Alcohol prices in Ontario are so distorted...

[dagibbs]

At Pho Bay here in Korea:

Pho - medium bowl: 11,000 won
Fried spring rolls (4, small): 3500 won
Soju: 3000 won.

That is not a glass of Soju. That's a bottle of Soju. Enough Soju that David is a very definitely tipsy David. I think about 375ml size. (Might be 500ml, I couldn't find enough English on the bottle to tell. But seemed about 375 ml size.)

Oh yeah, 1000 won ~= $1 CDN. (Close enough. At Vancouver airport 200,000 won cost me $211.)

In Ottawa:
Pho - medium bowl: $8
Spring Rolls: $5.
Soju: $11

(Approximate prices. Soju might be more at a restaurant, actually.)

Also, all the Korean prices are tax-inclusive.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/niall_/]

Very likely 375ml, it's a standard soju bottle size.

I can't be an authority, but I think it's a double whammy - LCBO distorts prices, then restaurants have markups ($16 or so for that bottle), as well as southeast asia having dirt-cheap depressed prices. Mind you, you're not paying a cent for all the boat/plane/transport charges either over there, or administration and customs clearances. :)

One whole bottle of soju is very definitely enough to make many very definitely tipsy...

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

Yeah, probably 375ml. But, I will say that drinks in restaurants in the US can be comparable -- and I wouldn't think they generally have the same LCBO mark up. But, I can definitely see where, in the case of Soju especially, there's a lot less in the way of transportation costs here.

[http://users.livejournal.com/niall_/]

"LCBO markup" is a big reason for price discrepancy, yes, even across the river. US has more competition, but also more drinkers... some slight move on this line should be feasible here though.

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

Went back, looked at the bottle more carefully, apparently is 360ml. At least, there was the number 360. And some stuff. And shortly thereafter, in the same set of stuff, 19%. Then more stuff. Where, by "stuff", I mean not-readable-by-me stuff. That is, not in a Roman characters stuff. But, from context, it sure looks like 360ml and 19% alcohol. :)