Cost of groceries to feed a big family in SE Asia

After 3 months of slow travel in South East Asia, we thought it would be helpful to share our views on the cost of grocery shopping for us.

Granted we have a family of 7 so the food bills will never be cheap however we assumed that the price of most items would be lower than the UK like most other costs such as taxis, services, etc.

We were WRONG! In most supermarkets across Indonesia and Malaysia, a typical basket for us containing items such as bread, cheese, milk, yoghurt, cereal, fruit, vegetables, butter, chilled/frozen items tend to be the same if not more expensive than Western prices.

We love our milk, cheese and yoghurts and all diary produce is really expensive! Other stuff such as soft drinks, crisps, noodles and water are definitely cheaper.

Overall, we walk away from a grocery trip feeling disappointed that we have paid a bill the same as back home in the UK.

When we were back home in the UK budgeting for our SE Asia trip, this was a cost line that we thought would definitely be cheaper for us. Our budget also allowed us to eat out for dinner 3 times a week.

To be clear, this blog is not about eating out. We have found eating out to be way cheaper than the UK which is great particularly when we go to night markets or street food stalls.

We have slowly learned that there are ways to save money on most groceries:

• Depending on which type of supermarket you go to
• Cutting back on our favourite imported Western brands
• Finding local markets for our fruit, veg, fish and meats

It's not easy when you are moving from one place to another and only spending a short amount of time in any given area.

It's also not easy when you have fussy nagging kids all being reluctant to try new stuff and shouting out for the familiar but expensive Western brands.

Watch our video to see more about all of this stuff and the actual prices we paid in the supermarkets. We also show you the local markets where things are much cheaper.