Living Cheap in Paris II: Cheap Eats

It is always good to equip yourself with a few tricks cutting back on food expenses, and I can give you 4 reasons for that:

a) because, obviously, I'm quite a broke student and I don't want to give my parents a hard time

b) because one day you may wake up finding out Euro values soared sky-high!

c) because Paris' art and fashion scene is so fascinating that I'd rather cut back on eating and spend that money on shopping (or in other words, I just had to cut back on food after losing control in the vintage shops)

d) a very very plausible and concrete reason - you will never know when the French administration decides to process everything slowly, such as holding your international cheque for 4 weeks when they originally promised you 2, and send you to the borderline poverty just like that. Sounds super realistic, doesn't it? Well, guess who experienced that!

So, to begin with, let's talk about how cheap we can get.
If we are using food prices in Asia as reference, nothing should be considered cheap here. There is no such thing as HKD$15 (i.e. €1.50)  a pot of steamed rice, or HKD$20 (€2) a bowl of noodles. To dine out in a regular bistro costs about €12, and €10 for a meal with a drink is considered a pretty good deal already, so whatever goes below €10 per meal will fall into my definition of "Parisian cheap".

Most of the time I do my own grocery shopping and cooking, because obviously in the long run cooking at home is the cheapest way to eat. But during those impoverished days *sniff sniff*, what I did was... run straight to Carrefour. And here are some of the things that I got.

• a box of Carrefour €0.99 cherry tomatoes
• some €0.99 cheap selected veggies from Carrefour like bell peppers and 
• a few kiwis <3
• TOAST! A big loaf of Carrefour bread (just €1 oh mon dieu)
• mousse de fois gras on sale at Monoprix (that was a bit less than €2!)
• and I got my remaining stock of rice/noodles/pasta/spices...

The key to my cheap grocery shopping can pretty much be summed up by two words: flexibility and sustainability.  I think I survived cos I can never get tired of all day breakfasts and fruits. And my cheap food was quite a bon marché, and bought in a fairly huge amount, so that kept me going for quite a while.

Here in my oh-so-chic 7th arrondissement neighbourhood, I've got a mega Monoprix with a wide variety of fresh vegetables, fruit and meat but they are all slightly pricier then other selection of fresh vegetables and meat, a Carrefour City with a fair-enough, not-too-bad selection of basic food, and a few little Francprix nearby which I don't understand why people would go for them when they aren't any better than Carrefour in terms of price and quality. Frankly speaking, the order of naming these supermarkets pretty much reflects my preference.

Shamefully, having stayed here for almost 3 months I have only recently found a fresh food market in my neighbourhood.

The Sunday Market at Boulevard Raspail is definitely a pleasurable walk, especially when everything is closed and there is nothing much to do during the weekends. Everything there wass fresh, handmade and prepared by the locals. Some of them actually live outside of Paris, preparing their patisserie and produces and what not during the week, then drive all the way into Central Paris and sell them.




I would say I'll stick to shopping at Carrefour 'cause that's definitely much more affordable. Patti and I bought these fine quality Compté and Pure Goat cheese from a local fromagerie stand, and it costed us bloody €18! (Oh come on, it was our little feast... I guess it's justifiable :P) Alternatively you can get cheaper ones from Carrefour that taste way different (and worse) for about €2-€3 for a portion.

The market, nonetheless, is a great once-in-a-while cultural visit to see what quality French food should be like. Especially when there is great weather and great people-watching going on.

I mean, look at her. 

The best-dressed middle-aged lady in kitsch style. 

Hands down. 

Okay. Back to our cheap eat business.

But if you'd still like to dine out, it's not entirely impossible. All you need to know is the right places to go! Here I'll give you my top 5...

5. Resto U / Crous. Okay skretch that - that's kinda cheating. But, well, if you have a student card and you need a big meal at the lowerest price ever. Crous can't fail you. Personally I haven't been there, but I've heard for a zillion times that they don't taste very bad, and with a bit less than €4 you will get an appetizer, a reasonably big plate of mains, and a yoghurt (fair enough as a dessert!). I'll definitely update on this once I've tried!

5. Flunch. I haven't really heard of people going there, but personally I find this quite a social-enterprise made for low/average income families. Flunch is like your high school cafeteria where you bring your tray to different islands of salad bars, grills, hot plates, desserts etc., pick your food and pay at the cashier when you're done. Here I've got myself a plat du jour (meatballs!) which was about €6, a little bun cos I didn't see any carb around, and added €2 for tea and dessert just because my sweet tooth was crying out loud that day. Turns out there was actually a buffet of couscous, pomme purée, haricot vert, frites, riz, pates... Absolutely everything after you've paid. And you can always refill as you like. That's probably the cheapest and most filling sit-in spot I've found so far.

Oh, and did I mention I went there on a Sunday? And it's just right next to Centre Pompidou? You know how tiring it can be to look at art exhibitions intensely for a few hours. I find that sit-in and enormous amount of food lifesaving after looking at Roy Lichenstein for hours, and got me pumped up to go back in afterwards!

€8.50 for all these. Merci Flunch!

4. Breakfast in America. This American Diner may not be the cheapest thing, but given how big and tasty their classic burger is (being very true to American food, not Parisi-fied at all) , the amount of chips that come along with, and that they offer student formules (€7 = burger+chips+juice/coke!), I find it a really fair deal.

Milkshakes are another specialty of the diner. Here, with our tummies all filled and popped up, we still insisted to try this very America peanut butter milkshake for the most intriguing name ever - Obama. 

Do make sure you have someone to share this with you. It's quite intense indeed :P

3. Komptoir and all along the Beaubourg/Marais area. A few little bars at the hidden corners of the Beaubourg square actually serve decent plat du jour, and the cheapest ones are about €7! Patti and I once had a quatre frommage at Komptoir for lunch. We even scraped all the cream at cheese with the free baguette that came along. Nomz.

2. Middle Eastern food. Or to be precise, FALAFEL! Generally speaking, sandwiches like shawma are about €5-€6, and they always come with chips as well. Tummy filled with great spices and warmth (and oil - but hey you'll need it this winter anyway) guaranteed! I'd recommend the touristic yet legit L'As du Falafel, that has been widely acknowledged to be the best falafel place in town. But it is tricky to get hold of a sandwich from them - either they are closed (they always do, avoid Saturdays) or the queue is super long. Personally I've tried the other falafel shops nearby when I find it closed, but it really is nothing to be compared. You just have to stick to this shop. Plus, it's only €5.50 for a take-away falafel! Best snack for my walk all the way from Marais back to Sciences Po - the walk was just right to digest this bomb.

1. ("Oh please we are in Paris..." Ok here is the most cliché yet the best classics.) 
Baguettes and Crêpes! Recently my besties brought me to the P'tit Grec for the infamous big and cheap galettes in town. They have tried thon fromage / jambon oeuf fromage / chef... and they are all good. I think they are big enough for guys' appetite, since we all needed a big break after eating half of it in order to continue haha.
But of course, you don't always have to go to P'tit Grec. Stalls and carts of crêpes and boulangeries are just everywhere (espeically now that we have Christmas Markets now...) . You can easily get a crêpe with jam, lemon sugar, nutella (banana), apple sauce and all sorts of flavours. For some less conventional / less well-known choices, I beg you, try crème de marron (a chestnut jam, preferably the Bonne Maman jam please) or Grand Marnier (a strong liquor. I should try rum next time). Trust me, they will be good. 

And finally, for those who really feel a little depressed by living on a budget here in Paris, Ernest Hemingway once said in his Paris journal, A Moveable Feast...

But then we did not think ever of ourselves as poor. We did not accept it. We thought we were superior people and other people that we looked down on and rightly mistrusted were rich.

...It had never seemed strange to me later on to wear sweatshirts for underwear to keep warm. It only seemed odd to the rich. We ate well and cheaply and drank well and cheaply and slept well and warm together and loved each other.

All the best on living cheap in Paris, and let me know your little tricks as well! Bis xx