How to eat well in Melbourne for $80–120/week: where to shop, five cheap staple meals, batch cooking tips, and how to set up a student kitchen without spending much.
The gap between cooking and not cooking is roughly $100–200 per week — that is $5,000–10,000 per year. Here is how to do it well.
Not all supermarkets are equal in cost. Here is the student hierarchy: ALDI (cheapest for staples): Milk, eggs, bread, cheese, pasta, canned goods, frozen vegetables, basic meat — consistently 20–30% cheaper than Coles or Woolworths. Not every suburb has one but worth a trip. Find your nearest at aldi.com.au. Asian grocery stores (cheapest for Asian ingredients): For rice (10kg bags $12–18), noodles, tofu, fresh Asian vegetables, spices, sauces, and condiments, Asian grocery stores in Springvale, Footscray, Box Hill, and parts of Carlton and Richmond are dramatically cheaper than Coles or Woolworths. A 5kg bag of jasmine rice at Coles: $14. The same rice at a Springvale grocer: $8. IGA: Convenient if local, more expensive than Aldi but cheaper than Coles for some items. Coles and Woolworths: Use for specials (check their apps each Wednesday when new specials start) and for things Aldi doesn't carry. Download both apps. Avoid: 7-Eleven, convenience stores, and petrol station food for anything beyond an emergency — pricing is 2–3x supermarket rates. Queens Victoria Market: Wednesday and Friday mornings (6am–2pm) have the best produce prices. Arrive after 11am when traders reduce prices to avoid taking stock home. Excellent for bulk buying vegetables.
These five meals form the backbone of a student kitchen. Each can be made in under 30 minutes and costs $1.50–$3 per serve when made in bulk. 1. Egg fried rice (~$1.50–2/serve) Ingredients: leftover rice, 2 eggs, frozen vegetables, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic. Use day-old rice (freshly cooked rice is too wet and goes mushy). Takes 10 minutes. Scale up by using more rice and vegetables. 2. Dal and rice (~$1.50–2/serve) Ingredients: red lentils ($3/kg at Asian grocery), rice, onion, garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric, canned tomatoes. Make a large pot Sunday, eat through the week. High protein, very filling. 3. Pasta with canned tomatoes (~$1.50–2/serve) Ingredients: pasta ($1.50/500g at Aldi), 1 can crushed tomatoes ($0.90), garlic, onion, dried herbs, parmesan if budget allows. Add tuna ($1.50/can) or chickpeas ($0.90/can) for protein. 4. Stir-fry vegetables and tofu (~$2–3/serve) Ingredients: firm tofu (~$2.50/block, 3 serves), mixed vegetables, oyster sauce or hoisin, garlic, sesame oil. Serve over rice. Cook in batches — tofu keeps in the fridge for 3 days after cooking. 5. Noodle soup (~$2–2.50/serve) Ingredients: instant noodles as a base ($0.50–1/pack), add an egg, frozen spinach or bok choy, spring onion. Far more nutritious than eating instant noodles alone.
Cooking every night is unsustainable during busy study weeks. Batch cooking on Sundays changes everything. Sunday batch cook session (2–3 hours): - Cook a large pot of rice (use a rice cooker — $25 at Kmart, one of the best investments you'll make) - Make a big batch of dal or a curry - Cook a large quantity of roasted vegetables - Boil 6–8 eggs for the week - Portion into containers in the fridge This gives you grab-and-go meals for 4–5 days. On busy days, you open the fridge, take a container, and microwave it. You spend $30–40 on ingredients and have lunch and dinner covered for most of the week. Containers: Kmart sells 3-packs of microwave-safe containers for $3–5. Buy 6–8.
Do not buy unnecessary equipment. Here is the minimum functional kitchen for a student: Essential: - Rice cooker ($25–35 at Kmart) — worth it even if you can cook rice in a pot - 1 large pot (for pasta, soups, dal) - 1 frying pan or wok (for stir fries and eggs) - 1 chopping board - 1 good knife (a $15 chef knife from Kmart works fine) - 6–8 food containers - A can opener Nice to have (not essential): - Baking tray ($5–8 at Kmart): for roasting vegetables in the oven - Hand-held grater - Colander/strainer Get kitchen items from: op shops (Salvos, Vinnies) for $1–3 per item, Facebook Marketplace (search 'kitchen' in your suburb), or Kmart for anything new.
Food waste is money waste. Student strategies: - Buy smaller quantities more frequently if you don't have housemates to share with - Freeze bread before it goes stale (toast straight from frozen) - Freeze cooked rice in portions (defrosts in 2 minutes in the microwave) - Freeze half a bunch of spring onion/coriander if you won't use it all - Canned and frozen vegetables don't expire quickly — prefer these for anything you use irregularly - Eggs, potatoes, onions, and carrots last weeks in the fridge or a cool cupboard — good bulk buys
Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Menulog have high delivery fees and service charges on top of restaurant prices. A meal that costs $12 at a restaurant can cost $22–28 delivered. Using these occasionally is fine. Using them as a regular meal source will burn through your budget very quickly — this is one of the easiest ways student budgets blow out.