Quietly they did it!

Like thieves in the night, the petrol companies, Shell among them, raised their prices, so now we are paying an average of P0.40 more per liter. With that comes something we, keepers of the house purse, worry about–rising prices and an even more difficult task of balancing the budget.

Consider this: two days after the gas price increase, squid went up to P160 a kilo, tomatoes (salad) now go for at least P100 a kilo, onions, even in Divisoria, soared to P40 and pork, meat and chicken went up by at least P5 a kilo. Expect more of this. Here’s what the prices were at the Dampa wet market on Ninoy Aquino Avenue–prawns at P380 a kilo, tuna panga (rather fleshy) at P140 a kilo, sliced maya-maya also at P140 and lapu-lapu at P280. We marinated the panga in Lee Kum Kee’s Teriyaki Sauce with Roasted Garlic, while we mixed fresh fennel with olive oil, soy sauce and the juice of two calamansi for the maya-maya. It might be good for the municipal officers (particularly the Mayor) of Parañaque, where this market is located, to look at how other markets have become clean, dry and neat. Even on a sunny day, this place is a "wading" area. Of course garbage collection in the city is still a big problem. Every night, heaps of litter are found along Sucat Road and scavengers regularly rummage through them. A sad and irritating commentary on how inefficiently the city is managed.

Expect the price of rice to go up. The last time we checked, our favorite Sinandomeng was retailing at P560 for a sack of 25 kgs. I was told by another shopper that the second class variant was tagged at less than P400. Forget about serving jasmine rice and other premium or imported brands; they go up to as much as P1,000 for a half sack. Fragrant Dinorado at Cherry Foodarama on Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong is selling at P176.75 for a 5-kilo pack while 2 kilos of organic healthy rice costs P77.

Something that attracted us when we recently visited Cherry could perhaps be considered a luxury–the new line of sundaes with different toppings by Selecta. Two of these are Fudge and Fruit, at P92.50 each.

If you often use canned mushrooms in your recipes, think of getting the sliced ones, easier on your effort and pocket. Jolly brand is at P23.50 against the more popular brand at P25.50. Holiday cooking inevitably requires olive oil. Remember that extra virgin is for salads and dips; use the ordinary pure for other dishes. To save a few pesos, you can reduce the amount of olive oil by a third and dilute it with canola oil. You get the same flavor.

Cherry has its own chicken brand at P85 a kilo. We need to check this to compare with our favorite brand. Garcia’s meat is sold in this supermarket–pork steak at P150 a kilo and pork chops at P160. Their other brand is Mrs. Wais, selling beef sirloin at P170, brisket at P155 and shank at P138.

We normally discover new brands at Cherry. This time we found the Sun Beam brand of oils–soya at P136.50, canola at P238 and sunflower at P210.75. The locally manufactured Marca Leon corn oil is P146.30. We also came across the Weight-Watchers line of 99 percent fat-free salad dressing in 260 ml containers–Italian for P96.50, French P97.50. But you can make your own: mix cream with prepared mustard, olive oil, plus some spices. This tastes like mayonnaise without its calories and cholesterol. For Chinese recipes, they have Golden Sail cooking wine at P80 for a bottle of 325 gms.

Divisoria has been cleared of garbage that used to be dumped in the middle of the road (C.M Recto). Vendors are also confined to the sides, making it much easier to traverse the streets leading to the stalls and the market proper, which at times is still wet with murky water.

A cup of coffee to punctuate a meal is something we still can not resist. At a recent lunch at Figaro in the Shangri-La Plaza (which, by the way, must have the neatest, driest little girls’ room in the metropolis), we were tempted to try their Classico, strong and smooth. Great for real brew lovers. On the other hand, San Francisco Coffee Co. is conducting a campaign to double the stamps on their Best Customer card. Try their Expresso buzz, it is a favorite.