How to have a meal for two at $10 in Cafe Cartel

Cafe Cartel has always been the place that we like to go to when we want to eat in a restaurant but don't want to spend much. We go here when we're on a tight budget yet want a nice place to eat. Why? Because Cafe Cartel gives free flow of bread and water. :D

But who wants to eat just bread and water, right? There are a few dishes that Cafe Cartel is known for - pan-fried linguine, St. Louis pork ribs, and pan-fried macaroni. When we're in more of a spending mood, Mr Budget loves to go for the pan-fried linguine, but don't try the pan-fried macaroni until you note the description which says that it is fried in Cartel's secret sambal sauce. Ms Budget didn't see it the first time she ordered it, and it was a hot experience for her.

So anyway, the first time we did the Budget Cartel date, it was with the Super Chic'n Wing Zings... basically fried chicken wings. We ordered one of this ($5.80) and a soup of the day ($3.80). That brought us to $11.20 (inclusive of GST and service charge).

Two Sundays ago, we found something on the table when we arrived:


It was 8.45pm when we got seated, so we dallied around till 9.05pm (just to be safe) before making our order. It says 50% off all snackers and coffee drinks, right? But who wants to order coffee at after 9.00pm when we have work the next morning?

Here's what we ordered:

The Super Chic'n Wing Zings

(usual price $5.80, now $2.90)

and... dah-dah-dum! the Supreme Platter: a combination of breaded fish, calamari, scallops, chicken nuggets, cheddar crisp potatoes, served with Chef's special sauce and tartar sauce.

(usual price $11.50, now $5.75)

We topped up the meal with bread and water. The staff were only too eager for us to help finish the leftover bread, otherwise they'd have to throw it away, so no need to feel paiseh.

Free flow of bread, with butter

The water expands the bread in your stomach, so if you want to feel fuller, just eat more bread and drink more water.

That brought our total to $10.15 (with GST and service charge).

Our receipt for $10.15

Now you know. You can try various combinations of snackers for variety and, if you have any other after-9pm offers to share, let us know!

Where to go for cheap and good pasta

A friend of ours, Regina, recommended to us this place at Liang Court called Saizeriya. We wanted to blog about this earlier, but we couldn't find the photos till now.

First of all, where's Liang Court? It's not a place that we've visited before, so we had to find a way to get there. Fortunately, Mr Budget has a direct bus to the place, which is along River Valley Road, at Clarke Quay, just beside the Singapore River.

Our first impression of the building was a reminder of a shopping mall we visited during our holiday in Bangkok earlier this year. That shopping mall was called... The Mall. Liang Court reminded us of it, because its architecture is really old-school.

Even the building interior is old-school. We remember there is an exit to a carpark inside the building, and the walls are covered with the little brown square tiles from the 1980s. It's a nostalgic building, and our parents speak fondly of it... they probably used to go there for their dates!

Today Liang Court looks like any other shopping mall, except emptier. We're told that this place gets really crowded on weekends, especially with families. Lots of parents bring their kids here. Maybe for that nostalgic feeling. The impression we got on walking around the first level was, "Here got cheap food meh???" But yes, there is, as we are about to share with you.

Regardless of whether you're coming to Saizeriya on a weekday or a weekend, be prepared to queue. The queue is not normally that long, at least not on a weekday night, but of course the larger the group, the longer the wait.

Once inside, don't expect to have a romantic date. Save it for later, because Saizeriya is a really noisy place. Most of the time, you have to shout to make yourself heard, which is something Mr Budget really dislikes. But don't worry, the food more than makes up for that.

Saizeriya is a Japanese-Italian budget restaurant. This means that you're going to get some strange combinations. But the prices at this place are quite unlike other restaurants. Pizzas here cost somewhere between $7-9. We haven't tried these yet, so we shall not comment on it. Friends who like six escargot find the $5.58 price a steal.

Steaks (actually patties) come at $8. They come with a fried egg, a few potato wedges, and some veggies. But where else can you get a scrumptious rib-steak for $13.38? Yes, the prices are weird.

The Hamburg steak and pork, priced at $7.98 is mucho yummy too! We shared this and we shared a pasta. We don't have a photo of the Hamburg steak and pork, but we have one of the Hamburg steak:

Hamburg steak


Ms Budget ordered a seafood chowder soup ($2.98), which wasn't very nice, but the grilled spicy sausages, five of them, which came with four potato wedges (haha!) were pretty good. If you're feeling thirsty, there's a free-flow drink bar at $2.58, but we thought that was not worth it - how much were we going to drink anyway? So we had plain water which was free.

Our main course was pasta, which is usually about $10-13 at other restaurants. Saizeriya gives you pasta at about $5-7, which is about food court price. The difference is, the pasta here is absolutely yummy!

We had the spaghetii 'tarako' sauce with pollack roe, which was $5.68, and oh so yummy! Another time, Mr Budget had the spaghetti carbonara, which he frequently uses as a taste test to measure the standard of pasta at a restaurant. This dish, which cost him $7.18, passed with flying colours.

Spaghetti carbonara

Like all restaurants, there's GST and service charge, and a really great dinner for us amounted to... $19.60. The portions were just nice. Though they look small at first glance, the meals here are pretty filling, and you don't find yourself overstuffed.

As mentioned above, Liang Court is located at Clarke Quay, so a romantic walk alongside the Singapore River is in store for you when you leave the place. You'd probably have to walk it if you're heading for the NEL anyway.

Saizeriya is located at:
Liang Court, #02-22

Because it's crowded, what you can do is to call 6337 9001 for reservation. It's open from 11.00am-10.00pm daily.

Next week, we tell you how to have a meal for two at Cafe Cartel for $10.

Jumble Sale 8-14 July

It's here again! Mr Budget's favourite jumble sale!

Ever since Mr Budget chanced across this jumble sale while emerging from a World Youth Day meeting at the Catholic Archdiocesan Youth Centre (2 Lorong Low Koon) about a year ago, he's been hooked to it. This will be his 3rd jumble sale at the centre, and his 5th to 7th visits!

The jumble sale lasts for a week and all proceeds go to the centre. You can find almost anything in the entire hall reserved for this sale. Clothes will be grouped into various piles in the centre, and will probably go for about $2 an item. Most small items are priced at $2, while the larger the item, the higher the price. Still, you can pick up a luggage bag for $6, or a refrigerator for $50.

The pre-sale will be on Tuesday, 7th July. This is a good time to get best picks of items. The last day, 14th July, will be the time for great deals. Items will be sold really cheaply. The last time, Mr Budget spent 2 hours shopping in there, and came away with 3 kg of clothes (for $3) and a haversack for $2.

However, do note that the sale is on from 8.00am to 4.00pm daily during this period, so if you have to work, well, try to get to it on the weekends then. If you have old stuff to give away, you can also bring it to this jumble sale, where it will be resold next time round.

We Like Chicken Rice

Last week, we wrote about the Tiong Bahru Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice we ate in Chinatown for $2. That was on Sunday. The following day, we were both on leave because it was our monthiversary - we've been celebrating on the 15th of every month since we went steady as a couple 39 months ago.

We went for a day trip to Changi Beach. The original plan was to go there for a picnic, but Ms Budget wanted to eat the Changi Village Nasi Lemak, so we modified our plans. When we reached there, we found that the nasi lemak stall opens only at 6pm. >_<

So we decided to go someplace else. At Blk 5 - the long block of holiday flats opposite beside Changi Village Hotel - there is a row of pubs, a kopitiam, and a few cafes and food stalls. One of them is... you guess it! a branch of Tiong Bahru Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice. Again for $2!

So we had that for lunch. There are a few small differences. This one doesn't give Mentos sweets, but you can help yourself to as much free soup as you want - we had three medium-sized bowls. Basically we took the soup until we were too paiseh (embarrassed) to take more! Hee hee!

We spent the afternoon on the beach, digging in the sand, building sand hills (castles were too much of a hassle), walking along the water, looking for seashells, and people-watching. We also drew stuff in the mushy sand... or was it mushy stuff in the sand?

As it was the school holidays when we went, there were a number of teenagers there. It was actually surprising to find so many people there. We thought that people would prefer to go to East Coast Park. But then again, the sand at Changi Beach is so much nicer.

There was also the option of going for the Changi Beach Boardwalk, which is a 1.2 km coastal boardwalk with scenic views of the sea and Pulau Ubin, but we've been for this before in one of our earlier dates, so we didn't go this time.

When evening came, we headed back to Changi Village to get our nasi lemak. The yummy yummy nasi lemak. We've never tasted such delicious ikan kuning (the small crispy fish that usually comes with nasi lemak) and of course the rice and chilli. Mr Budget doesn't normally eat chilli, but he usually makes an exception for nasi lemak and fried hokkien mee.

That's all for this week. Next week, we'll tell you where to get yummy pasta for $7, and pizzas for $9.

Speaking of pizzas, we had Skinny Pizza at Suntec City last night. Not good. It's not cheap, and not worth the price. Neither is it filling. It's our first and last time there.

An afternoon in Chinatown + Tiong Bahru Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice

Recently, we have been challenged by our church community magazine to plan a date for $10 or less. Not to show off, but Ms Budget said that was too easy because we go for such dates rather frequently; we enjoy them!

Case in point: Last week we went for two such dates (and apologies for not updating this blog last week!)

On Sunday, we went to Chinatown. Now Chinatown is a fascinating place, if you haven't been there before or in a long time. Sure, Chinese New Year is a great time to visit Chinatown to soak up the atmosphere, but the place is knee-deep in culture and other oddities on any other day of the year too!

Chinatown itself is well-known for finding great bargains and cheap food. But here at our Budget Couple blog, we look for more than great savings; we also look for good deals, especially when it comes to food. A friend said that the cheapest food anywhere in Singapore is still hawker centre, but not every hawker centre with cheap food serves good food.

Over in Chinatown, we went to a place recommended by Ms Budget's colleague, and we're going to share it with you now.

Along Smith Street, off New Bridge Road, directly opposite Chinatown Complex, you will find a row of shop houses. At one of these shop houses there is a branch of the famous Tiong Bahru Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice.

The address is: 56 Smith Street.

What's so good about this? For one thing, it's only $2 per plate. Of course the shop also sells other dishes, such as oyster sauce vegetables, chicken feet, etc, but all these come at $3 or more. You want a good deal? Stick to the standard plate of chicken rice.

What's more, ordering the $2 plate of chicken rice gives you a medium-sized bowl of soup that comes free, together with a Mentos breath mint. This is to counter the smell of garlic which will inevitably emanate from you after chowing down your chicken rice with dark soya sauce and mashed garlic.

But! We don't recommend their drinks. Save it for a $3 coconut that you can both share. Unfortunately, we forgot the address of the place...

We won't tell you where else in Chinatown to go, because everywhere is great fun just walking around and seeing everything that is there. Instead, we'll show you just some of what we came across:

Here, two uncles are selling photocopies (and some originals) of personalities and photographs of Singapore in the 1950s.

Two old ladies chatting as they display their metal jewellery for sale.

A man examines a piece of jewellery... perhaps to buy for his wife?


An older uncle trying to sell a middle-aged uncle some trinkets.

Speaking of trinkets, there are tons of stuff there. What caught Mr Budget's attention were some old coins and dollar notes. There were the old S$1 coins - the silverish ones, not the gold ones we have now, and dollar notes having the same serial numbers or special numbers that people might want to buy. But why would we pay $3 for a coin marked $1, and that is no longer in use?

Hence, look around, but you don't have to buy anything. You will want to, though. What you will definitely need is a cap or sunshade, and carry around a bottle of water, because the heat these days is a real scorcher.

At the end of the afternoon, after much walking around, we recommend hopping onto the North East Line, and taking the train a couple of stops to Dhoby Ghaut for... you guessed it! A foot massage at TT Quick Massage!

Next week: Another $10 date, this time in a relatively secluded place!

Sumo House - the cheapest Japanese food in town!

When we can't decide on a place to eat, which usually happens on a weekend evening, one of the places we frequently find ourselves going to is Sumo House.

Though the Japanese food is not splendid - actually it doesn't taste like Japanese food at all - the prices are good. The franchise which is available in Ang Mo Kio, Clementi, and Bedok, sells a la carte dishes and set meals, with the cheapest set meal being the katsu don at $2.90.

That's a decent price for a medium-sized bowl of rice, egg, and chicken, and it comes with miso soup, pickles, and some fruit as well. Actually, all the set meals come with those sides. To top it off, customers get free-flow of hot green tea as well, albeit somewhat diluted.

Like we said earlier, the food's not fantastic, but the prices are. A couple of Sundays ago, we had dinner here, and our total bill for a meal for two came up to $6.20 (including GST). A friend remarked that it's even cheaper than eating at a food court. We heartily agree. Like a food court though, it's also air-conditioned, and always crowded.

Another friend tells us that if you're the last customer for the night, the staff will give you a plate of sushi on the house. We have not yet confirmed this with our own experience, so please feel free to try it out and let us know what's the best time to go.

We normally visit the Sumo House in Ang Mo Kio for dinner on Saturday or Sunday. After dinner, and filled to the brim with green tea, we often make our way to the neighbouring Cash Converter. Though we hardly buy anything from here, it's a great place to window shop; you always find the weirdest things here and, once in a while, a real gem can be found.

We've been known to find gift-worthy items at jumble sales, secondhand shops, thrift stores, and Cash Convertor.

These are the addresses of the three Sumo-House outlets in Singapore:

Ang Mo Kio Central
Blk 710A Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8
#01-2633
Singapore 561710

Bedok Central
799 Upper Changi Road
#01-02
Singapore 467351

Clementi Central
Blk 451 Clementi Avenue 3
#01-309
Singapore 120451

Website: www.sumo-house.com

We haven't been to the other two, but the Ang Mo Kio branch is easiest to get to by MRT. Just cross the road at the traffic light on the side of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8, and it is located behind the bus stop. The Cash Converter is just round the corner.

Dhoby Xchange

Where to go after a nice relaxing 10-minute massage? Well, after TT Quick Massage has warmed you up and as you sit there sipping your hot cup of cooling tea, let your eyes wander to just outside the kiosk.

Located in the centre of Dhoby Xchange, is JustAcia - your destination for noodles & rice set meals from $5.90 onwards. Being the Budget Couple we are, we'll of course take the $5.90 sets. But regardless of which set meal you choose, you'll have free-flow of cappuccino, soft drinks, and ice-cream!

Although there's no service charge, GST applies. Seats and tables take a little while to find as the place is often crowded, especially on weekends. What's more, seats really do take a while to find because JustAcia is all over Dhoby Xchange! It's hard to tell where it ends and where another food outlet begins, so just follow the directions of the staff.

If free-flow average-tasting ice-cream is not to your liking for dessert, we've got another great place for you to try out. It's called P. Osh, an all black-and-white shop that specializes in brownies. Depending on the topping you choose, prices per slice range around $3.00.

Okay, so that's not cheap, but it's still a good deal because they are oh so yummy! The free samples served by the promoter just outside the kiosk are just the tip of the iceberg, or rather, the base, of the brownie, that is. But what really kicks in P. Osh brownies are really the toppings, available in 11 different flavours.

The most popular ones are the Triple Chocolate and the Marshmallow, but we are a little picky. I, Ms Budget, only like milk chocolate, so we often ask the staff to sell us a customised slice of brownie with just melted milk chocolate topping. You can choose your own, of course, and the staff are always happy to oblige.

I, Mr Budget, was initially skeptical of the brownies, but the moment Ms Budget popped one piece dripping with chocolate into my mouth, my face melted into ecstasy.

Though P. Osh is a little beyond what we usually call 'budget', it's a must-try when you're here. One slice for two people is usually enough. Too much and you tend to get gelak (italics) (sick of the rich flavour).

How to get there:
JustAcia is located at #B1-45 to 50, while P. Osh can be found at #B1-40 of Dhoby Xchange, which is located just above the exit of the North-South line of Dhoby Ghaut MRT station.

P. Osh can be found at #B1-40 of the same place.

Have fun!