Fellow blogger Lazy Man And Money had a recent post asking Are Fast Food Restaurants Dead? posing the question because of the increased pricing of meals at fast food joints. The post reminded me of a similar post I had percolating in the back of my mind how I have great restaurant meals at low cost.
The Secret
The secret to eating great meals at very low cost is to find good ethnic restaurants owned and operated by an individual or ideally a family. My wife and I went out to eat at a new Malaysian restaurant not too long ago and we were served huge portions of food and an appetizer and each meal was less than $10. We couldn’t finish the meal because we were served so much food that we took it to go and made a second meal out of it.
We have similar experiences at Chinese, Indian, Korean, Vietnamese, Mexican, Salvadorean, Argentinian, and Greek restaurants to name a few. Of course, you need to like ethnic food from different cultures and you have to be willing to do some digging to find the great restaurants. It is always extremely helpful to know someone from that culture or country that can help guide you at the restaurant.
Truly Ethnic Restaurants
I call this a “secret” because a truly ethnic restaurant is going to be hard to find and I suggest you have a “guide” because there is often a hidden or unpublished menu of items that you need to ask for directly to the waiter or restaurant owner in their native language. Not too long ago we were at a Chinese/Vietnamese fusion restaurant that had amazing dishes but they were not on the menu. Our “guide” was a friend from Taiwan that spoke the language with the owner and brought out all the good stuff. I took a photo of the receipt with my phone so I could show it to the waiter and get the items without trying to use a translator app or explain what I want.
The Low Cost Secret Bonus
During our night out, our guide was speaking with the owner then told her (in Chinese) that she could get a 10% discount on the entire meal if they paid cash instead of credit card so we did. Many of these small restaurant owners would prefer not to pay credit card fees so they give discounts for paying cash. It never hurts to ask if they give cash discounts over credit.
Low Cost & Authentic Online Options
Another option for online ordering for unique food is Shef. The premise of Shef is that of an “uber” like experience where a person uses their home kitchen and cooking knowledge to create an authentic home cooked meal delivered to your door. This service can be hit or miss though because until you try the food you won’t know for sure you are going to like it.
We Avoid Chains
My wife and I, and most of my family, avoids restaurant chains like the plague. I simply don’t like the taste of “industrialized” food that the chains serve. The food always tastes bland to me and I wonder if the food contains any nutrition at all since I’m usually hungry an hour or so after eating at a chain restaurant.
Fast Food
We mostly avoid fast food but the one restaurant that we occasionally eat at is Chick-Fil-A for their chicken sandwiches. I don’t particularly like fried food anymore but our daughter likes to eat there so we occasionally tag along.
Share The Wealth
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.