Those little stores

Somehow we never paid attention to those little stalls lining the halls of a mall, maybe because we were always in a hurry to get to our appointments on time. A few days ago at SM Mall of Asia, we had an hour to kill, so we decided to look at practically every food stall we passed by on the street level area beside the convention center. Here are some of the very interesting and creatively crafted products we found.

Spam Jam is a colorful kiosk done in bright yellow and green. The breakfast food has been turned into snacks and even light meals, such as hamburger served with rice and eggs for P72 and sandwiches done with native palaman such as adobo at P35. For additional filling, one must add P10. Healthy shakes and cooling drinks are at P35 and P45, depending on the fruits in the mixture.           

Another kiosk that is rather unique is Amazing Cones, ingeniously shaping pizza crust into a cone with different fillings inside. You can choose from a variety of flavors like garlic and shawarma. These are sold between P25 and P48. They have minis which come in trays of five at P140. Dessert cones are also available.

For those who love to munch, there’s Guby’s chicharon especial or Potato Madness’ flavored chips and hashbrowns, between P25 and P35. Another unique product is from a store called Cocktails, with the tagline, “Desserts like no other.” They have concocted a dessert collection of shakes and ice cream on a tapioca base, topped with fruits such as banana, buko and lychees. Price is between P100 and P180.

More sweet offerings are from Dream Ice Kakigoori. As its name suggests, this is a popular Japanese dessert made from thinly shaved ice and fruity flavored syrup like melon, strawberry, peach and green tea. They cater parties – call 895-328.  

The Zwilling J. A. Henckels store, aside from the traditional Swiss knives, sells top-of-the-line kitchenware which can last for years. The ceramic stove top collection with lids in different colors is tagged at P1,300 per. The new line of casseroles from Belguim, the Deoneyere, features 7-ply bottoms, making them much more resistant and steady on the stove. Price starts at P8,000 per.

Then we went to SM Hypermart, where again, small outlets dot the supermarket entrance. There’s Dino’s of Café Ysabel, offering their kitchen specials including zatar bread dip, pickled mangoes, sundried tomatoes, from P160 to P288. They have a wide selection of pastries, including traditional ensaymadas, caramel brownies, mini apple pie and Russian tea cakes. The café has become a trusted name in the food industry and is popular for their gourmet food and their base in San Juan, where the ambiance of old Manila blends very well with the specialties of the house, such as paella valenciana, lengua sulipeña and braised US beef belly.

Right beside it is Denelli selling calamata olives from Australia at P354; assorted sausages, cold cuts, and cheese; Bush honey, 500 gms for P526; red pepper tapenade; black olive tapenade, P225.

We always get some ready-to-cook meat. At SM Hypermart, we are most often satisfied with their selection such as Chicken Cuisine chicken fingers flavored with pesto at P10 each and breaded pork chops. They are good to have on reserve in case of an emergency, like when unexpected guests come and there is no time to prepare anything from scratch.

Harvester brand sinandomeng rice sells for P223.50 for a sack of five kilos; Figaro black pitted olives, P71.50; dried salinas goes for P67.28 a pack; Eden lacatan bananas are at P55.21 a bunch of 1.28 kgs. There is a lack of Rollo-type plastic food containers. There is, however, an abundance of sandwich bags.

In the meat section, osso bucco meat, which is actually bulalo, is tagged at P270 a kilo; rib eye at P1,045; pork ribs at P293; and lechon kawali, P180.

We got an email from a reader who informed us that she gets chicken from the Aranque market at P120 a kilo, a place where vegetables and fruits are always fresh. Thanks, reader, and we hope more will keep sending us valuable tips that will benefit all homemakers.              

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