Feeling peachy

What do you do when you find out that they have a buy 1 take 1 sale on canned peaches at the nearby supermarket?

You make peach-mango-sago! (And when I say "you" it means "me.")

While there was no recipe followed, it turned out to be really good!

If they still have those peaches on sale, this is going to have a part 2. And part 3. And part 4...

Instant Indian

Our neighborhood supermarket - Daily Supermarket - might not be a big chain, but you can spot some unusually good finds on their racks.

Just like this:

Poppadoms!

As an Indian food Stan, this is such a thrill. I’ve tried this and the flavor is really close to the traditional Poppadoms that you can get in Indian restos.

Gotta buy more and share with my fellow Indian food foodies.

Host(ess) Country

Lookie at what they have at Rustan's Marketplace!

Hostess cakes!!!

It's so, so, so awesome that they finally have a bigger range of products in the country.

Wee like it!

Some impulse buys are definitely worth it.

Went to the supermarket to buy cooking oil, and on my way to the cashier, I saw this product called Dowee Donuts Delectables.

They. Are. So. Good.

The Choco Mallow one is da bomb! Not too sweet. Super chocolatey. And the right gooey-ness of the marshmallow filling! The Ube one is good, too, but not as awesome as the Choco Mallow one.

Actually, this can give the regular donut stores a run for their money. And it’s going to be part of my donut repertoire now.

Yup, that’s how I like it.

Say Cheese! Cake!

While our Oreo selection might not be as vast nor awesome as the ones in the US, recently, we've got a pretty decent selection.

Aside from yesterday's discovery - Oreo Salted Caramel - there was another discovery today!

While browsing through Landers online supermarket, this item popped up as a suggestion.

Oreo Strawberry Cheesecake!

This went from the screen to "Add to Cart" faster than you can say cheese.

A-Salted!

Yes, that would be an accurate way to describe what happened at the supermarket yesterday.

This assaulted - nay, A-Salted - my senses the moment I saw it on the shelf.

Salted Caramel Oreos!

Take my money, please!

Somewhere, Someday, Sambal

Whowouldathunk that shrimp-chili paste could be used as a bread filling!

Apparently it can. Exhibit A, a grocery find in SG.

It tastes strange, but strangely interesting.

It'll probably take some time before I get used to the taste, though.

Mart my words

Unimart has a special place in my heart.

When we were kids, we'd go there every Sunday and Lolo Iking would give us P20.00 each. Then, he'll let us roam around Greenhills and let us spend the money any way we want.

More often than not, I spent my P20.00 in Unimart, buying chocolates, cookies, chips, or even comic books.

Then, we'd all meet up at the Unimart food court for Coney Island or Orange Julius, then it was back to Morato.

Because of these childhood memories, I find myself going back to Unimart every so often. The nice thing about it was some of the cashiers were there since I was a kid! And they're still there! How's that for a throwback?

When I heard that they moved Unimart to its new location, a visit was non-negotiable!

Their new digs are impressive. Wider aisles, bigger space, more varied selection - basically, they found new ways to entice Unimart loyalists like myself.

What's even better? The old cashiers are still around!

Looks like I'll be back in Unimart a bit more often now.

CousCous Confusion

Last night, I dropped by SM Supermarket in Cubao to buy CousCous for Mark. The last time he requested me to bring CousCous, I was able to get a few boxes at SM Supermarket in Megamall, so I figured they'd have it in Cubao, too.

So, I walked up to the guy who was refilling the shelves and our conversation went:

ME: Excuse me, meron po ba kayong CousCous?
HIM: Meron, sir! Dito po tayo sa shelf number 23.

He accompanies me to the shelf. When we get there, what do I see?

Steel wool and sponges.

STEEL WOOL AND SPONGES!!!

Breathing a sigh of frustration, I asked what these were.

ME: Uhm, ano 'to?
HIM: Pang-kuskos, sir!

Apparently, they don't know what CousCous is in Cubao.

Sheesh!

What's not to Lake?

Whenever we're in Tokyo, Mark and I like scouring the supermarkets to buy juice. Whether it's in Ozeki, Prece, My Basket or a random combini, I usually stop by the chiller to see if there's any interesting breakfast and snack beverage that we can buy.

Usually, I gravitate towards apple and grape juice. Mark, on the other hand, usually buys the fruit and vegetable mix. At first, I found that combination odd, but warmed up to it eventually. It turns out a fruit and vegetable combination is not only refreshingly healthy, but yummy as well.

When I dropped by SM Supermarket, I found out that Oishi's juice brand - Great Lakes - had a Fruit and Vegetable juice. 

Needless to say, I bought a pack, and it was really, really good. It had the right tartness, and a taste of healthy greens. It's pretty much like the one we get in Japan, albeit a tinge bit sweeter.

I also bought the other variant, Tropical Blend Fruit Mix.

This one tastes like Four Seasons, but with a bit more sourness.

It's great that we now have more varied choices when it comes to juice.

Cheery cherry

As a self-confessed cherry fan, it's quite frustrating that fresh cherries are few and far between in the Philippines. Makes me miss living in HKG where there were cherries in almost every street corner.

To make up for that longing, I usually check out "cherry derivatives" in the supermarket. These are any cherry-flavored items - be it candies, snacks or drinks.

And these are the most common cherry drinks I see in the supermarkets.

First is Cherry 7-Up. I remember trying this almost 10 years ago in Mexico, and found it wanting in cherry flavor. I wonder if they reformulated already?

Second is Cherry Coke. Among the flavored Coke variants, I find this the best. And I'm not biased due to my cherry obsession. Although you have to drink it super duper chilled, or else it tends to be super sweet.

But since my stomach doesn't really allow me to drink soda, good thing there are more natural and zero carbonation options. And my favorite is the Tipco Cherry Berry juice drink.

It has cherries, blueberries and raspberries, in a natural juice form. Whenever I buy this, I have to control myself, though, since I tend to finish one pack in one sitting. So far, there are no other juice brands that offer cherry, so this is the one I buy each time.

Now, if The Berry Company has a cherry drink of their own, that would be a definite must-try!

Oats taking

As I've written in many, many entries, I'm a big fan of Chocolate Milk. Aside from that, I'm also a huge fan of oatmeal.

So, imagine my surprise when I went to the supermarket and found this:

It's Chocolate Milk with Oats! It's a new product from Oishi called Choco Chug, and I immediately had to buy a pack and try it!

I'm so glad I did! The chocolate milk flavor is rich, and there are little bits of oat that add texture to every sip. This combination makes it both unusual and special, and it's worth a return purchase.

While I'm not replacing Magnolia Chocolait and Knick Knacks X-Blast anytime soon (they're the gold standard in chocolate milk drinks in my book,) the product will definitely be in rotation.

Su-poor-market

Near SSC is a quaint, neighborhood supermarket called Fortune Mart. It's one of my go-to places, especially when I need to get a quick breakfast before going to my early morning class. I usually get my VitaMilk Choco and Magnolia Chocolait there.

Convenient as it may be, that supermarket is also quite odd. One of the sources of that oddity is the absence of brands that I like. Consider these two separate incidents at that supermarket:

INCIDENT # 1:

ME: Excuse me, meron kayong Oreo?
GUY: Wala ho, eh. Cream-O, meron po.
ME: Bakit wala kayong Oreo?
GUY: Pang-mayaman lang ho kasi 'yon.

INCIDENT # 2:

ME: Saan ang chocolates ninyo?
GUY: Kasama po ng mga candy, eto po. (He ushers me to the candy section)
ME: (after looking around) May Kitkat ba kayo?
GUY: Ay wala ho. Pang-mayaman kasi ang Kitkat.

The funny thing is, this happened almost a month apart and with 2 different sales clerks.

Sometimes, I'm tempted to comment:

"Bakit? Pang-mahirap lang ba itong supermarket ninyo?"

Wellcome to the Philippines!

When I was still living in HKG, one of my favorite places was Wellcome. It was one of the two big supermarket chains in that country, the other one being Park and Shop. Although there was a Park and Shop just below my flat, I'd walk all the way to Wellcome because they had a better selection.

Imagine my surprise when I saw a Wellcome store in Farmer's Plaza in Cubao on my way home! Apparently, Rustan's Express Lanes have been renamed Wellcome. I guess this means they've franchised the supermarket chain.

I haven't checked it out yet, but I'm excited already. Wellcome will definitely be a welcome addition to our supermarket shopping habit.

Fat Albert

Whenever I was in the Benelux area, one of my favorite destinations was Albert Heijn. I'm a supermarket junkie, and this was THE supermarket to go to whenever you're in Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxemborg. 

I still remember how I'd enjoy going through each shelf to try and find something interesting and unique to buy. My favorites back then were the raisin bun and the Spa Blau. 

It's been years since I've been to Albert Heijn. But as the saying goes: "If Mohammed can't come to the mountain, let the mountain come to Mohammed." 

So, Albert Heijn comes to me. In the form of these two goodies!

First, there's the calorrific Stroopwafels! I swear, each piece of this must contain a gazillion calories! And of course, Belgian chocolates. Still the best in the world.

Thank goodness for pasalubongs from Albert Heijn. Even the ones designed to make you fat.