RM1 doesn’t stretch very far nowadays. It may just buy you one piece of roti canai for your breakfast or a pack of nasi lemak. However, if you head to Ukhwah Restoran Rakyat 1Malaysia in Lorong Medan Tuanku Satu, RM1 buys you a piece of roti canai AND a mug of hot steaming teh tarik! How’s that for value for money?!

Lunch here is cheap too with merely RM3 for a plate of chicken rice which usually costs RM4 to RM5 elsewhere.

Just as good as Ikea’s famous 99 cents breakfasts and another great money saving tip for people working around the area!

With the economic downturn, many people are now choosing “tai chow” or smaller family run food outlets over more expensive cafes or restaurants. However, these places often don’t have set prices in their menu or a proper bill and it is only too easy for them to slip in additional rice, peanuts, tea or towel items even if you did not use them.

So, the next time you eat out, do ensure you check the bill properly before paying. You might find that you have been overcharged!

What does RM1 get you today?

It used to buy a plate of noodles in your childhood but now it can barely buy you a handful of sweets!

However, for a limited time only, RM1 will actually buy you meals and snacks at Sunway Pyramid! Read on below on you can enjoy a delicious meal or snack for a whole lot less!

Food Promotions At Sunway Pyramid

Throughout June, Sunway Pyramid’s Asian Avenue Food Street will be offering food and snacks from nine outlets for just RM1! All you have to do is obtain a book of coupons from the concierge on Saturdays and Sundays or grab the RM1 Deals flyers from the promoters to enjoy a meal for less than RM10!

If you think only snacks are offered, you will be pleased to know that full sized meals such as Spaghetti and Tom Yum are on the menu too.

The RM1 meal deals are:

• Roti Bakar set from Station Kopitiam
• Seafood Taufu skewer from Yokomon
• Belgian Fries from Pommes Frites
• Braised Toufu/ Braised Egg / Bubble Black Tea from Formosa.
• Seafood Tom Yam Soup from Gasoline
• Spaghetti with Chicken Sausage from RM Cafe
• Peanut or Shredded Chicken Porridge from Porridge Time
• Handmade Oyster Mee Sua from Shihlin
• Love In The Sky, a colourful strawberry and mango creation, from The Snowy Dessert outlet

The only catch is that deals are only available on Wednesdays.

So hurry over to Sunway Pyramid this weekend!

Credits

In a bid to help Malaysians be smarter about their spending habits and maintain thrifty habits, the Government has just launched a Price Watch portal (link) .

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said a 1,600-strong price monitor team would key into the system prices of goods sold at hypermarkets, supermarkets and wet markets nationwide so that the public would know which outlets offer the best prices. (link)

Does it really work? Read on below.

Effectiveness Of Malaysian Price Watch System

On a whim, I tried entering the website which is predominantly in Malay and I couldn’t find an English version anywhere which may be a bit of a problem for urban consumers who are more familiar with English.

The site is not exactly user-friendly and some Malay instructions were rather confusing. The goods offered were also quite basic. A choice of fruits revealed only papaya and watermelon options which is a pretty limited choice of fruits! My few attempts to compare prices of goods was often met with an error message or led to a site where my only option was to go back to option choices! I did not manage to compare any price at all!

How Often Will The Price Watch System Be Updated?

Prices fluctuate everyday, depending on the supply available. Are the 1,600-strong team going to research the prices every morning and update their systems or will it be redundant after a while? The system covers hypermarkets, wet markets and sundry shops. Imagine the manpower and effort required to gather new prices everyday to be updated! With the many advertisements already offered by the hypermarkets in our newspapers everyday, will this be a wasted effort?

Internet access is widely available mainly to the urban population. Will these consumers really take the trouble to sit and surf for prices before they do their grocery shopping or will they just go to the most convenient supermarket or hypermarket to pick up their groceries?

For interested parties, the Price Watch Portal and Smart Consumer website for consumers to share shopping ideas and tips are available at these links:

Price Watch Portal
Smart Consumer

Talk of a global recession hasn’t all been bad because our restaurants have been dishing out lots of fantastic meal discounts to help their customers’ pockets! The latest deal is an All-You-Can-Eat Dim Sum Buffet (22 items) at just RM22 with Renaissance Hotel’s Dynasty Restaurant. It is available even on weekends! Read on for the terms and conditions below.

• Available from Noon to 2.30 pm daily
• Extended hours from 9am to 2.30pm on Sundays and public holidays
• Prices subject to 10% service charge and 5% service tax
• Dine-in only
• Leftover food is subject to charges

Note: The dim sum offered is non-halal.

So, if you have been craving for a delicious dim sum brunch this weekend, why not check this promotion out? Do let us know if its good!

Reservations and enquiries can be made at 03-2162 2233.

Don’t you love recession-busting meals? Secret Recipe certainly seems to take the cake for coming up with fantastic meal promotions from their previous RM10 Secret Recipe meal to their newest pocket savers to help their customers save, save and save! Read on for the terms and conditions of these great offers.

Secret Recipe’s Pocket Saver Meals

Secret Recipe is offering delicious yummy meals for only RM9.90 from 16 March all the way to 3 May! During this period, certain dishes will be offered each week under this special promotion.

This week, enjoy spicy Singapore Laksa and look out for Spaghetti Meatballs this coming week!

Valid even during weekends, these special meal promotions have the following terms and conditions:

• Valid for dine-in only.
• All prices subject to 5% government tax and 10% service tax.

So rush over to Secret Recipe to enjoy great lunches for only RM11.40 with tax!

If you are on the lookout for delicious deals, grab this RM1 Soya Sauce Chicken Deal at Dragon-i today!

Valid from now to April 30, 2009.

Enjoy your delicious recession-busting meal!

Terms & Conditions:

• Valid for 3 persons and above dining in only.
• Valid from 6pm to 9pm daily.
• While stocks last only.

Please call the hotline attached to get more information. Grab it today!

I don’t like paying for overpriced cafe food as I find that some of them tend to be pretty bad hawker style with an inflated price tag. So, I was thrilled to discover a reasonable place to eat lunch when I was last shopping at Ikea and Ikano Power Centre. Read more below.

In between Ikano Power Centre and Ikea is an area filled with several food options which are cheaper than the usual cafes in Ikano. There is a rather wide variety – mamak food from De Irfan’s Cafe, nyonya food from Mama Nyonya, Dunkin’ Donuts, malay food and Taiwanese street food from Shilin Street Snacks. Tables are available for people to dine from any of these little outlets and a lunch there can cost approximately RM7 as opposed to RM20 in a cafe.

De Irfan does a mean mee rebus or mee rojak for approximately RM8 and has a choice of delicious pre-packed nasi lemak options for approximately RM3 with chicken or squid. Mama Nyonya is also hugely popular with their wide variety of nyonya cakes and noodles.

So the next time you are shopping in Ikano or Ikea and the hunger bug strikes, why not drop by one of these stalls on Level P1, Ikano Power Centre for a meal that will not break your wallet!

Photo credits

It is sometimes interesting to see how fast situations change. When oil was hitting over US$150 a barrel, the world economy braced itself for soaring inflation rates but with the crisis, inflation seems to be on a downward trend with the Government now telling restaurants to decrease their prices of Milo!

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad said that since Nestle (Malaysia) has lowered the price of Milo and Milo UHT promotion packs by between 6.4% and 8.6% from Feb 16, restaurant operators should follow suit. (source)

Do you think its a good move? Read below on how you can save on drinks outside instead!

Personally, I think this is a positive move as coffeeshops and restaurants everywhere tend to jack up their drinks prices, charging even up to RM2 or more for a cup of iced Milo! And since a tin of Milo does not cost all that much, imagine their profit margins on every cup of Milo sold!

Do you think coffeeshops and restaurants should reduce their Milo prices! Have your say below!

However, if you really want savings the next time you eat out, take advantage of these smart tips for saving on drinks outside!

Thanks to all who joined my Giveaway! The results have been randomly selected and the grand winner is…

Rinnah!!

Congratulations, Rinnah! I hope your parents will enjoy the seafood vouchers!

I will be contacting you for your mailing address soon so please check your mailbox. You have 48 hours to respond or the prize goes to the next name in the list.