Price-watching in Metro Manila

As we go around, we note that prices vary very little from one store to another. Give or take P1, P2 or even P5, commodities, specially food stuff, go by an almost uniform cost. Of course, one peso difference counts when buying a lot, as in half dozen or more. We try to remember which stores offer better bargains and that’s where we regularly go, unless some items are not available. Wet market prices are always a bit lower, except chicken where it is more expensive, from P99 a kilo. But unless the vendor is a suki, weight might not be right and freshness could be compromised.

Here goes our regular price watch. Tomatoes, beautiful, firm and big inspite of the rains, now go for P30 a kilo. Pork (kasim and pigue) start at P135. Beef, depending on the cut, starts at P180. Bangus is still pegged from P100 a kilo, tilapia from P79 and lapu-lapu from P250. Depending on which outlet one goes to, shrimps/prawns always command a higher price, from P300 to P580. Whole grain Maharlika rice we get from our suki is selling at P29 a kilo. Mangoes range from P75 to P85 a kilo and the high-priced mangoosteen still comes with a P450 tag, supposedly imported. Rambutan might be the cheaper alternative and can be just as sweet.

La Norenense chorizos from Spain are now available at Makati Supermarket in Alabang. The small tin costs P277 while the big one is at P400 plus. Also in the outlet is a trio of paella flavoring under the brand Carmencita Paellero, P168. Maya has the new pre-sifted cake flour at P79.50 a kilo. UFC has joined the group manufacturing spaghetti sauces, ready to pour. Find one flavor to your taste, such as Sweet Filipino blend at P16.60 per. Silver Swan is no longer exclusive to producing soy sauce, they now have Old English Worcestershire at P14.40 (hot) and P14, both in 160 ml bottles. There’s an abundance of Korean food stuff in the market. For tempura or breading fish or meat, get Ottogi bread crumbs at P120 a bag of 500 gms. Bonito is a fleshy, tasty fish often used in Japanese recipes. Flakes are sold in some supermarkets. The thing with Korean imports is that they do not carry English labels and info, such as with the variety of noodles. One would just have to look at the illustration and figure out how to cook them.

Swiss Gourmet Deli is based in Davao City and has succeeded in producing European style sausages and other processed products. They have been around for quite a while but disappeared briefly. In fact we missed them for sometime in the stores we frequent. By this time, the company would have re-opened in SM. We are glad to note they produce veal meatloaf (P231). Other specials are ox tongue sausage (P81 a pack), smoked chicken, whole or fillet and smoked mackarel, salmon and blue marlin. They’ve got all sorts of hams and sausages, from longganiza to schublig. Swiss Deli gives tips on how best to prepare their products–pan fried, grilled, simmered or cooked in the oven. For those wanting to buy in bulk, the telephone number of their Manila office is 632-9640. Ask for Marites.

Along the line of Swiss products comes the selection of frozen dough from Hiestand, Swiss Gourmet Bakery. They produce oven-fresh dough for a variety of breads, specially their popular croissants. They have an extensive inventory, including ciabatta rolls, tartlet shells, whirls and muffins. The local distributor is Elts Enterprises, telephone number 723- 2474.

Our friend Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan has given his name to a health drink, which he himself formulated. This is Vita Plus Natural Health Drink produced from leaves of malunggay, kulitis, saluyot, sili, kamote (talbos) and dalandan. The drink supplies the daily requirement for vitamins, minerals, micronutrients, anti-oxidants, fiber and phytochemicals. Judging from the testimonials in the flyers distributed in a tiangge, this one is almost (our word) a cure-all. They are not in the traditional markets yet, so inquires will have to be directed to their office through telephone number 837-4257. The price? P35 per sachet which is good for one glass, P700 for a box of 20 and P6,999 for a bag of 12 boxes.

Torani is the brand of a variety of liquid sweeteners for beverages. If one is not for that pure coffee taste, this line would be good. They carry lots of flavors, unfortunately the man behind the counter at the time we visited their outlet could not even give us their telephone contact nor where we could buy them.

Enjoy your day!

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