil, garlic powder, pepper etc. This no frill simple own prepared meal, the average costs is US$4 to US$6 (for 3 persons) so each of us contributed US$1.50 to US$2 to buy the meat, eggs, fresh vegetables etc from supermarkets. At times, we had access to food labelled as free such as cooking oil, condiments, salt, chili powder etc provided by the hostels or excess packaged food left behind by hostel guests for free distribution to whoever who need them for cooking ! I volunteered to do the main cooking and for lunch, I normally made some rice noodle soup with mixed vegetables or packed sandwiches with butter or peanut butter jam, hard boiled eggs for outings during the day ! A Backpacker or layman's food !
9) Free buffet Korean style dinner & dessert hosted by our hostel for first 30 hostel guests who registered at the reception upon check in our 1st night stay - right place & right time & a great dinner !
10) Last but not the least, I took a few pictures of mock-up samples of meals specially prepared for past American Presidents & First Ladies in the White House ! The President's Food ! Who ordered the jelly beans ? Who ordered the rice pudding ? Who ordered the fried chicken or squirrel soup ? If you make the right guess, I will give you a piece of Kentucky fried chicken drumstick & a side dish of sliced century eggs topped with picked ginger or a Chinese style deep fried chicken leg !
11) Eating out with my travel buddies in USA & Canada (East Coast) - a sliced mushroom pizza in Toronto (CAD4.99); beef sausage burger (CAD$12) & Beavertails pastry apple & cinnamon (CAD7) in Ottawa; grilled chicken whole piece (CAD$12.50) & famous smoked beef steak in Montreal (CAD12.50)
12) Cooking & dining in hostel's kitchen in USA & Canada (East Coast) - my own cooked meals sharing with my travel buddies at hostels in USA & Canada (East Coast) - simple but satisfying, mixed vegetable soup (tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, broccoli, basil etc), marinated stir fried chicken (drumsticks or fillets) or pork, chicken sausages or salmon, scrabble eggs, steamed rice & stir fried rice noodle, anchovy chili, food ingredients ie Adabi seasoning powder, olive oil, garlic powder, pepper etc. This no frill simple own prepared meal, the average costs is US$4 to US$6 (for 3 persons) so each of us contributed US$1.50 to US$2 to buy the meat, eggs, fresh vegetables etc from supermarkets. At times, we had access to food labelled as free such as cooking oil, condiments, salt, chili powder etc provided by the hostels or excess packaged food left behind by hostel guests for free distribution to whoever who need them for cooking ! I volunteered to do the main cooking and for lunch, I normally made some rice noodle soup with mixed vegetables or packed sandwiches with butter or peanut butter jam, hard boiled eggs for outings during the day ! A Backpacker or layman's food !
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