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On July 01 2012 17:23 Azera wrote:
The vibe I'm getting from the naysayers are -
"Dude, the grass is always greener on the other side. The East is so much better". - Westerners.
The food you've eaten on a holiday is not representative of food eaten as a resident.
Get good grades in JC, earn an overseas scholarship for an all-paid 3-4 year trip to the US/EU. You'll see 1: cost of living is more expensve 2: food is overrated you'll miss sg food within a few weeks 3: you're gonna end up cooking for yourself to save money, which is 1000 times worser than hawker food. Unless your parents have a few million bucks to spare, then you can eat outside everyday and get bored of the limited variety really quickly.
I've spent 4 years overseas, 3 in UK and 1 in US. Spoken from firsthand experience.
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On July 01 2012 17:31 Heh_ wrote:Show nested quote +On July 01 2012 17:23 Azera wrote:
The vibe I'm getting from the naysayers are -
"Dude, the grass is always greener on the other side. The East is so much better". - Westerners. The food you've eaten on a holiday is not representative of food eaten as a resident. Get good grades in JC, earn an overseas scholarship for an all-paid 3-4 year trip to the US/EU. You'll see 1: cost of living is more expensve 2: food is overrated you'll miss sg food within a few weeks 3: you're gonna end up cooking for yourself to save money, which is 1000 times worser than hawker food. Unless your parents have a few million bucks to spare, then you can eat outside everyday and get bored of the limited variety really quickly. I've spent 4 years overseas, 3 in UK and 1 in US. Spoken from firsthand experience.
When I was in New Zealand I rarely ate out, most of the food was bought from the supermarket and then cooked back at my Uncle's house. As Probe1 has said, I think you guys are just shitty at cooking and blaming the cow.
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On July 01 2012 17:34 Azera wrote:Show nested quote +On July 01 2012 17:31 Heh_ wrote:On July 01 2012 17:23 Azera wrote:
The vibe I'm getting from the naysayers are -
"Dude, the grass is always greener on the other side. The East is so much better". - Westerners. The food you've eaten on a holiday is not representative of food eaten as a resident. Get good grades in JC, earn an overseas scholarship for an all-paid 3-4 year trip to the US/EU. You'll see 1: cost of living is more expensve 2: food is overrated you'll miss sg food within a few weeks 3: you're gonna end up cooking for yourself to save money, which is 1000 times worser than hawker food. Unless your parents have a few million bucks to spare, then you can eat outside everyday and get bored of the limited variety really quickly. I've spent 4 years overseas, 3 in UK and 1 in US. Spoken from firsthand experience. When I was in New Zealand I rarely ate out, most of the food was bought from the supermarket and then cooked back at my Uncle's house. As Probe1 has said, I think you guys are just shitty at cooking and blaming the cow.
I've never said anything about "different" tasting meat. It's true that most of it can be attributed to poor cooking skills. The lack of meat in sg dishes, as you've mentioned, is true because that's one of the factors involved in keeping prices low. You can always request for more meat, and the prices will still be cheaper than food in western countries.
Remember that you only spent 2 weeks in NZ. Think about whether you can eat those kinds of food every day for several years. The variety of food available in sg is unparalleled. Remember that the types of food that you're yearning for is also available in sg.
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On July 01 2012 17:34 Azera wrote:Show nested quote +On July 01 2012 17:31 Heh_ wrote:On July 01 2012 17:23 Azera wrote:
The vibe I'm getting from the naysayers are -
"Dude, the grass is always greener on the other side. The East is so much better". - Westerners. The food you've eaten on a holiday is not representative of food eaten as a resident. Get good grades in JC, earn an overseas scholarship for an all-paid 3-4 year trip to the US/EU. You'll see 1: cost of living is more expensve 2: food is overrated you'll miss sg food within a few weeks 3: you're gonna end up cooking for yourself to save money, which is 1000 times worser than hawker food. Unless your parents have a few million bucks to spare, then you can eat outside everyday and get bored of the limited variety really quickly. I've spent 4 years overseas, 3 in UK and 1 in US. Spoken from firsthand experience. When I was in New Zealand I rarely ate out, most of the food was bought from the supermarket and then cooked back at my Uncle's house. As Probe1 has said, I think you guys are just shitty at cooking and blaming the cow.
^^ have you lived outside your country? Not a flying visit, but actually living, working/studying for an extended period of time. Then you'll understand what he's saying.
Besides he did not say anything about the quality of meat being bad at all, he isnt "blaming the cow" lol. I kinda get the feeling that your hugely influenced by what is said by the media/people about the west, from your blog posts in general.
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On July 01 2012 17:23 Azera wrote:
The vibe I'm getting from the naysayers are -
"Dude, the grass is always greener on the other side. The East is so much better". - Westerners.
not really, just that food in the us is absolute garbage
obviously not all of it, and it does have a lot of foreign food and all, but if you're going to the us to have "western food" then you're gonna be disappointed. just go to europe where every country has different traditions and different cuisine, you can try everything and it has much more taste than anything you'd call "american food"
i spent a few months in the us and i felt terrible eating their food, it didn't taste bad but it was a very simple taste, usually just tons of salt added onto everything, and it all felt horribly greasy and disgusting.
or you can go to the us and eat asian (or anywhere else) food anyway, either at overpriced restaurants or buying awful instant shit at the supermarket, which is what most americans do
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If I can't get some good sliced ham, bread, and vegetables, I'll be damned.
I can't begin to grasp the idea that Western countries don't have fresh meat and vegetables as well. Farmers market might be on every Sunday or so, but what about the butchers and whatever else?
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Russian Federation142 Posts
I'm just going to say that none of these posters have experience with American food aside from McDonalds or places where you can get your cut of steak for $12.
There's NOTHING that comes even close to an all-American USDA-Prime cut of rib eye steak charred for 3 minutes to black and blue status on a charcoal grill. Granted this piece of meat will run you $35 if you're cooking yourself or upwards of $100 if you're getting it at a restaurant.
You haven't tasted food until you've had one of those.
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On July 01 2012 18:00 serge wrote:I'm just going to say that none of these posters have experience with American food aside from McDonalds or places where you can get your cut of steak for $12. There's NOTHING that comes even close to an all-American USDA-Prime cut of rib eye steak charred for 3 minutes to black and blue status on a charcoal grill. Granted this piece of meat will run you $35 if you're cooking yourself or upwards of $100 if you're getting it at a restaurant. You haven't tasted food until you've had one of those.
Hmm...
Would be great for me to go on a gap year IMO
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On July 01 2012 17:58 Azera wrote:
If I can't get some good sliced ham, bread, and vegetables, I'll be damned.
I can't begin to grasp the idea that Western countries don't have fresh meat and vegetables as well. Farmers market might be on every Sunday or so, but what about the butchers and whatever else?
it's often a quest to find good local butchers/groceries. we mostly just have franchised chain stores
Publix
Krogers
Save-a-lot
Food Lion
Wal mart
Absolutely Massive chain stores the size of small shopping malls.
As a vegetarian my primary concern is finding those asian groceries that have good fresh tofu instead of brand name stuff.
But we have local groceries/delis/butchers that are often very good and high quality, but they aren't like every block or anything (unless you are in certain parts of NY or Boston).
But i've been raised in florida, where everything is super spread out.
If you go to a chain store (read non wal-mart) you can often go to a deli there and get fresh (day old not hour old like at a butcher) meat and cheese ect. and make sandwiches and it's pretty good.
BUT eating good quality food gets expensive here. If i shop at a local publix, and buy higher quality food my monthly food bill is about 200 dollars for myself, if i get the cheap food i can get by a month on only 100 dollars. and then probably 50 dollars in premade food a month either way because i enjoy a smoothie with whey protein after the gym.
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On July 01 2012 17:58 Azera wrote:
If I can't get some good sliced ham, bread, and vegetables, I'll be damned.
I can't begin to grasp the idea that Western countries don't have fresh meat and vegetables as well. Farmers market might be on every Sunday or so, but what about the butchers and whatever else?
There's a bunch of fancy supermarkets that have popped up selling these stuff. Go check them out.
Butchers... most people in US buy all their food, including all meat, from the supermarket.
On July 01 2012 18:00 serge wrote:I'm just going to say that none of these posters have experience with American food aside from McDonalds or places where you can get your cut of steak for $12. There's NOTHING that comes even close to an all-American USDA-Prime cut of rib eye steak charred for 3 minutes to black and blue status on a charcoal grill. Granted this piece of meat will run you $35 if you're cooking yourself or upwards of $100 if you're getting it at a restaurant. You haven't tasted food until you've had one of those.
You haven't tasted Singapore food.
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On July 01 2012 18:05 PrinceXizor wrote:Show nested quote +On July 01 2012 17:58 Azera wrote:
If I can't get some good sliced ham, bread, and vegetables, I'll be damned.
I can't begin to grasp the idea that Western countries don't have fresh meat and vegetables as well. Farmers market might be on every Sunday or so, but what about the butchers and whatever else? it's often a quest to find good local butchers/groceries. we mostly just have franchised chain stores Publix Krogers Save-a-lot Food Lion Wal mart Absolutely Massive chain stores the size of small shopping malls. As a vegetarian my primary concern is finding those asian groceries that have good fresh tofu instead of brand name stuff. But we have local groceries/delis/butchers that are often very good and high quality, but they aren't like every block or anything (unless you are in certain parts of NY or Boston). But i've been raised in florida, where everything is super spread out. If you go to a chain store (read non wal-mart) you can often go to a deli there and get fresh (day old not hour old like at a butcher) meat and cheese ect. and make sandwiches and it's pretty good. BUT eating good quality food gets expensive here. If i shop at a local publix, and buy higher quality food my monthly food bill is about 200 dollars for myself, if i get the cheap food i can get by a month on only 100 dollars. and then probably 50 dollars in premade food a month either way because i enjoy a smoothie with whey protein after the gym.
Exactly the thing I was talking about! Although, since you're vegetarian, shouldn't your food costs be lower?
Also, do you eat those tofu with some egg or whatever in them? Japanese tofu, I believe. They're slightly yellow-er than the standard.
I've heard great things about Five Guys as well, although I'm obviously not going to eat there everyday.
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On July 01 2012 18:10 Heh_ wrote:Show nested quote +On July 01 2012 17:58 Azera wrote:
If I can't get some good sliced ham, bread, and vegetables, I'll be damned.
I can't begin to grasp the idea that Western countries don't have fresh meat and vegetables as well. Farmers market might be on every Sunday or so, but what about the butchers and whatever else? There's a bunch of fancy supermarkets that have popped up selling these stuff. Go check them out. Butchers... most people in US buy all their food, including all meat, from the supermarket.
Yeah, J cube, the marketplace at Paragon, etc etc.
On July 01 2012 18:00 serge wrote:I'm just going to say that none of these posters have experience with American food aside from McDonalds or places where you can get your cut of steak for $12. There's NOTHING that comes even close to an all-American USDA-Prime cut of rib eye steak charred for 3 minutes to black and blue status on a charcoal grill. Granted this piece of meat will run you $35 if you're cooking yourself or upwards of $100 if you're getting it at a restaurant. You haven't tasted food until you've had one of those.
You haven't tasted Singapore food.[/QUOTE]
What do you find so god-like here in Singapore that nowhere else can compete?
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Actually you'd be surprised at how expensive being a vegetarian can be in the states. for instance when i buy about .2 kg of tofu it costs me 5 dollars. which puts tofu at about 10 dollars a pound for me, which is pretty expensive.
and yeah i eat dairy/eggs.
American cuisine and life is pretty much whatever you make it. I know my friends LOVE to hold cook outs and invite a dozen people over, cook good quality burgers or sausage and drink good beer and share stories and play with a couple dogs. So much so that i'm saving up for a friends birthday where i'm going to buy him a 700 dollar grill so he can hold more get togethers. Once i get to my new apartment (way better than the hellhole i live in now) i'll be doing the same w/o the dogs, and with some tofu for myself. It really depends on where you are the main type of food culture you have. Larger cities in the NE tend to have restaurant and dinner party style food culture, while the south and California (to take advantage of the good weather here) often have outdoor cooking and more casual get togethers in their food culture.
Now i have to say, the most fun i've ever had with my friends was at a barbecue of a friend who forgot i was a vegetarian and i couldn't even eat a damn thing. it didn't matter because the company and the atmosphere was so great i just drank a few beers and enjoyed the day. Hell that's the one day since my GF and i broke up a month ago that i felt comfortable all day and peaceful. I love that about florida. that culture is just so much a part of me here.
Hell Whatever you end up doing, know that in the USA, you get what you put in. if you put in little effort to experiencing the best of your town, you get shitty cheap groceries and fast food. if you try to look out for the things you want, you most likely are going to find them, provided the place you move to is large enough. a small town of 450 people isn't going to have a very diverse culture and shopping selection, though they OFTEN will have amazing butchers and local grocers. big spread out cities like jacksonville and tampa in FL, are much more reliant on the big chain stores for groceries, but they have super good ethnic grocers. here in orlando i go to a japanese grocer for my tofu, an indian grocer for rice, an italian bakery for my bread, and when i buy meat for my friends i usually ask the owners of those grocers and they point me in the right direction, according to my friends they've never been wrong. And hell, i do all this without a car which is pretty difficult in orlando, but it's just a good example of how great the area i live in is.
The culture overall where i live is often pretty relaxing and casual. I love it here.
As for 5-guys. the USA has an east coast west coast rivalry between in-and-out burger (west coast) vs five guys (east coast) as to which chain has the best burgers/fries ect.
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On July 01 2012 18:11 Azera wrote:Show nested quote +On July 01 2012 18:10 Heh_ wrote:On July 01 2012 17:58 Azera wrote:
If I can't get some good sliced ham, bread, and vegetables, I'll be damned.
I can't begin to grasp the idea that Western countries don't have fresh meat and vegetables as well. Farmers market might be on every Sunday or so, but what about the butchers and whatever else? There's a bunch of fancy supermarkets that have popped up selling these stuff. Go check them out. Butchers... most people in US buy all their food, including all meat, from the supermarket. Yeah, J cube, the marketplace at Paragon, etc etc. Show nested quote +On July 01 2012 18:00 serge wrote:I'm just going to say that none of these posters have experience with American food aside from McDonalds or places where you can get your cut of steak for $12. There's NOTHING that comes even close to an all-American USDA-Prime cut of rib eye steak charred for 3 minutes to black and blue status on a charcoal grill. Granted this piece of meat will run you $35 if you're cooking yourself or upwards of $100 if you're getting it at a restaurant. You haven't tasted food until you've had one of those. You haven't tasted Singapore food.
What do you find so god-like here in Singapore that nowhere else can compete?[/QUOTE]
Hawker food. Char kuay teow, hokkien mee, roti prata, chicken rice, ban mian, nasi bryani, yong tau foo, laksa... what else do you want me to name. Don't like hawker food? There's still restaurants of every kind: chinese, thai, mexican, brazilian, italian, vietnamese.....
Oh yeah. Vegetables are somehow almost as expensive as meat in the US. And the variety is extremely limited.
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On July 01 2012 18:19 PrinceXizor wrote:
Actually you'd be surprised at how expensive being a vegetarian can be in the states. for instance when i buy about .2 kg of tofu it costs me 5 dollars. which puts tofu at about 10 dollars a pound for me, which is pretty expensive.
and yeah i eat dairy/eggs.
American cuisine and life is pretty much whatever you make it. I know my friends LOVE to hold cook outs and invite a dozen people over, cook good quality burgers or sausage and drink good beer and share stories and play with a couple dogs. So much so that i'm saving up for a friends birthday where i'm going to buy him a 700 dollar grill so he can hold more get togethers. Once i get to my new apartment (way better than the hellhole i live in now) i'll be doing the same w/o the dogs, and with some tofu for myself. It really depends on where you are the main type of food culture you have. Larger cities in the NE tend to have restaurant and dinner party style food culture, while the south and California (to take advantage of the good weather here) often have outdoor cooking and more casual get togethers in their food culture.
Now i have to say, the most fun i've ever had with my friends was at a barbecue of a friend who forgot i was a vegetarian and i couldn't even eat a damn thing. it didn't matter because the company and the atmosphere was so great i just drank a few beers and enjoyed the day. Hell that's the one day since my GF and i broke up a month ago that i felt comfortable all day and peaceful. I love that about florida. that culture is just so much a part of me here.
Hell Whatever you end up doing, know that in the USA, you get what you put in. if you put in little effort to experiencing the best of your town, you get shitty cheap groceries and fast food. if you try to look out for the things you want, you most likely are going to find them, provided the place you move to is large enough. a small town of 450 people isn't going to have a very diverse culture and shopping selection, though they OFTEN will have amazing butchers and local grocers. big spread out cities like jacksonville and tampa in FL, are much more reliant on the big chain stores for groceries, but they have super good ethnic grocers. here in orlando i go to a japanese grocer for my tofu, an indian grocer for rice, an italian bakery for my bread, and when i buy meat for my friends i usually ask the owners of those grocers and they point me in the right direction, according to my friends they've never been wrong. And hell, i do all this without a car which is pretty difficult in orlando, but it's just a good example of how great the area i live in is.
The culture overall where i live is often pretty relaxing and casual. I love it here.
As for 5-guys. the USA has an east coast west coast rivalry between in-and-out burger (west coast) vs five guys (east coast) as to which chain has the best burgers/fries ect.
Yes, yes, YES. THIS. I love the idea of having a cook-out so much. I've had a couple in my life and it's such a great experience. Hanging back, watching the sky turn dark and the stars appear, the smell of roast meat (or vegetables since that's your thing. Rocket salad is pretty amazing) and especially with all your buddies. Nowhere in hell you can do that in Singapore without feeling hella uncomfortable because of the heat and such. Oh yeah, compare the prices of wine in Singapore and New Zealand as well.
I don't mind the idea of having to walk a few hundred metres or blocks (?) to go to the grocer or anything, I love walking everywhere.
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On July 01 2012 18:20 Heh_ wrote:
Oh yeah. Vegetables are somehow almost as expensive as meat in the US. And the variety is extremely limited.
Yeah it pisses me off whenever i want to buy some good peppers or non staple vegetables because if it's not in season it's pricy as hell. potatoes/carrots/lettuce/cabbage/onion/corn is pretty much universally cheap though.
EDIT: sorry about the block thing. um. it's like of a colloquialism the whole US uses and i think canada not sure though.
Like from 1 street to another is a block. so it varies from city to city. NY blocks are like 100 meters, while orlando blocks are often 300 meters. I walk about 4km once a week to get my groceries. but i don't mind since it helps me keep in shape.
but yeah florida is pretty hot in the summer, but often windy and it rains almost every afternoon in june/july so it's cloudy too. 35 degrees is the average this week here tbh. in the winter it's about 20 degrees here so thats our range. sometimes it gets below freezing in the winter, but its often a couple weeks a year at most
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On July 01 2012 18:20 Heh_ wrote:Show nested quote +On July 01 2012 18:11 Azera wrote:On July 01 2012 18:10 Heh_ wrote:On July 01 2012 17:58 Azera wrote:
If I can't get some good sliced ham, bread, and vegetables, I'll be damned.
I can't begin to grasp the idea that Western countries don't have fresh meat and vegetables as well. Farmers market might be on every Sunday or so, but what about the butchers and whatever else? There's a bunch of fancy supermarkets that have popped up selling these stuff. Go check them out. Butchers... most people in US buy all their food, including all meat, from the supermarket. Yeah, J cube, the marketplace at Paragon, etc etc. On July 01 2012 18:00 serge wrote:I'm just going to say that none of these posters have experience with American food aside from McDonalds or places where you can get your cut of steak for $12. There's NOTHING that comes even close to an all-American USDA-Prime cut of rib eye steak charred for 3 minutes to black and blue status on a charcoal grill. Granted this piece of meat will run you $35 if you're cooking yourself or upwards of $100 if you're getting it at a restaurant. You haven't tasted food until you've had one of those. You haven't tasted Singapore food. What do you find so god-like here in Singapore that nowhere else can compete?
Hawker food. Char kuay teow, hokkien mee, roti prata, chicken rice, ban mian, nasi bryani, yong tau foo, laksa... what else do you want me to name. Don't like hawker food? There's still restaurants of every kind: chinese, thai, mexican, brazilian, italian, vietnamese.....
Oh yeah. Vegetables are somehow almost as expensive as meat in the US. And the variety is extremely limited.[/QUOTE]
Yeah I never really eat those things. Also, you're saying that Hokkien Mee, Roti Prata, Nasi Briyani, Laksa, and Char Kuay Teow is part of your daily diet? A plate of Char Kway Teow is like eating 300g of beef.
Even though I understand that you don't eat all these things frequently, it's still not for me man. Sure I enjoy these dishes whenever I can, but my comfort 'Asian' food has always been a nice bowl of congee, salted duck eggs, and some wanton soup.
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If you like cookouts, just go to college in the southern US states or california. it's pretty common in those areas among groups of friends. just be open and social and make friends and you'll be able to do it.
But moving to another country for a few years is a big commitment and you should definitely discuss it with your family. i guarantee you it's more work than the media makes it out to be. but life is pretty good here for the laid back.
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I don't know why people say US food is terrible. If anything, we have the MOST variety because there's so many cultures living in a single region. At least that's how it is in California. Even most fast food places not named McDolnalds or Burger King are pretty good (In n Out, Five Guys, Chipotle, etc.).
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On July 01 2012 18:37 Daozzt wrote:
I don't know why people say US food is terrible. If anything, we have the MOST variety because there's so many cultures living in a single region. At least that's how it is in California. Even most fast food places not named McDolnalds or Burger King are pretty good (In n Out, Five Guys, Chipotle, etc.).
yeah it's terrible if you look purely at "american" foods and ignore the whole home cooked aspect of american food. because then all you have is jerky, fast food and cheap processed snacks. lol.
if you live in a big enough area you can pretty much have access to everything you want from around the world. i found an iranian grocer the other day and i'm so excited to go get food there. :D
also, oh god, i'm going to chipotle tomorrow. so excited.
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