The other side

Venturing to the other side of town, we decided to re-visit an old haunt, looked into an innovative shop, marveled at the imported selection of a popular chain and were rather amazed at the newest, humongous convenience store in the metropolis. The conclusion we arrived at is that no single store offers the best price for each and every item it carries, meaning there’s not one outlet where everything is tagged lower than the rest, therefore we still can’t get all we need in one single establishment. Homemakers are much aware of this and therefore, they are often compelled to do their shopping in different stores, not all at the same time, but on a programmed routine, doing it systematically. Make a list of what you need for, say a week, then plan your supermarket trip based on that.

Mid-week, we decided to re-visit Rockwell where we were attracted, as always, with the ingeniously designed pieces at Dimensione. If it is innovation one looks for, this is the store to be in. Their new collection includes cheese graters in plastic (polypropylene) in vivid colors of yellow and red, and kitchen utensils on a rack, also in bright hues. They sell at P489 and P839, respectively. They have kitchen trolleys, either of rubber wood or bamboo, with different tops, stainless steel or plain, with or without wire baskets. Size is small enough to fit into a condo or limited area, from P2,095.

We walked into Rustan’s and noted the new layout: the check-out counters are now on the side. If you are fond of Indian cooking, but do not do it because of the complex way of preparing all the spicy sauces, then visit this store. You’ll find ready-to pour Near East all natural blends — Couscous, Pilaf, Broccoli and Cheese, etc. in bottles. They also have the Cuisine of India line (Tasty Bites) and the Taj Ethnic Gourmet selection (Tandoori, Punjab Saab etc). Getting onto the bandwagon of healthy eating, Quaker Oats now has Low-in-Sugar oatmeal, even one for the South Beach diet (P257 for a box of 10, each 31 gms). Cooking paella and missing La Tienda in your area? Do not fret, get packs of Azafran from Rustan’s. One thing new is Big M Magnolia low fat modified milk, either coffee or chocolate flavored, P50 for a bottle of 500 ml. At the meat section, pork steak is at P194 a kilo, beef sirloin at P353, pork belly (for grilling) at P194.75. Tiger prawns are at a high P795 a kilo.

We can’t pass by Figaro on the second level and not sit down for our favorite Coffee Jelly, even if they are offering a new blend, Mint Mocha laced with a dash of cinnamon.

PureGold on the corner of Aurora Boulevard and Araneta Avenue in Quezon City intrigued us with their full-page newspaper ad not too long ago. So, off we went that way and without regret. For less than P900 we brought home nearly 2 kilos of pork for sinigang, half a kilo of Monterey sirloin steak, half a kilo of Garcia’s pre-mixed lumpiang shanghai, plus some fruits and other grocery items. It is here where they sell pork ears (P88 a kilo) and mukha (part of the ulo) which are good when making pancit. The staff, however, need more training. One shopper was irritated when the security guard took every purchase out of the plastic bag on her way out.

We made our last stop at Shopwise in Libis. A friend who was with us convinced us to get the packed smoked pork chops (boneless) from Swiss Deli to fry. The new items include canned seafood–Brunswick Boneless Herring in teriyaki sauce, Sunny Sea Smoked Scallops, Crown Prince lightly smoked sardines with green chillies–from P57.50 each. This will solve our breakfast problems.

We want to commend two young people, Rex and Nikki, for their entrepreneurial spirit, starting small and giving customers what they want. Together they put up "BBQ sa Likod ng Kyusi" (as in QC), on Matalino and Kalayaan East, an al fresco eatery serving "Lutong Bahay" food. Their cook Adelfa comes up with masarap everyday dishes like kare-kare, dinuguan, bangus relleno, gatang kalabasa (from P15 to P50) and their signature pork barbecue, done so well, very tasty and tender, at P12 a stick. Judging from the continuous flow of diners, the duo will soon be on their way to a successful restaurant venture.

An SOS from our friends at Portico 1771 at Serendra. They released a statement that since they found out the fish mameng (Napoleon wrasse) is endangered, they have taken it off their menu. Diners need not worry, the restaurant has a range of other specialty dishes (of seafood) to choose from and enjoy. Try their gindara with bits of crispy pata…yummy!

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