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Price Check: a New York Shopping List. Mac & Cheese. New York, New York, USA. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Price Check: a New York Shopping List

One of the huge advantages of staying in the East Village instead of, say, around the Times Square, is that there are heaps of affordable supermarkets dotted about, which is wonderful if you’re renting an apartment and want to cook occasionally, or, at the very least, you want to whip up your own breakfast eggs. Here’s what it costs to stock up with our New York shopping list.

A large multicultural population means you can find any kind of food here, from packets of freshly made Polish pierogi and Ukrainian vareniki ready to boil (even better refried the morning after) to fresh corn tortillas and myriad salsas, beans and sauces from Mexico and Central America (which are great for putting together some quesadillas or nachos).

When we started researching our New York shopping list, we found that because the East Village, and especially Alphabet City, is a living-breathing barrio, with very few tourists around, the prices are significantly cheaper than they are further uptown. This also has something to do with the fact that the median income of residents here and in the Lower East Side area more generally is under half the citywide median income, with around a quarter of residents on low to extremely low incomes, but more on that in another post.

Of course, if you’re happy to pay higher prices, you can head to Whole Foods nearby at the Bowery, on the border between the East Village and Lower East Side, which obviously has higher quality produce and a much wider variety, although we’ve been fairly satisfied with our local supermarkets, such as Key Food and Associated Supermarket, and smaller grocery stores, such as Village Farm Grocery and East Village Farm and Grocery.

There is also a small green market on the edge of Tompkins Square Park on Sundays, and a larger green market on Union Square on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. In most stores you can expect to find a good range of organic fruit and vegetables, along with free-range eggs, although as you’d expect the organic produce is very expensive.

Out of the local products, what’s impressed me most has been the range of fresh juices, iced teas, and American beers, although the dearth of American wines both in supermarkets and local liquor stores, has been disappointing. You’ll also find the same familiar brands here that you’ll find at supermarkets all around the world – Twinings and Tetley teas, Nescafe and Illy coffee, and the Spanish and Italian olive oils that dominate supermarket shelves.

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that we use the same list below each month, apart from the last product on the list, which is a local specialty, is something that is ubiquitous, or in season and in abundance when we’ve visited. We chose ‘Mac’n’Cheese’, because we’d never actually seen it in a packet in a supermarket before, and every shopper seemed to a box of the stuff in their trolley. Having now tried it, though, we’re baffled as to why anyone would use a packet mix and not simply add some fresh cheese to pasta. Can anyone explain?

Price Check: a New York Shopping List

2 litre water US$1.00 £0.66 €0.79
1 quart (1 litre) milk US$2.60 £1.72 €2.06
Bottle of local wine* US$12.00 £7.92 €9.50
12oz (350 ml) beer US$1.40 £0.92 €1.11
100g Nescafe US$4.30 £2.84 €3.40
250 g Organic coffee beans US$11.99 £7.92 €9.49
Tetley tea 50 bags US$4.80 £3.17 €3.80
1 kg sugar US$2.00 £1.32 €1.58
Jar of peanut butter US$2.50 £1.65 €1.98
1 loaf of bread US$2.00 £1.32 €1.58
8 oz (250g) quality butter US$4.00 £2.64 €3.17
8 oz (250g) cheddar US$4.70 £3.10 €3.72
500 ml olive oil US$9.00 £5.94 €7.12
1 doz organic eggs US$4.00 £2.64 €3.17
2.2 lb (1 kilo) tomatoes US$4.20 £2.77 €3.32
2.2 lb (1 kilo) onions US$3.80 £2.51 €3.01
2.2 lb (1 kilo) apples US$6.60 £4.36 €5.22
250 g pistachios US$6.00 £3.96 €4.75
1 box Mac’n’Cheese US$1.29 £0.85 €1.02
Total: US$88.18 £58.21 €69.79

Price Check is a series of posts from every destination we visit where we settle in for a while, that could serve as a shopping list for you to stock the kitchen at the start of your stay, as well as a cost of living index, giving you an idea as to what things cost in that place. We include some basic items to get you started, plus a local specialty or two from the place.

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About Lara Dunston

A travel and food writer who has experienced over 70 countries and written for The Guardian, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Feast, Delicious, National Geographic Traveller, Conde Nast Traveller, Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia, DestinAsian, TIME, CNN, The Independent, The Telegraph, Sunday Times Travel Magazine, AFAR, Wanderlust, International Traveller, Get Lost, Four Seasons Magazine, Fah Thai, Sawasdee, and more, as well as authored more than 40 guidebooks for Lonely Planet, DK, Footprint, Rough Guides, Fodors, Thomas Cook, and AA Guides.

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Comments

  1. Kristen says

    August 2, 2010 at 3:44 am

    Perhaps even worse than packaged Mac & Cheese is the canned Chef Boyardee microwaveable ravioli or the freeze-dried mashed potato flakes that puff up in boiling water. Gross!

    I wish I could give you an answer as to why we have those things here — really the only thing I can think of is that in the 50s, convenience food became really trendy (i.e. microwave dinners and “instant” foods”), so maybe its still hanging on from then? I’ll take home cooking over a box any day!

  2. Antonio Bortolotti says

    August 1, 2010 at 9:10 pm

    Maybe because “Mac’n Cheese” is cheaper, faster and ready made rather than buying your own Parmesan cheese and grate it yourself? I don’t know, honestly I haven’t even noticed anything like that before in the US, but oh well, I am Italian after all, and I wouldn’t really be too keen on trying something like that ;-) (Actually the package you photographed scares me a bit!)
    Cheers!

  3. Lara Dunston says

    August 1, 2010 at 9:47 pm

    Don’t even think about trying it! No matter how much parmesan, salt and pepper I added, I couldn’t get it to taste anywhere near delicious enough as a home-cooked Italian pasta with some parmesan sprinkled on top. I definitely do not get it, but it’s all the rage in New York now – it’s on the menu of many hip eateries specializing in comfort food. One that people continually recommended was called ‘Cafeteria’, but we just couldn’t bring ourselves to go to it. Not keen on paying high prices for things out that Terry can cook better (and more cheaply) at home.

  4. Ant Stone says

    August 1, 2010 at 11:01 pm

    “Actually the package you photographed scares me a bit!”

    That’s how I felt!

  5. Akila says

    August 2, 2010 at 6:17 am

    Okay, I’m going to explain the Mac n’ Cheese mystery. First, I personally think you bought the wrong variety. If you’re going to buy boxed, buy Kraft Mac n’ Cheese. I don’t eat the boxed variety because I’ve got a truly amazingly amazing macaroni and cheese recipe that I make from scratch. But, when we were kids, the boxed variety used to be a staple. I don’t know many adults who eat the boxed variety but its all the rage with kids.

    And, I think you have to understand macaroni and cheese as an institution itself. It is the ultimate Southern comfort food. I know that New York restaurants are all gung ho about it, but, in truth, it came from the South as a medley of Italian and Southern ingredients and a Southern cooking method. Simply tossing cheese with pasta doesn’t cut it and neither does mixing a cheese sauce with pasta.

    A good Southern mac and cheese recipe involves making a rich creamy cheddar cheese sauce made from a sharp cheddar cheese with a hint of cayenne and golden onions, mixing with cooked pasta, then topping with crisp bread crumbs or croutons, and baking. It’s my husband’s favorite food and when a Southerner makes you mac and cheese, you unbuckle your belt and get ready for seconds because it’s hearty, indulgent, creamy, and amazing.

    The boxed version is a quick fix substitute, kind of like eating instant oatmeal rather than regular oatmeal. It’s not even 1/100th as good but it reminds of us of the original.

    It’s too bad that you didn’t try it in the restaurants because they sometimes make really good versions and mac and cheese is quintessential Americana.

  6. Lara Dunston says

    August 2, 2010 at 7:10 am

    When were you last in an American supermarket? Most of the packaging is scary – except in Austin, where the kitsch Texan/Tex-Mex thing is going on, and in Whole Foods, with its green eco-approach.

  7. Lara Dunston says

    August 2, 2010 at 7:13 am

    Thanks for the explanation! Convenience dinners are still big in the supermarkets in the East Village – and lots of packaged (frozen and fresh) dinners sit beside fresh organic produce. I think it’s partly because, despite the gentrification of the area and high real estate prices, there is still an extremely poor population for whom frozen food is simply cheaper; there’s a large student population; and (like anywhere in the world) people are just busy.

  8. Lara Dunston says

    August 2, 2010 at 7:26 am

    I went for the organic, more expensive version from Whole Foods over the cheaper Kraft packet as I mistakenly thought it might taste better, but if I can ever stomach it again, I’ll take your advice next time.

    But I have to stay I’m glad I didn’t try it in a restaurant actually, as we had a lot of terribly disappointing ‘Americana’ meals in New York as it was, including a lot of greasy, creamy, over-priced hamburgers that cost three times the price they should – the worst of it that they were supposedly some of New York’s finest!

    One of our problems is that we know and love Italian cuisine so much from over a decade of travelling there, so that’s what our tastes are accustomed to, so we didn’t like American-Italian food much at all. We don’t like heavy creamy food sauces (Italians rarely use cream) and we found American lasagna to be rather frightening! I guess we simply prefer lighter Mediterranean cuisine that uses olive oil rather than heavy sauces, although having said that, love a good burnt butter and sage ravioli if we’re in the snow in Northern Italy.

    Thanks for the explanation – much appreciated – but somehow I think I’d still prefer a fresh, home-made Italian pasta, liberally doused with virgin olive oil, sprinkled with parmigiano reggiano, and salt and pepper. :)

  9. Grace @ Sandier Past says

    August 3, 2010 at 11:30 am

    I can’t believe there’s such a thing as “organic” Mac n’ Cheese! What’s more unbelievable (but so true), I haven’t eaten a Mac n’ Cheese, organic or not all my life!!

  10. Antonio Bortolotti says

    August 3, 2010 at 1:44 pm

    I agree with you Lara, but then again…I am Italian, so how can I not agree?

  11. Terence Carter says

    August 3, 2010 at 2:47 pm

    Neither have I. That was Lara’s to have alone, I can tell you!

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About Grantourismo

Lara and Terence are an Australian-born, Southeast Asia-based travel and food writers and photographers who have authored scores of guidebooks, produced countless travel and food stories, are currently developing cookbooks and guidebooks, and host culinary tours and writing and photography retreats in Southeast Asia.
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Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check o Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check out our seafood recipe collection, especially if you celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve with a fish focused meal in the Southern Italian tradition, transformed by Italian-Americans into the Feast of the Seven Fishes, or like Australians, who celebrate Christmas in the sweltering summer, feast on seafood for Christmas Day lunch, we’ve got lots of easy seafood recipes for you.

Our recipes include a classic prawn cocktail, blini with smoked salmon, a ceviche-style appetiser, and devilled eggs with caviar. We’ve also got recipes for fish soup, seafood pies and pastas, salmon tray bake, and crispy salmon with creamy mashed potatoes.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/seafood-recipes-for-christmas-eve-and-christmas-day-menus/
(Link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating!! 

#christmas #christmasfood #seafood #fish #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #grantourismo #grantourismotravels #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you’re still looking for food inspo for Chris If you’re still looking for food inspo for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meals, my smoked salmon ‘carpaccio’ recipe is one of dozens of recipes in this compilation of our best Christmas recipes (link below). 

The Christmas recipe compilation includes collections of our best Christmas breakfast recipes, best Christmas brunch recipes, best Christmas starter recipes, best Christmas cocktails, best Christmas dessert recipes, and homemade edible Christmas gifts and more.

My smoked salmon carpaccio recipe makes an easy elegant appetiser that’s made in minutes. If you’re having guests over, you can make the dish ahead by assembling the salmon, capers and pickled onions, and refrigerate it, then pour on the dressing just before serving. 

Provide toasted baguette slices and bowls of additional capers, pickles and dressing, so guests can customise their carpaccio. And open the bubbly!

You’ll find that recipe and many more Christmas recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/best-christmas-recipes/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas!! X

#christmas #christmasfood #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #salmon #smokedsalmon #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels 
#xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I sh If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I shared a collection of recipes for homemade edible Christmas gifts — for condiments, hot sauces, chilli oils, a whole array of pickles, spice blends, chilli salt, furakake seasoning, and spicy snacks, such as our Cambodian and Vietnamese roasted peanuts. 

I love giving homemade edibles as gifts as much as I love receiving them. Who wouldn’t appreciate jars filled with their favourite chilli oils, hot sauces, piquant pickles, and spicy peanuts that loved-ones have taken the time to make? 

Aside from the gesture and affordability of gifting homemade edibles, you’re minimising waste. You can use recycled jars or if buying new mason jars or clip-top Kilner jars, you know they’ll get repurposed.

No need for wrapping, just attach some Christmas baubles or tinsel to the lid. I used squares of Cambodian kramas (cotton scarves), which can be repurposed as napkins or drink coasters, and tied a ribbon or two around the lids, and attached last year’s Christmas tree decorations to some.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/homemade-edible-christmas-gifts/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Yes, that’s Pepper... every time there’s a camera around... 

#christmasgiftideas #ediblegifts ##christmasfoodgifts #foodgifts #giftideas #homemadegifts #christmasfood #ediblegiftideas #hotsauce #chillisauce #sriracha #pickles #homemadepickles #recipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood 
#blackcat #blackcatsofinstagram #picoftheday 
#christmas #christmastree #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas #cambodia #siemreap
This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’ This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’s perfect if you’re just back from the fish markets armed with luxurious fresh crab meat. It’s a little sweet, a little spicy, and very, very moreish.

Our crab omelette recipe was one of our 22 most popular egg recipes of 2022 on our website Grantourismo and it’s no surprise. It’s appeared more times than any other egg recipes on our annual round-ups of most popular recipes since Terence launched Weekend Eggs when we launched Grantourismo in 2010.

If you’re an eggs lover, do check out the recipe collection. It includes egg recipes from right around the world, from recipes for classic kopitiam eggs from Singapore and Malaysia and egg curries from India and Myanmar to all kinds of egg recipes from Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, Mexico, USA, Australia, UK, and Ireland.

And do browse our Weekend Eggs archives for further eggspiration (sorry). We have hundreds of egg recipes from the 13 year-old series of recipes for quintessential egg dishes from around the world, which we started on our 2010 year-long global grand tour focused on slow, local and experiential travel. 

We’re hoping 2023 will be the year we can finally publish the Weekend Eggs cookbook we’ve talked about for years based on that series. After we can find a publisher for the Cambodia cookbook of course... :( 

Recipe collection here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio):
https://grantourismotravels.com/22-most-popular-egg-recipes-of-2022-from-weekend-eggs/

If you cook the recipe and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either in the comments at the end of the recipe or share a pic with us here.

#recipe #recipes #eggs #eggslover #breakfasteggs #WeekendEggs #egg #breakfast #brunch #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #lookingforapublisher #writingacookbook  #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angko I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angkor Archaeological Park, home to stupendous Angkor Wat, pictured, celebrated 30 years of its UNESCO World Heritage listing. 

That’s as good an excuse as any to put this magnificent, sprawling archaeological site on your travel list this year.

While riverside Siem Reap, your base for exploring Angkor is bustling once more, there are still nowhere near the visitors of the last busy high season months of December-January 2018-2019 when there were 290,000 visitors. 

Last month there were just 55,000 visitors and December feels a little quieter. A tour guide friend said there were about 150 people at Angkor Wat for sunrise a few days ago.

If you’re looking for tips to visiting Angkor, Siem Reap and Cambodia, just ask us a question in the comments below or check Grantourismo as we’ve got loads of info on our site. Click through to the link in the bio and explore our Cambodia guide or search for ‘Angkor’. 

And please do let us know if you’re coming to Siem Reap. We’d love to see you here x

#siemreap #cambodia #asia #travel #instatravel #traveldeeper #slowtravel #localtravel #experientialtravel #exploremore #neverstopexploring #goexplore #igtravel #angkorwat #angkor #temple #temples #angkorwithoutcrowds #unesco #unescoworldheritagesite #unescoworldheritage #archaeology #archaeologicalsite #traveladdict #beautifuldestinations #beautifulplaces #travelgram #wanderlust #picoftheday📷 #grantourismotravels.
Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky, flavourful and succulent chicken thighs that are fantastic with steamed rice, Chinese greens or a salad, such as a Southeast Asian slaw. 

The chicken can be marinated for up to 24 hours before cooking, which ensures it’s packed with flavour, then it can be cooked on a barbecue or in a pan.

Terence’s soy ginger chicken recipe is one of our favourite recipes for a quick and easy meal. I love the sound of the sizzling thighs in the pan, and the warming aromas wafting through the apartment. 

It’s amazing how such flavourful juicy chicken thighs come from such a quick and easy recipe.

Recipe here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio): https://grantourismotravels.com/soy-ginger-chicken-recipe/

If you cook it and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either here or in the comments at the end of the recipe on the site or share a pic with us x 

#recipe #recipes #chicken #soygingerchicken #asianfood #southeastasianfood #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #cookingtime #recipe #recipes #comfortfood #foodblog #food #foodstagram #healthyfood #instafood #healthy #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re mak Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re making with my market haul from Psar Samaki in Siem Reap — all for a whopping 10,000 riel (US$2.50)?! 

Birds-eye chillies thrown in for free! They were on my list but the seller I spent most at (5,000 riel!) scooped up a handful and slipped them into my bag. She was my last stop and knew what I was making.

My Khmer is poor, even after all our years in Cambodia, as I don’t learn languages with the ease I did in my 20s, plus I’m mentally exhausted after researching and writing all day. I have a better vocabulary of Old and Middle Khmer than modern Khmer from studying the ancient inscriptions for the Cambodian culinary history component of our cookbook I’m writing.

So when one seller totalled my purchases I thought she said 5,000 riel but she handed back 4,500 riel! The sum total of two huge bunches of herbs and kaffir lime leaves was 500 riel.

Tip: if visiting Siem Reap, use Khmer riel for local shopping. We’ve mainly used riel since the pandemic started— rarely use US$ now as market sellers quote prices in riels, as do local shops and bakeries, and I tip tuk tuk drivers in riels. I find prices quoted in riels are lower.

Psar Samaki is cheaper than Psar Leu, which is cheaper than Psar Chas, as it’s a wholesale market, which means the produce is fresher. I see veggies arriving, piled high in the back of vehicles, with dirt still on them — as I did on this trip. 

The scent of a mountain of incredibly aromatic pineapples offloaded from the back of a dusty ute was so heady they smelt like they’d just been cut. More exotic European style veggies arrive by big trucks in boxes labelled in Vietnamese (from Dalat) and Mandarin (from China), such as beautiful snow-white cauliflower I spotted.

Note: the freshest produce is sold on the dirt road at the back of the market.

#cambodia #siemreap #foodwriter #foodblogger #foodphotography #igfood #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #instadaily #picoftheday #market #siemreapmarket #psarsamaki #marketfresh #vegetables #healthyfood #marketshopping #traveltips #foodtravel #culinarytravel #localtravel #cooking #cookingtime #curry #homemade #currypaste #grantourismotravels
My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recip My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recipe makes tender meatballs doused in a delightfully tangy-sweet sauce, sprinkled with crispy fried shallots, with carrot-daikon, crunchy cucumber and fragrant herbs. 

The dish is inspired by bún chả, a Hanoi specialty, but it’s not bún chả. No matter what Google or food bloggers tell you. Names are important, especially when cooking and writing about cuisines not our own.

This is an authentic bún chả recipe:  https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-bun-cha-recipe/ You’ll need to get the outdoor BBQ/grill going to do proper smoky bún chả meat patties (not meatballs).

My meatball noodle bowl is perhaps more closely related to dishes such as a Central Vietnam cousin bún thịt nướng (pork skewers on rice noodles in a bowl) and a Southern relation bún bò Nam Bộ (beef atop rice noodles, sprinkled with fried shallots (Nam Bộ=Southern Vietnam) though neither include meatballs. 

Xíu mại= meatballs although they’re different in flavour to mine, which taste more like bún chả patties. Xíu mại remind me of Southern Italian meatballs in tomato sauce.

In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, home to millions of Khmer, there’s bánh tằm xíu mại. Bánh tằm=silk worm noodles. They’re topped with meatballs, cucumber, daikon, carrot, fresh herbs, crispy fried onions. Difference: cold noodles doused in a sauce of coconut cream and fish sauce. 

Remove the meatballs, add chopped fried spring rolls and it’s Cambodia’s banh sung, which is a rice noodle salad similar to Vietnam’s bún chả giò :) 

Recipe here: (link in bio) https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-meatballs-and-rice-noodles-recipe/

For more on these culinary connections you’ll have to wait for our Cambodian cookbook and culinary history. In a hurry to know? Come support the project on Patreon. (link in bio)

#recipe #recipes #vietnamesefood #cambodianfood #asianfood #southeastasianfood #ricenoodles #rice #noodlebowl #meatballs #igfood #igfoodie #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #writingacookbook #writingacambodiancookbook #patreon #patreoncreator #grantourismo
It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour matches the furnishings of our rented apartment. So, no, I did not colour-coordinate the interiors to match our cat’s eyes. 

I keep getting DMs from pet clothing brands wanting to “partner” with Pepper and send her free cat clothes and cat accessories. Although she did wear a kerchief for a few years in her more adventurous fashion-forward teenage years, I cannot see this cat in clothes now, can you? 

#pepper #blackcat #blackcats #blackcatsofinstagram #blackcatsrule #blackcatsmatter #cat #cats #catsofinstagram #catstagram #catlover #catlovers #catlove #catoftheday #catphoto #catpic #catpics #cambodiancat #cambodiancatsofinstagram #catlife #catloversclub #catoftheday #catgram #catstagram #cats_of_instagram #catphotography #catsofig #catsoftheworld #catsofinsta #cats🐱 #siemreap #cambodia

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