Price is not a Number. It's Relative......

I am an economical person who try to keep her expenditure below the income. This attitude has always been helpful to me to have money for the most necessary requirements.

I tend to be mindful about how much money I am spending on what. Also, I try to be calculated about whether the money spent on a certain item is worth spending on, or I may get the same product in a cheaper price. (It’s another debate that I make mistakes in calculations, at times 🤪 but the thing is I try my level best to not spend money in a way where it gives me a feeling of being wasted.)

The expenditure on food is no different. It’s possible to have the same food from a local restaurant at a much lower price that you would get overly priced from an expensive restaurant. So, why to choose an expensive place when you know that your wallet would curse you for this 😂.

When I read the Hive Learner’s current contest prompt about the cheapest and expensive food I have ever eaten, I drove the horses of thoughts to try to remind of the most expensive item. Lolz. I couldn’t find anything too much expensive (as I have already told you about my economical nature and interestingly, my husband is equally economical 😄). Whenever, we go for a dinner the bill for the whole family (I, the hubby and my sons) is within 2000 to 2500 PKR. So, it may be said the most expensive food that we have eaten was yesterday. It was boneless chicken Handi, and brain fried with Chapati. Also we had a cup of tea at the end. The whole feast cost us 2250PKR or 7.88$.

About the cheapest food, I would say it is the egg omelette with Chapati. In about 50PKR (0.18$), it is the wholesome food that can satiate my hunger. Easily cooked at home in no time 😃.

Nevertheless, when I contemplated on the terms expensive and cheap, I realized that these terms are relative. What I deduced that a product that doesn’t worth the price is expensive. On the other hand, an item that gives more value than that of its price is cheap. In this regard I have certain foods in my mind that I think I ate were expensive.

Once, my cousins came to our home from another city. My father took us to shopping to a distant market. After being done with the shopping he told us that there was a famous kulfi shop in a nearby market. Kulfi, one of my most favorite, is a subcontinental dessert. It may be said that it is the sister of ice-cream. This is how it appears (_{the only apt image I could find on pixabay}).

My dad took us there. We had to walk too much to reach that shop. Dad ordered Kulfi, one for each of us. It was served and we put a spoon of it in our mouth. Oh, woe! The Kulfi wasn’t delicious at all. The excessive use of cinnamon had made its taste so pungent that it bit our mouths.

At the time when Kulfi was easily available at a price of 5 to 10 PKR, that particular Kulfi cost us 25PKR. It didn’t certainly worth the price it held. So I think that’s one of the most expensive food I ate. God knows who made it that famous. I think Dad had only heard of it and never had an experience before.

On the other hand, there was a cheap food I was so fond of and I still crave for it. It was sold in one of the canteens of my university. The food was Chicken Shashlik with fried rice.

The whole plate of rice with gravy and chicken, enough for my one time meal, was sold at 40 PKR. At that time, such a plate was normally available in 80 to 100 PKR. Despite being so low at the price, the taste of the meal was outstanding. It was a culinary delight that surpassed its economical delight. It was testament to the fact that gastronomic joy doesn’t always correlate with a hefty price tag.

In conclusion, I have found that the most expensive does not always equate to the most enjoyable. The overhyped Kulfi was a let down while the delectable chicken Shashlik with fried rice surpassed its economical price. It illustrates that the true gastronomic joy is not confined by cost but rather by the satisfaction and delight a meal brings, proving that the value of food is subjective and not always correlated with its price.

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The post is my entry for Hl-featured contest.

Image by kuldeepnegibombay on Pixabay.com