Fab finds from Cebu to Thailand to India to England and back

Market! Market! at The Fort is my favorite place for enjoying life’s simple pleasures. When I hanker for the most delicious fish sinigang and the best laing in town, I go to Cely Kalaw’s Sinigang Bar for these mouth-watering dishes, both priced below P100. When I need to buy Mickey Mouse flowers – my favorite because they last for months – I go to the flower stalls of Market! Market! where they cost only P80 to P100 per stem (these are P160 up in other flower shops). When I run out of jeans – and I always run out of jeans – I run to the M2M shop on the second floor where export-quality (read: export overruns) stretch jeans cost only from P600 up.

Recently, I discovered more affordable, simple pleasures at this mall, and shame on me because it took a couple of Australian friends to open my eyes to these. I thought I was their shopping guide until my friends from Down Under led me to superb buys at Market! Market! Top of the great finds were the nicest, most comfortable shoes in town, priced at only P299 to P399 at Metro Department Store. The brand name? My Aussie friends were pleasantly shocked when they say the label: Australian Doll!

My Australian friends bought two-dozen pairs of shoes and lots of clothes by our Cebuano designers – Philip Rodriguez, Jun Escario and Protacio. "Tell them to bring their clothes to Australia, they will be a hit!"

This week, I realized there was much more to discover at Market! Market! when I went to its Metro Supermarket. Most food items were cheaper and more abundant in terms of choices. I found a most wonderful section of the Metro Supermarket offering food items from Thailand, China, Korea, India, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam and even England.

From Thailand, there are all the spices and pastes you need to cook your very own Phad Thai or Tom Yum, such as basil, lemon grass, curry, tamarind and minced ginger. Sauces galore include oyster, mushroom, plum, vegetarian and Thai BBQ.

From China, there are all kinds of tea (including our favorite green tea), crackers in all flavors (tomato, wheat, butter, milk, vegetable) and noodles in all imaginable types (rice sticks, spinach, flour vermicelli, egg noodles, vegetarian), and yummy champoy (from P6 per pack), perhaps the biggest assortment you can find outside Chinatown.

From Korea, we saw red bean buns (siopao) at only P55.85 for a pack of three, crabsticks at only P85 per pack, dimsum and ice cream in various flavors.

From India, Metro Supermarket carries an amazing array of products ranging from henna hair color to curry to tea.

From Taiwan, Japan and Vietnam, we found oodles of noodles neatly laid out on the shelves.

From England, our fave find is the Cider & Spice 64-ounce bottle of juice at only P97.25. Made with organic ingredients, it has no artificial flavors, no refined sugar, and no preservatives!

This international feel is also an attraction at the Metro Department Store where we found white porcelain and blue-and-white dinnerware sets from Japan, lamps and picture frames from India, starter sets and serving trays from China and curtain fabrics from Europe.

For the home, Metro offers living room and dining sets, garden sets, garden fountains, bar counters and hurray, chafing dishes for parties from P900 and up!

But of course, what is a Cebu-based chain of stores without images of its patron saint? Whether you’re a collector or a devotee, there’s a Santo Niño image for you at Metro.

Right there, I could only pray for one thing: more shopping time!

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Metro Department Store is holding a Home Fair from Sept. 1 to Oct. 2. Every P500 purchase entitles the shopper to a raffle entry. Prizes are 50 Nautilus watches. During the fair, there will be painting exhibits, Ikebana and bonsai exhibits, caricature drawing sessions, lectures and product demos for home safety and energy-saving tips, and table and bed setting exhibits, and feng shui session with experts.