Dorm Room Grub - Cheap Chicken Dinners

Eating out in Tokyo everyday need not be expensive if you know where to go. But, being the cheapo that I am, I get a kick out of scrimping and saving every yen I can by cooking my own food.

The site Tokyo Cheapo has been an absolute godsend in recommending some of the cheapest supermarkets ever.

I bought a 2kg bag of frozen chicken thigh from Niku no Hanamasa Supermarket near Shin-Okubo station for a grand total of 640 yen. Some might think I'm crazy to lug 2kg of frozen chicken back home on a 1h train ride just to save some $$, but I would do it again anytime. That's less than 700 yen for 9 large pieces of chicken, which fed me for close to 3 weeks. In comparison, buying the equivalent at the supermarket near the dorm would cost me close to 400 yen for 2 pieces.

Why pay for convenience when you can save some moolah and burn some calories at the same time? It fills me with happiness to know that I saved so much. It's a drug. This cheapo thing.

Some obligatory photos of how I cooked the chicken, complete with random desk objects for meal companions:

Miso Ramen with chicken, egg, nasu and negi

One-pot boiled chicken rice, spinach, shimeji

Miso stir-fry starring undercooked egg on pasta

Failed attempt at Nasu Dengaku, featuring stray rice grain

Overly-soupy Oyako-don

I think mum would be proud of me.