Screw the Big Mac Index — over at I Dream Therefore I Am, JiMong gives us the prices of kimchi jjigae and soju in various cities around the world.
$32 for a bowl of jjigae in Zurich?
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I visit friends in NYC koreatown often.
Soju there was about $18. Galbi and Samgyeopsal was about $25.
Not the most expensive, but still pretty ridiculous.
Wow… and I thought Arizona was bad… ($11 for kimchijiggae, $6 for soju) I feel so much better now.
Last year I saw pibimbap for 18-20 Euro in Milan and Rome, everything else was more, in the 20-25 Euro range. At a smaller place saw ramyun, rice, and kimchi for 8 Euro. Didn’t eat any Korean on those trips.
In Annandale we can get pibimbap $6-10, chiggae/soontubu for $7-11, depending on time of day, etc.
this, I wrestled with my mind for many months. Why? Why? I asked. Why does Korean food charge so much?
Then, I came to peace, as I paid $7.99+tax for a sub sandwich, coke, and potato chips.
I reasoned, if I pay $9.99+tax for dwaen jang chi gae, why is it so bad when I pay 7.99 for a sandwich or par or more for Japanese food hot or sushi?
It’s not that bad, I reasoned.
But, the Chinese ! The Chinese sell their food dirt cheap, coming down to fast food levels. The only way you overpay for Chinese food is, if you are quite honestly dumb enough to.
It happens when you go to eat Chinese food at a place where white people are the waiters, possibly the cooks, and likely the owners. Let’s see. Actually, I don’t think it’s that hard for you to come up with a list. To legitimize their existence, they’ll sell you fruity drinks of a variety.
One Russian girl said it best. It’s dressed up $5 Chinese food.
meaning fruity alcoholic drinks.
wow, this drink tastes like sweet !
It’s 7.99 !
But why the line graphs?
Robert, many thanks for the posting the Kimchi Jjigae Index that the my humble site getting the record high traffic. Once again, it’s just another proof that how popular The Marmot’s Hole is.
Try 광화문집 someday if you like to have a Kimchi Jjigae for lunch menu as it’s just few blocks away from your office.
@wjk
Holy crap. 7.99 for sub, chip, and drink?! Inflation, or really fancy sub sandwich? (around here, it goes for around 5 bucks…)
@bumfromkorea,
living in the blue states simply costs more. It’s not a fancy sub sandwich. There was a New York City mayor candidate from the Democrats who said he thinks,
“I think everyone would agree in this city to pay another % in sales taxes, so we can pay the teachers, pay the police officers, and pay the firefighters.”
His last name, I believe was Weiner.
More taxes, more inflation, higher minimum wage, supply and demand, etc.
I’ll spare you the details. But, adjust to paying more for everything in the blue states.
It was simply a popular sub sandwich place which has been in business for 40 some years, by a Italian origin American in a decent part of a big city.
But, this price, you’ll pay easily at similar locations of lesser quality.
Some people can drag their politics into any situation.
#4 ”It happens when you go to eat Chinese food at a place where white people are the waiters, possibly the cooks, and likely the owners. ”
Saw bok choi being sold at a fusion restaurant in the East village section of NYC for US$14. A mile south (in Chinatown) it could have been had for $2.95,
with the latter probably tasting better.
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