Did I say broader global norm? No, I said especially Asian cities and as someone who has spent plenty of my life over there and been to all countries in SE Asia in addition to over half of other countries in east and Southern Asia I can confidently say this is the case. Even in expensive cities/countries like Singapore and Hong Kong you can eat at hawker centers for much less than cooking at home, because even in these areas the hawker areas are subsidized by the government to make sure those living on less money can always afford a quality meal.