$11.90 for asparagus? Cost of groceries in Singapore shocks New Yorker

Depending on what you buy, grocery shopping can be a pricey aspect of one's monthly expenditure.

TikTok user Kindofabigd, who wanted to be known as Matt D, received quite the shock when he realised just how expensive grocery shopping can be in Singapore. 

Being a New Yorker living on our shores, Matt was trying to comprehend the prices of ingredients here vis-a-vis that in the US.

On Monday (July 10), he posted a TikTok clip of his reaction to some of the food items found in CS Fresh, a premium supermarket by Cold Storage.

@kindofabigd Such a good value, it’s almost a steal #singaporelife #sgexpat #coldstorage ♬ Funny Song - Cavendish Music

"I'm shocked by some of these prices. $11.90 for asparagus?" he exclaimed.

Matt told AsiaOne that, from his experience, asparagus in New York would cost US$4 (S$5.30). That's about half the price of the ones he saw at CS Fresh. 

No wonder he was so shocked.

Shopping at NTUC FairPrice wouldn't have made much of a difference either. A quick check on the website showed that asparagus costs $2.62/100g.

That's still comes to $11.79 for the same amount of asparagus!

Unfortunately, things didn't look any better in the egg aisle. Six free-range eggs cost $16 and Matt had a hard time accepting this, given how the same number of eggs would be about US$6 back home.

The New Yorker, who works in the healthcare industry, added: "In the meat aisle, prosciutto is $17. I think I bought it for €3 (S$4.40) in France."

His trip to the grocery store wasn't in vain as he managed to get himself a deal that was of "good value" — an $8 salad bowl comprising of three toppings, cheese and protein.

While the TikTok video provided examples of how expensive Singapore is compared to New York, Matt told AsiaOne that the cost of living between the two cities is "comparable" without elaborating further. 

In the comments section, local netizens provided Matt with cost-saving tips when grocery shopping in Singapore.

One user suggested Matt to "do what we locals do" and hit up wallet-friendly supermarket options such as NTUC FairPrice, Sheng Siong, Giant and Redmart.

Matt responded kindly to some of the netizens, thanking them for the suggestions.

"Tips to shop smart and save more always helps," he told AsiaOne.

ALSO READ: Grocery shopping hacks to help you save money amid inflation and rising GST

amierul@asiaone.com

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