The Big Scare

It’s not the war in Iraq. Nor our problem with our brothers in Mindanao. Nor that another typhoon might destroy our crops. Serious as all these are, our collected concern at the moment is the fact that milk coming from our neighbor country has been contaminated, and has caused death and illnesess. Products of some well known brands have been collected and tested, but so far, local authorities have been slow in revealing their findings. The agency tasked with this major endeavor has revealed insufficient funding and an acute lack of personnel, some of whom have had so many sleepless nights pouring over samples.

The health of our babies basically rests on the milk that is given to them. One avenue to explore is to encourage breast-feeding. But what do we do with the elder ones, who must have milk as food supplement? There are local dairies which must be given incentives to go into full operation. And, of course, there are milk products made in places other than China, such as New Zealand and Australia. It is hoped that with the current situation, price manipulators will not get very selfish.

We had a request from a reader for simple but delicious recipes. This is an old one, but in case you have not tried this, here it is – pesang bangus – a dish with natural flavors, not enhanced by MSG or any other artificial seasoning. Clean a medium-size fish (from P120 a kilo) and cut into serving pieces. Boil 2 cups of second rice washing in a casserole dish with an onion, slivers of ginger, a stalk each of celery and leeks, salt and pepper. When boiling, add the fish and let cook for a while. Prior to serving add two potatoes (cut into wedges) and cabbage. Prepare a sauce, by sautéing diced tomato in garlic and onion. Season with patis and cover. Add a tablespoon of sugar and a little water. Serve on the side.

ShopWise is ten years old and counting. That’s the chain which introduced a new concept of shopping to housewives and other shoppers. In the beginning there were the little stores, the sari-sari where our mothers would procure patis and other small items when time would not allow them to go to the public market. Then came the groceries and the supermarkets. Today there are the Hypermarts, pioneered by Rustan’s. ‘Hypermart’ was indeed a new term for a place where one-stop shopping can be done, from food to clothes to electronics. The ShopWise experience is like shopping in a palengke, where everything is clean, fresh and convenient. It has definitely created new shopping trends.

We remember the first outlet in Alabang where the fresh catch was arranged in such a creative display, where the fruits were an abundant panorama of colors, where kids could ride a stroller through the aisle. Later, at the Vito Cruz outlet, the store attendants wore roller skates – the better and faster for them to get any item a shopper wanted to buy. Convenience is one of the keywords, and how more convenient can one be than being able to bring the shopping cart from one floor of another and checking out at the last stop?

The two visits we made recently at a couple of ShopWise outlets (Sucat and Alabang), were before their big anniversary promo events. They have re-novated the stores, each one looking more spacious and brighter than ever. In Alabang, we cooled our heels on one of the lovely wooden chairs in the new section called Le Gourmet. Here, premium deli items plus a selection of cheese, from imported to local, are offered. When holding an Elite (Frequent Shopper’s) card, one readily gets a beverage and bread to go with it. Rice has gone a bit cheaper here, with Sinandomeng selling at P205 a pack of 5 kilos. They’ve got the sweetest oranges from Australia at P21 a kilo. A check in their dry goods section bared a few revelations. What one gets from l68 in Divisoria and Greenhills are all practically available here, with no price difference. So why risk running away from raiding authorities, when you can while away your time, choosing the blouses, shoes and bags, from a very customer-friendly store?

The anniversary surprises in all ShopWise stores go on until November 10.

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