Expensive here, cheap there: 10 bargain foods you must eat overseas
Although exchange rates aren’t always in our favour, some food and drink remains bargain-priced overseas. Here are 10 treats to indulge in while you have the chance.
Cheese, France
Cheese is produced in enormous quantities in France, making it cheaper.Credit: iStock
If you’ve taken a fancy to the double-cream soft cheese Fromager d’Affinois sold in Coles at $85 a kilo, then you’d best take out a second mortgage. But this double-cream soft cheese is produced in enormous quantities in France, where it costs a mere €13.45 ($22) a kilo. Roquefort is €15.67 and Camembert €6.20 a kilo. Baguettes to match are cheap and the world’s best too, so don’t hold back on picnicking like a French king.
Wines, South Africa
Wine is so cheap in South Africa, a top-notch bottle in a fine-dining restaurant could cost as little as $50.Credit: iStock
South Africa has produced wine for more than 350 years. Buy a bottle of wine for ZAR 100 ($8) and you can expect something reasonably decent. Spend twice that and you’ll be impressed. And while locals moan about the huge mark-ups in South African restaurants, wine remains a bargain. On the Cape Town waterfront, a restaurant bottle might cost ZAR 250, while ZAR 700 ($56) takes you into fine-wine territory.
Gelato, Italy
Expect to pay about $4 for a gelato in Italy.Credit: Istock
Although expensive in tourist towns – Florence is said to have the most expensive gelato in Italy – you can expect to pay about €2.50 ($4) for gelato in a cup or cone in most neighbourhood gelaterie. In provincial towns, gelato might go for under €2, so get licking, especially on local flavours such as prickly pear, melon or cinnamon. At Gelato Messina in Australia, in contrast, you’ll shell out $6.20 a scoop.
Sushi and sashimi, Japan
Sushi train restaurants in Japan are excellent value.Credit: iStock
Tuck into all the super-fresh, high-quality fish you can in Japan. A sashimi plate will cost no more than ¥1500 ($15) in a neighbourhood izakaya or bar, while ¥3500 is probably the most you’ll pay in a high-end restaurant for some of the best sashimi you’ve ever tasted. Even conveyor-belt sushi restaurants supply decent quality, sometimes with all-you-can-eat specials for ¥4000 ($42) for men, a bit less for women.
Pastries, Austria
A slice of Hotel Sacher’s famous Sacher-Torte will set you back $14.
Austrian bread and pastry prices have risen 20 per cent thanks to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (one of Europe’s biggest grain producers). But no Australian tourist will complain. A croissant costs a euro, a slice of excellent cake or strudel €3 ($5) from a bakery. The original Sacher-Torte in the very posh Cafe Sacher is €8.9 ($14). But never mind all that: an Austrian semmel or crusty white bread roll costs well under a euro for simple scrumptiousness.
Beef, Argentina
In Argentina, a steak and a glass of Malbec may only cost you $31.Credit: Alamy
Parrillas or steakhouses in Argentina can dish up a meal and glass of wine for as little as ARS 7000 ($31). Even the best Buenos Aires steakhouses are a relative bargain, with a 600-gram, melt-in-your mouth ribeye going for ARS 8000 and a bottle of Malbec to match for ARS 7000. That’s good value for Australians – the exchange rate works in our favour for once – although Argentinians moan about the 30 per cent jump in beef prices.
Beer, Belgium
In Belgium, you’ll pay about €4 ($6.65) for a beer at a table, €2 in a shop.Credit: Alamy
Belgium has the world’s best and widest choice of beer on tap and in bottles. More than 200 breweries produce 1500 varieties of liquid gold and, given their high alcohol content, you won’t need to drink much for your buzz. So what does this excellence cost? You’ll pay about €4 ($6.65) a beer at a table, €2 in a shop. Only the most esoteric speciality beers might hit prices comparable to Australia. Pub crawl, here we come.
Tropical fruit, Thailand
In Thailand, some of the world’s best fruit is available for as little as one Aussie dollar. Credit: iStock
You can expect some of the world’s best fruit to be available for between THB 20 and THB 50 a piece, or roughly between one and two Aussie dollars. Some such as pineapples and coconuts can cost as little as THB 10, while they’re sold in Australian supermarkets for about $5. You’ll particularly want to go mad on the exotics – mangosteens, lychees, rambutans, custard apples, dragon fruit – that attract premium prices back home.
Tapas, Spain
In some parts of Spain, you’ll still get a free tapa with your drink. Credit: Alamy
In some parts of Spain, you’ll still get a free tapa with your drink. Otherwise, stay away from tourist traps and you ought to enjoy a tapa from €3.50 ($5.70) a plate. Be aware you’ll pay more if you sit on a terrace rather than stand at an inside bar. And tapas is only a bargain as a snack to share over drinks. Try to make a meal out of a tapas crawl and it will cost far more than an actual meal.
Cocktails, Cuba
Bars in Havana charge about $6 for cocktails.Credit: Alamy
As American novelist Ernest Hemingway happily discovered in the 1940s, booze is abundant and cheap in Cuba and, as a producer of rum and flavoursome fruits, it’s the perfect place for cocktails. In a regular Havana bar, you’ll pay about CUC 4 ($6). Sit on a rickety stool at a hole-in-the-wall bar and you’ll pay even less for a mojito or daiquiri – and might get some free musical entertainment into the bargain.
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