Doing Makati in a day

With gasoline costs going up again, plus the irritating traffic situation not getting any better, we thought we’d visit as many of Makati’s foodshops as we could, all in one day. We did quite well, gathering as much information as we could, with our feet willing to do the rounds.

Santis, on Yakal Street, is always a good stop for premium items but one needs to bring a loaded purse. Attendants are often busy taking care of their regular customers. A casual visitor is left on her or his own. On the left of the entrance is a cooler of marinated meat, including beef rib eye. The table beside it has an ample display of fresh olives in different variants. You’d find all prime cuts of meat, including veal. We were happy to see frozen pastry puffs in two sizes, which are very practical for making pastel. Thoughtfully, the owners packed herbs and spices in small, practical tubs, each enough for a single use or two. While the bulk of the goods are from Europe (Germany, etc.), there is a collection from the Asian Home Gourmet, Singapore, that includes an extensive selection of mixes that would allow homemakers to create dishes such as curry, phad thai and tom yum soup. We noted the bottled seasoning, Texas Jacks at P150, and per the man behind the counter, this is good for flavoring anything, from grills to stews. Needless to say, people go to Santis also for the sausages and cheeses.

Little Tokyo on Pasong Tamo has been very quiet after being a beehive of Japanese food enthusiasts in the past. We were looking for the grocery store inside but were directed to an area facing the street. This is the new home of Choto Stop, carrying everything Japanese food-related. It has turned into a P75 Store, with more than 90 percent of their offerings tagged at that price. The downside of this store is that all items are labeled in Japanese, and the attendant, who apparently does not read or understand the language, would readily refer to the lady behind the cash register. A gullible shopper would fill her/his basket with quite a collection. They have spaghetti sauces (red or white) done the Japanese way, a variety of sardines using fish native to Japan, like sanma (long salinas tuyo-like), various sauces/mixes for sukiyaki, tempura, noodles, coffee and tea blends, miso soup, etc. If you are a Japanese foodie, this place is worth a visit.

Baker’s Depot in the WalterMart Mall, also on Pasong Tamo, offers their house brand chocolate blocks, Maiden, in packs of 500 and 250 gms at P82 and P44. They’ve got a pizza oven on sale at P2,800. There are culinary books, like Lourdes Santos Rivera’s on meat processing at P499 and Galaxy Negosyo on food retailing for P89.

WalterMart supermarket is where we always get Batutay longganiza, because this is hardly ever available in other stores. The supermarket has set up a common area for baon food, with a choice of suppliers – Paulino’s chicken seasoned selection lollipops at P150 a kilo, tapa at P166 and breast fillet at P175; Magnolia’s chicken teriyaki for P160, tapa for P168.

Rice varieties are ample. Sinandomeng sells for P93 a bag of two kilos, Japanese rice for P149, dinorado for P101.20 also for two kilos. Large eggs go for P70 a tray, at least P2 more than elsewhere.

Within the complex are some good eateries. Apparently a new entrant is Reyes Barbecue, a favorite stop in other places. We were attracted to the new dessert, a sumptuous (and maybe sinful) banana caramel ala mode, P55. 

That was indeed quite a round.

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