6 Proven Ways to Save While Eating Out in Malaysia

As we all know, Malaysia’s economy is pretty much going – or rolling – down the hill, and soon to be dominated by loads of bears in the market, hence there is a very high possibility that our spending power may go down with it as well. Considering this inevitable factor – unless a miracle happens, for Malaysians perhaps you know what – coming at us, it is best for us to stay in and cook for ourselves, right?

What’s being said is always easier than doing it, of course. Not many people fancy the idea of cooking at home seeing that they need to clean up the mess after the cooking, and some with limited cooking skills may find it boring to eat home-cooked food over and over again. Eating out is often way easier and the much simpler choice for many of us – no hassle, no washing, no cleaning up, all we do is just find a restaurant, sit, order, eat, then ciao (go back).

But, what if money is an issue? Then eating out may not be the best idea ever. Although with that being said, many of us would still opt to eat out because of the lesser hassle part. So this post serves to fulfil the purpose of spending lesser while eating outside food, just the one for eat-out-lovers to read on and see what you can do to save even just 10 cents on your meals!

Avoid Ordering Drinks

Yep, you saw that right, don’t take the drinks when you eat out. Skip the drinks whenever possible because it will save you at least RM 10. Let’s say soft drinks, they aren’t exactly good for health, taking them less would do more benefit than harm to your body and would save you that RM 2 – 3 if you were to buy a can of this soft drink in a supermarket. On the other hand, if you really want to drink something that’s really special on the menu, consider asking your dine-out partner if they would like to share a drink with you so that you two could split the cost by just adding an empty glass! Of course, make sure they are willing to do so. If they don’t want to, well, it depends on how you weigh it – is the drink worth it, or the money?

Pay with Credit Cards that Offer Cash Backs or Discounts

Very often we can see a lot of restaurants putting up promotion signs indicating that they are giving out either discounts or cash backs if you pay with a certain card to attract customers into their restaurants. I’m not promoting the usage of credits cards, but if these cards are used strategically, it could help you save some money. When you eat out in a restaurant, try to look out for any possible discounts associated with credit cards, a 10% discount or cash back is still better than paying the full price after all. So if you find this opportunity, jump into it and take advantage to save at least 5% of that bill of yours.

Sharing is Caring

Ah, sharing is caring, how often we hear this, yes? Patience is a virtue and so does sharing. When you’re considering eating out, perhaps you can get a consensus from your eat-out partners on sharing the food ordered and then split the cost equally. This does not only help you save but it also ensures that no leftovers will be present on your table.

Target the Sets Promotion

One overused marketing gimmicks by restaurants are set meals, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner. Even though it’s an overused gimmick, but certainly nobody would get tired of having valuable set meals that are worth their cents, am I right? I assume so. Set meals are provided by a lot of restaurants, and the best method to save money is by taking set meals. Why? Because a set meal usually comes with a main meal and one drink, in which it completes the basics of your meal for a price lesser than the original if you would have ordered it separately otherwise. A wonderful marketing gimmick benefiting both parties, isn’t it? So, look out for set meals to save!

Getting Discount Vouchers from Electronic Voucher Providers

Getting discount vouchers for restaurants are now easier than ever before with the advances i technology and creativity of our kind. There are plenty of e-commerce platforms that provide discount vouchers for consumers such as our main site ShopCoupons, Groupon and many more. Some of these platforms often provide discount vouchers to dine in various restaurants and new updates are always available on their website or mobile app almost every single day. So you can check it out and purchase the discount vouchers in advance to save more while enjoying quality food.

Takeaways!

Takeaway is another way in which you can save money if you are wishing to eat outside food, just the troublesome part is that you will have to drop by the restaurant, buy the food, then eat elsewhere or bring it home to enjoy. For certain restaurants, they do not charge the 10% service tax that we usually need to pay if we dine in, thus we pay less than when we dine in there just for their service. It is bad enough that we all have to pay a 6% for all goods and services, what made dining in restaurants worse are the additional 10% that most restaurants still charge, which is pretty much redundant actually. Save your 10% and go for self-service instead, opt to either go for restaurants that don’t charge you that 10% service charge when you order takeaway, or go to McDonalds or similar restaurants where you do all the self-service. What you get is what you pay, so if you don’t get service, then you get to pay less.

Dear eat-outers, hopefully this post has helped provide you with some ways on how to save while you eat out. Don’t forget to share this with your friends if you find this post useful. Also, in case you're looking for food discount vouchers, drop by our ShopCoupons food category and take your time to browse through the splendor of deals and vouchers to help you save. Till then, have a great day!

By Denise Goh
November 19, 2015 | Home & Lifestyle