Day 21 & 22 - A weekend of living as a King!

What a weekend! With the Good Food and Wine Expo on for some endless sampling of foods/wine and also being invited over for a great gourmet dinner with friends, i felt like a king with a vast array of foods to eat.
The GFW Expo is an event that i have been attending over the past 3 years and its interesting to see how its grown and evolved. This year's main attraction of Gordon Ramsey definitely drew a strong crowd compare to previous years. He puts on a decent show, although why women turn all gooey around him.. i'm not too sure; honestly, his not that attractive and his married!
Another point of contention at was the prescence of the "Indomie - Mi Goreng" stall. Now, don't get me wrong, i am a big fan of these tasty snacks. However, how can this food be classified as "good food"? Especially a food type that should be limited in consumption due to its high salt amount and artificial ingredients!
Being on the $5 dollar budget meant that i was unable to make a purchase of any food (most products on sale average around $7

Saturday
Brunch: Coffee
Good Food and Wine Show - Numerous tastings of food(cookies, duck, meats, olives, chutneys, ...) and wine.
Dinner: Wendy's 3 Course Bonanza Meal (Thanks Wendy, you rock!)
Total Cost: $2.50



As much as there were plenty of tastings, it really was an insignificant amount to even classify as as meal. Thankfully, my fab friend Wendy came to the rescue. She cooked up an awesome chicken roast. Thanks also to Kirsti, for the psychdelic trippy Philly Puff Pastries. It's amazing at how sharing a meal with friends can bring so much enjoyment.



Sunday
Brunch: Eggs on Toast
Dinner: Leather Jacket Fish, Rice, Melon Soup (Courtesy of Mum)
Total Cost: $3

Whilst living at home, family meals were a daily affair that my Mother placed great emphasis upon. It required that all members of the family were present and seated at the table upon dining. I guess i never really truly appreciated nor understood the significance of this event until i moved out.
Now it's an opportunity to catch up on the latest events and occurences. Input and advice can be sought for the issues pressing upon each individual. The face to face contact further reinforces the family ties and association that i have with the family. Its an occasion that i do really do value, no matter how trivial the topics in conversation. So when possible i'll make an effort to attend the family dinner on Sundays.

Day 9 & 10 - Love you long time, five dollaaar!

The advice i would give someone in spending $5 on food can be liken to the advice i would give to someone about relationships. Allow me to explain.

Monday - Get into the market
Paddy's Market. Not a bad place to head to get started. Remember, you only have a limited amount of money you want to make the most of it.
Here are my tips.

• You can't be too hasty, for those who rush head on with a second thought, are only going to find that what they wind up with, just isn't what they want. Don't be deceived by stall keepers banging cartons or shrieking "Cheap Cheap / 2 Dollar, 2 Dollar!!".
  
• It can't be too expensive either, because your not going to get much value and you know its going to ruin you in the long run.
• Look around, have a smell. Be certain in what you need, but at the same time be open to new things.
  
• If you can try before you buy, i say, give it a go. No good in getting something that looks good, but turns out to be a lemon (pun unintended)
• Most people don't want "something" too old / bruised or smells funny. If thats what your into though... go right ahead.

See any parallels drawn between the two? :)









So what do i get for taking my own advice?



Hard to believe that everything here was $1 each.
From these i am able to make:
Roast Potatoes and Carrots
Potato / Carrot / Tomato / Cabbage Soup
Fried Choy Sum / Carrot Stirfry
Tomato Pasta Sauce
Tomato as a condiment

Total Cost: $5

Tuesday - Continuing the relationship
So after yesterdays affair with all those vegetables, i still have some lingering around, namely carrots and tomatoes. Not one to be able to afford food wastage, I'm endeavoring to make the most of what i have available and get my moneys worth. Tomatoes are really versatile and can be used in many ways. Carrots on the other hand, not as attractive.
So, i thought i would try something different. That being baking!

Picking up some butter, sugar, flour, grated eggs and a couple of eggs. you get this...



Not exactly how i expected but hey, it sure beats cabbage cake!

Total Cost: $5

Day 9 - What happened to Day 7 & 8?

Indeed, what happened to Day 7 and Day 8?
Weekends just disappear so quickly. Its a time to go out and catch up with friends, complete domestics or to see it pass by playing Scrabble at the local cafe.

I'll backtrack a little.

Saturday
12:00 - Brunch - Leftover Cabbage Pasta Soup (that was the last of it, thank goodness)
18:00 - Dinner - Rice, Baby Snow Peas, Pork Slices (Love Markdowns!)

With the purchase of rice, i now have a staple to help get through the week. At 12c per 100g, its quite easy to understand how this grain its one of the most consumed foods around the world.

Total Cost: $4.88



Sunday
Having only woken up at around 1pm (thanks to a late night house party), the whole eating thing has gone whack for the day. As you can tell, 2 min noodles was the winner for the day in overcoming hunger.

04:30 - Breakfast - 2 min Noodles
14:00 - Lunch - 2 min Noodles
19:00 - Dinner - Rice, Tofu, Mince (Did i tell you how i love Markdowns?)

Total Cost: $4.76

Day 5 - Polish Dining

Dinner last night was great. Na Zdrowie is quite cosy restaurant catering for at most 30 - 40 people comfortably. The furnishings and decor had something of a rustic feel about it, from the plates, to the unrendered brick wall with a faux wooden door embedded in it.

Allow me to show you what came out from the Kitchen




As you can tell, some warm and delectable meat dishes to satisfy the carnivore on cold winters evening. As dishes came out one by one, the delicious aromas wafted towards me, taunting and laughing at my self-inflicted misfortune.

So, what does $5 get you at a polish restaurant? My choice for the evening...

Warm stewed red cabbage and apples.



A measly and pitiful dish when compared to the likes of what the others gorged themselves with.
Fortunately, there was fresh rye bread for the table. Needless to say, yours truly was quick to acquaint himself with the bread and introduce it to cabbage.

I am really hoping that there wont be too many celebratory dinner outings this month.

Day 4 - My Miseryapiece!

For those who are interested in what i made with my cabbage/radish/pasta ingredients.

Not exactly appealing nor how i expected it to turn out. Nevertheless, it was palatable and filling. With a big batch made, i think i have enough for 3 sittings.

Let the flatulence begin!

Day 1 - And so the challenge begins.

June the 1st, Sunday morning, for many its the start of a relaxing day. Cocooned in the caverns of toasty warm blankets, loved one(s) nestled beside you, what better way to start the winter season.
For me, I'm awaken by the locals having a terse argument
"Frank, Frank, i want my %*&#@ money!!!"
" I don't have your ^*$#% money you  dumb ...."
Ahhh... so much serenity.

Serenity and winter aside, today marks the commencement of my month long $5 a day challenge.
Having only been awake for an hour or 2, its already proven to be difficult. Most weekends see me stumbling down to my favourite cafe Bobby's in a bleary-eyed stupor for some much needed coffee and a mighty massive breakfast ( 2 bacon, 2 eggs, fried mushrooms and tomatoes on Turkish). As satisfying as the meal is, it's luxury that i will need to forgo for the time being.
$2.50 for a soy latte is by no means an expensive cup of espresso, but when the cost is half your budget, one  really needs to weigh up the options.

Brunch consisted of eggs and cheese on toast that were present in the fridge and numerous refills of tea . Its no massive breakfast but it filled the void that resided in my stomach. It would be fair to say, apart from skipping breakfast, meals are far more cost effective when purchased and prepared by yourself especially when a loaf of bread and a carton of eggs can be had for a similar price as a paid meal.



Now it can be easy for me to continually eat the same thing day in, day out, but that would be dull and boring as well as not to entirely beneficial to the body. So I'll attempt to try and incorporate as many different foods as monetarily possible.
As yet, i still don't have a concrete plan in what i will be purchasing but hey, thats half the fun. I'm sure it will materialize as the event unfolds.