Eat well on $10 daily
If you’ve read my previous article, I have managed to eat well on $7 a day. I have decided to make my next challenge a little more exciting: How To Eat Well on $10 a day with Hcook!
As you would agree with me, Singapore is an expensive city to live in. $10 a day on three meals is…erm…challenging. Most burnt it off just on a salad lunch or Macdonalds meal. Nevertheless, I was determined to eat well even without cooking it myself. I realised the gargantuan nature of my challenge and adopted a few strategies to get by on a meagre $10 a day budget.
- Always buy items that can be consumed for multiple meals. For example, fresh bread can last for 3 days and can be taken over 3 breakfasts.
- Planned your meals in advance and get food from Hcook Chefs nearby to me to avoid incurring delivery cost.
- Always wear a smile and treat my Hcook Chefs with respect (you will know why later)
- Never refuse a discount (read Hcook promo code)
I kickstart my challenge by getting the following. I needed bread that is healthy, filling and does not spoil easily. I have decided to zoom in on the German sourdough as it is the healthiest and most filling of bread. There are several offers for this on Hcook but wait a minute! At $5 for a full loaf, it’s too good to be true. So I immediately contacted Jonathan Sze and made my order for pick up tomorrow. I also bought salted caramel sauce ($7) from Brunoise and almond nut butter ($6) from Oatimism just to get some variety for my breakfast spreads. Given that Hcook has an ongoing 10% app wide purchase (HCOOK10) I have managed to get 10% savings on all my purchases. $53.80 left.



#1/21 I cut the sourdough into 9 equal slices and have 3 for every meal. Today’s spread was almond nut butter. The aroma of pure almond butter was incredibly arresting. Given that it’s made only from pure almonds, salt and nothing else, it taste great! Goes to show that good ingredients requires little processing. I was already filling full 2 slices into breakfast. The sourdough is indeed a great investment.

#2/21 I was feeling adventurous the previous day and have ordered Raksa from Couple Wita for lunch. Based on app description, it is laksa originating from Southern Thailand, and is served in a combination of sourness, a touch of spice, taking an orangey tint, together with fresh fish meat. I picked it up from Couple Wita as they stayed 2 blocks away from me and it’s only $4.50 ($4.05 after Hcook discount) Unheard of prices compared to thai food out there. It actually reminds me of Penang laksa and it taste pretty awesome. $49.75 left.
#3/21 I have pre-ordered Kimbap, from Ah Kim’s. There were 3 choices of fillings to select from — cheese kimbap, kimchi kimbap, or original kimbap. Being a kimchi lover, I requested to have kimchi filling! For an entire box of homemade sushi, it cost me $6 only ($5.40 after discount) Definitely a steal. Not only that, tasting that Kimbap immediately transported me to that scene in my favourite korean drama She Was Pretty. $44.35 left.

#4/21 I woke up early today and went for a run via the Pasir Ris Park connector, to Punggol. The day before, I have ordered Katsu Aglio Olio Pasta from Ai Yun. For $6.50 ($5.85 after discount) I got a plate of pasta cooked with chicken hotdog and katsu chicken, seasoned with black pepper, salt, and garlic, and topped with chilli padi and parsley flakes. It was a pretty generous serving. I had to run extra to burn off the calories! $38.50 left.
#5/21 before lunch, I was back home and decided to have something light (still feeling quite bloated from the huge serving for breakfast) Activating another 3 slices of my sourdough bread, I topped it with Brunoise’s salted caramel sauce and it was a surprisingly delicious combination. Still at $38.50.

#6/21 for the rest of the day, I was binge watching Korean dramas. As a result, I am having massive cravings for Korean cuisine! Without hesitation, I grabbed my iPhone and ordered Korean Chapchae (stir-fried glass noodles) from my usual Hcook Chef. As I’m a regular customer of Ah Kim’s, there was no need for any advance notice. Collection was easy too because she stays in the vicinity! $8 ($7.20 after discount) for a hot plate of Korean Chapchae — worth it to the max! I love the springy texture in the glass noodles. So with that, $31.30 left!
#7/21 I took the last 3 slices of sourdough bread with both spreads — salted caramel sauce and almond nut butter. I spread it side by side on the sourdough bread and it surprisingly matched! I shared a bite with my colleague and she said the same thing too.
#8/21 I was swamped with work and unable to get away for lunch. Thankfully, Soubhagya Gnanabaskaran was somewhere near my office to run some errands, so I could meet her nearby to collect my South Indian Lunch! It consists of white rice, sambar, rasam, 2 vegetables and appalam. All for only $4 ($3.60 after discount) $27.70 left.
#9/21 Dinner was light and simple as I had planned on hitting the gym. I collected diced pumpkin and dried scallop congee $4 ($3.60 after discount) from Cheezybagelz. Its truly comfort food. Perfect for a rainy evening. $24.10 left.


For the second part of my 1-week challenge, I spent $4 for Demi Baguettes from Raymond Toh and $3.50 for an avocana bread from FHL Bakery for breakfasts.
I am left with $17.35… oh no. I think I’ve overspent the past 3 days…and there’s 4 more days to go! Now I am beginning to doubt whether I can succeed with my challenge.
#10–11/21 I decided to be more self-disciplined in terms of my spendings. So instead of having three meals that day, I had only 2! I had brunch of demi baguette with almond nut butter.


#12/21 Dinner was Vegan Potato Curry from Greenhouse $5 ($4.50 after discount) and believe it or not, she actually gifted me some Potato Flatbread to try as it’s a new recipe and she would like me to give her some comments. All I can say is both are marvellously delicious. For less than $5, I have gotten not just a sumptuous meal but also something I would never get from a commercial establishment, homemade love beyond monetary transaction. $12.85 left.
#13/21 the next morning, I had avocana bread for breakfast. So what exactly is avocana bread? Like the name implies, it’s made up of avocado, banana, and walnuts in a mini loaf! People usually eat it as a healthy alternative for breakfast or as a snack to munch on when curbing the hunger pangs. What a nutritious loaf of goodness! Still at $12.85.
#14/21 I had Hainanese Chicken Rice! I met 1PotCooking just a stone’s throw away from my office because she was also on her way to work. And I’m so glad I tried this one! Freshly poached chicken served with fragrant chicken rice, homemade chilli sauce, achar, chicken soup, and cucumber — all for only $3.80 ($3.45 after discount) $9.40 left.
#15/21 For dinner, I spent only $1.60 ($1.45 after discount) on 2 Kuih Lopes by Yati Bakri. Filled with shredded coconut and drizzled with Gula Melaka — what a traditional treat! :) It was also on the way home, so I didn’t have to go out of the way to get it. $11.40 left.
With two more days to go, I was quite anxious. I wasn’t sure if that amount would be able to last me through 6 more meals.



#16/21 breakfast was uneventful but tasty. I have demi baguette with almond nut butter. This is the last of my almond nut butter and it has served me well for 4 meals.
#17/21 for lunch, I ordered Teriyaki Chicken and Dory Combo Bento Set from Benson Tan $5.50 ($4.95 after discount) The teriyaki chicken was well marinated with homemade teriyaki sauce, while the dory fish was marinated in Japanese spices and citrus juices, baked to perfection. On top of that, the bento set came with fresh crisp iceberg lettuce and my favourite tamago roll! All these delicacies for only $4.95, what a spread!
#18/21 Little did I know that when I went to collect my bento set from Benson, I was in for a pleasant surprise! I remember smiling radiantly at Benson and we had a nice little chat. Turns out that there was another buyer who have paid for his order but did not turn up, so Benson decided to give me that portion too instead of wasting the food away. I got 2 meals for the price of 1. Moral of the story is niceness begets niceness! Always wear a smile and get rewarded by your friendly neighbour. Dinner, settled! $6.45 left.
#19/21 I finished up the last bit of my Demi Baguette with salted caramel spread and rushed off to work after breakfast.
I was dreaming of a great treat to end my challenge yet still keep to my budget. At this point, I have $6.45 left with 2 meals to go. Looks like mission impossible. Suddenly, my phone beep with a notification. My eyes widen. Hcook is offering 50% off all purchases in app! Grabbing my phone immediately, I planned for lunch and dinner. By God’s grace, my budget has just ballooned!
#20/21, I gather my colleagues orders and together we ordered Nonya Mee Siam for 5 pax from Fabian Chow. At $18 ($9 after discount) it was a steal! When we broke down the individual cost, it works out to $1.80 per pax! Now I am quietly laughing. I have $4.65 left to spend for a great dinner and I feel like going Peranakan tonight!

#21/21, I have the equivalent of $9.30 to spare. I stopped at Ayam Lodeh from Mom’s Not Cooking. I remember reading on Makansutra rave reviews for his Peranakan food and he happens to be my neighbour too! Ok, I have got to get this and requested in app for white rice ($0.30) to go with the Ayam Lodeh. So there you go. $9.30 in total and I end my challenge triumphant!
We live to eat and we want to eat well and take good care of our body. At Hcook, all my foodie dreams have come true! I have not only taste great food, I have also experience great neighbourly love and respect for food. I have made many friends on Hcook. I came to realise that a lot of the Hcook Chefs are truly nice people. Neighbours that I would not have the opportunity to speak to. Very often, we have nice little chats when I pick up the food. They are not here just to do business but more importanly, to share their love for food. They have food raved about by food bloggers. They are also constantly inventing new recipes and improving upon their existing. They are concerned about leftovers and have no qualms giving it away instead of letting good food go to waste. I get to benefit by always having extras.
Living on $10 a day is not easy, but with Hcook, the job is made way simpler than I would ever have thought. With hundreds of home chefs registered on the app and thousands of listings, our taste buds are certainly in for a treat! Connecting foodies and Hcook chefs together has never been this fun. Join me in the hunt for meals that amount to $10 a day on Hcook!

I am glad to have discover the Hcook app.
Start using the Hcook app today and get food from your neighbours, and I’m sure you’ll get “Hcook-ed” in no time!
