I’m going from Hong Kong to Iceland next month. I’ve read that everything there, including food, are quite expensive. So my wife and I have been researching on how to prepare meal or snack that we can eat during the day instead of going to restaurant.
However, given we will travel by day tours, I don’t think fire or microwave will be readily available during the tours. We can only prepare the meal the day before or in the morning and bring with us in the tours.
We’ve read that peanut butter/honey with bread, dried fruit and nuts are some good options. Overnight oatmeal may be great but I’m not sure we can keep them cool enough throughout the day and if not, whether this will cause food spoilage.
Are there any other recommendations to have more variety? Thank you!
A caponata sandwich with a shed load of cheese should keep you going for a while. Or if you don’t want to make caponata, grill some veg instead.
Caponata is new to me, and cheese would be great!
Sandwiches? I did sandwiches and snacks.
Yeah was bout to say this too haha. Seems like the best choice just curious how long they’ll be on the trip for
Ah yes, how did I forget sandwiches when I type bread? And I love sandwiches too. Thanks!
Ah yes, how did I forget sandwiches when I type bread? And I love sandwiches too. Thanks!
>travels halfway around the world
>worries about food being expensive
I understand it may sound strange. But given we’ve spent a lot on tickets, tours and accommodations, we’d like to spend less on food, which is the least important thing to us. My wife sometimes even jokes if there’s a pill that can provide all nutrition a person need, she would take that every day and forgo the ability/choice to eat any other thing.
Just buy groceries and cook them in your hotel while you’re there instead of eating at restaurants. My cousin did a trip to Iceland a few years ago and that was his strategy.
We do plan to cook at the hotel we’ve booked, but not sure what type of food are more suitable to be brought as lunch without microwave. In HK, we often cook rice and such and use microwave to reheat for lunch.
In this case, whey protein and some Carbo snacks?
Flying to Iceland is actually relatively cheap. Things are insanely expensive once you’re there though.
For 2 people it’s at least around $2,000 (or the local equivalent) from Hong Kong round trip. Kind of cheap, but not that cheap.
Still, given the carbon emissions of flying, it is far too cheap to fly in general.
We should switch back to dirigibles.
Oh wow, that’s way more expensive than I thought.
You can get prepackaged meals that you can eat after submerging the packet in hot water for a few minutes. Hot water is easily available in most place, even more so if you carry a flask.
Protein bars are filling and quite nice to eat. Dried fruits like apricots or dates are also a nice calorie rich option. Bread and jam/pb are the usual travel staples. Milk powder and cornflakes/cereal is also an option, but not one of my favourites.
You can also carry out forms of bread like pretzels, bagels or focaccia which will last for a few days or even more.
Don’t forget that experiencing local food is part of any travel experience :) you’re not going to travel to Iceland to just eat in the future. So it might be a good idea to explore local supermarkets for some local fruits, bread, snacks and so on. Hopefully some Icelandic person will chime in with more suggestions.
I love bread! Though my wife, not so much. We do plan to go to supermarket, thanks for suggestions!
Hope you have a good trip :) I know the struggle! I’m a vegetarian and often it’s very hard for me to find dishes I can eat in many countries. I have shifted towards renting Airbnbs with kitchen and making rice or pasta with local veggies for most of my meals for this reason.
I don’t have any good suggestions, but I have two questions that might be relevant to you or to other people who do have ideas.
- Will you be visiting a grocery store in Iceland to get your ingredients? Or will you be packing them in your luggage on the flight over?
- If they are in your luggage, will there be any customs tomfoolery if you’re bringing lots of food with you? (I have never flown with lots of food in my luggage; I have no idea if this is even a concern, but wanted to bring the question up in case it is.)
I don’t think he is talking about importing it. 😅
You’re not allowed to for a bunch of stuff anyway.
It doesn’t seem likely–but you never know, which is why I thought raising the question might be useful. As you said, you’re not allowed to import lots of stuff…which, if you poured all your food money into food you’re bringing with you, would be devastating to find out at the last moment. Esp. if you were on a tight budget to begin with.
I will bring some food like nuts and some will be brought in grocery storea/supermarkets there.
What do you mean by customs tomfoolery?
Generally flying with lots of food into a foreign country is a big no no. Packaged snacks are fine but anything that could be considered an agricultural product should be avoided.
Beans, lentils and rice are highly nutritious, can all be eaten cold or at room temperature and won’t spoil if you make them the day before and keep them in a closed Tupperware.
Great suggestions! Beans and such would be great for dietery fibre.
Sushi
fire or microwave
Quite disparate levels of technology you’ve got there! When defending yourself against an attacker, are your options flint spear or laser pistol?
Because if so, you might enjoy Fallout 2 😉
Will you be able to poop during the duration of the trip?
I understood the reference
Couscous. It can be “cooked” in cold water if necessary. It also goes well with most things so if you find something you can afford, perhaps you can add it.
Ask the locals though, what is affordable there.
Never heard of couscous! Will do some research on this, thanks!
I hope that you have a wonderful trip!
Go to the supermarket and get ready-made meals. It’s way cheaper than restaurants and you’ll get to try local delicacies :)
We do want some taste of local cuisine, so ready-made meals in supermarket would be awesome.
Pasta salad is one of my go-to lunches on the go. Fusili pasta mixed with any and all vegetables you prefer. For protein I’ll add boiled eggs, beans and/or fried chicken strips. Easy to make, nutritious and good to eat cold/room temperature.
Iceland is amazing, hope you have a greta trip!
Pasta salad is not common in Asia, but do seems like a good choice. Thanks!
Order some Huel before you go. Just add water and you are good.
Not sure about Iceland, but several countries place some constraints on which foodstuffs you can enter the country with (not asking about importing, etc, even for personal consumption). I’d check this beforehand.
Thanks for the reminder, I believe anything but meat or diary product is fine, but will check again.
Hey, you’re correct it’s pretty expensive to buy food here.
If you want to try and get a feel for some of the prices you can try your luck here with Google translate -> https://kronan.is/snjallverslun (this store is much nicer and just as cheap as the self proclaimed discount supermarket Bónus)
Expensive stuff includes but is not limited to; fresh meat and fish, most non basic fruit, fresh pastries, non factory bread, meat toppings, cheese, good yoghurt, most cereal, and more. Basically anything good and healthy. It’s gotten much worse in the past two years compared to the other Nordics because the icelandic aristocracy has taken a real liking to greedflation. All the fast food and restaurants are crazy expensive. Anywhere a tourist might go is also crazy expensive.
The less expensive foods might include: basic fruit like banana and some type of apples, factory made bread, cheaper types of biscuits, cheaper types of pasta and canned goods, cheaper types of yogurt. Some dried fruit and nuts. You should be ok with making sandwiches as someone else suggested.
Good luck, try not to get stuck here for too long 😅
Thanks for the detailed reply! Great list of examples help us a lot.
