The High Price of Alcohol in Singapore

LOOK AT THIS PICTURE!  This is what I'm up against for the next two years!  Do you SEE what brand that is?  No offense to Woodbridge, but S$35.70?  That's the equivalent of $28 US dollars.  For WOODBRIDGE!  I could get a magnum for $11 at home!  Okay, enough with the yelling.

Just yesterday, Mercer released it's 2012 list of most expensive cities in the world to live.  Singapore was ranked 8th.  Compare that to New York City, ranked 33rd.  Now I'm not complaining, as Jason's company treats us well, but sometimes it's just hard to comprehend when you just want to go out for a simple dinner.

A glass of wine at a restaurant costs between S$13-$18, a beer about $12, but then they add something called GST (general service tax).  This is another 7% on all goods and services.  If you can find a bottle of wine at a restaurant for less than S$65, then please call me.  We went to a great pizza place in Holland Village (Da Paolo's Pizza Bar in Chip Bee Gardens, in case you want to know) and our small cheese pizza was $18, the chicken/avocado one was $28.  Cooper's hot dog/fries was $12. 

At least some places do have specials.  Our favorite local Mexican restaurant sells jugs of margaritas, $25 between 1-2pm, $35 between 2-4pm, and then $45 after 4pm.  Now that's motivation for day drinking!  (I know, I know, we have kids and have to be responsible.  Did I mention that we don't have to drive anywhere?**)  The picture to the right depicts probably the best deal we found (no, not the shots).  Three Sol beers for $25.   And who is getting a tray of 25 Apple Lychee shots?  (That "++" you see on the sign is the GST.)

So what can you do to avoid the high price of eating/drinking out here?  You go to the local food courts, called hawker centers!  For a meal and a pounder of Tiger Beer, you're probably going to pay about $7, or around $5US.  I will save more info about hawker centers for another post, there is too much to say about them!

You also listen to the advice of experienced expats to find out where the deals are.  Let's take the "chicken man" for example.  Meat is expensive in general here.  I paid $12 for a pound of ground beef the other day.  But I text the chicken man (I think his real name is Wei, but it's more fun to just call him the chicken man) and he shows up the next day at my house with 13.5lbs of perfectly-trimmed boneless chicken breasts neatly divided two to a bag for S$50 (about $40 US), including tax and delivery.  Awesome!  We eat a lot of chicken.  Last I talked to the chicken man, he was taking a month-long vacation in the Philippines.  Lots of people must love the chicken man!

Now I just have to find the "beef man" and the "seafood man". 

Finally, I want to mention the airport duty-free shops, you know...the ones that almost all of you ignore.  If anyone comes to visit us and does not buy the maximum allotment of alcohol upon exiting the airport, you will not be admitted entrance to our apartment.  You can buy a bottle of wine and a liter of liquor, and it's *significantly* cheaper than in the regular stores here.  (Note to visitors:  Tanqueray and Maker's Mark)

And in case anyone in this country is thinking about drinking and driving, here you go....look closely...you might be caned.  For real.

CHEERS!

**This was meant to be amusing.  Jason and I aren't downing margaritas all day.  No worries, family.