Manila Shopping

Tiendesitas is a shopping complex of clothes and shoes, pets and pet supplies, food, plants, arts and antiques, and more. It is so convenient to shop here because the shops are grouped into "villages" that are categorized according to what they sell - like the pet village, arts and antiques village, etc.

Shops are open from 12 noon to 12 midnight.

What to buy: Arts and antiques here are good finds. Instead of scouting around in the provinces of the Philippines or the rest of Asia, you can discover a lot of treasures here at really reasonable prices.

What to pay: Prices are reasonable and generally lower than the malls'. You can also negotiate for lower prices than those in the price tags.

Just to give you examples of the prices of the antiques, my husband and I bought a simple altar table here for 4,500PHP, a nice Narra chest with mother of pearl inlay for 6,000PHP and a wood and capiz 3-panel divider for 7,500PHP.

If you love making accesories out of beads and pearls and such, you will love Wellmanson's! They have a wide variety of beads, crystals and components for making costume jewelries and other such accesories. The clerks are helpful and knowledgeable about their stocks and the store is air-conditioned.

Since Wellmanson's has the biggest stock in Quiapo, be prepared to be crushed. A lot of hobbyists make it their stop.

What to buy: I went ga-ga over their stock! I didn't know which to get first, that I ended up getting a lot of different sized pearls, crystals, spacers, charms, etc. The list is truly long!

If you are planning to go into the business of making and selling costume jewelries, this shop is a good source of supplies.

What to pay: We spent more than we bargained for because I got crazy and bought even items not on my list. But comparing to the stores in the malls, Wellmanson's prices are a bargain!

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So many fun things to do at the SM Mall of Asia. You can find everything you want in here. Spending one day in the third largest mall in the world is not enough. For local handicrafts , visit the Kultura shop. For beauty needs, Watson's and Beauty Bar is there. For clothes, Zara and Mango will be there aside from the usual clothing stores. There's also an IMAX theatre for movie enthusiasts. There are spas and medical & dental clinics. Dining in the restaurants with the view of the Manila Bay is also one of the things one can do there. You can also marvel at its architecture and interiors.

It's simply "no other like it!"

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Located at the center of Metro Manila and in one big roof, Farmer's Market is where locals buy the ingredients when special foods are to be prepared. The place got the freshest catch from the sea. Vegetables (name it, they have it) are a plenty. A long stretch of stalls sells local tropical fruits - fresh and ripe and ready-to-eat.

If you want the things you bought to be cooked and have your meal right-away, there's a dozen restaurants at the Dampa Section to cook them for a minimal fee.

The real come-on is the variety of choices and knowing you are getting the freshest goods available in town.

What to buy: 1. Fresh Seafoods -- fish, shells/oysters, edible seaweeds, crabs, shrimps. 2. Tropical Fruits -- Mangoes, pineapple, banana, papaya, seasonal fruits. 3. Fresh Vegetables -- upland and lowland (local vegetables) 4. Meat - pork, beef, and even goat meat. 5. Local delicacies --- kakanin, puto, suman, etc. 6. Flowers -- incidentally, they got a big section for fresh flowers.

What to pay: Pay a little bit higher than the regular neighborhood public market. Actually, you are paying for the better quality of goods sold. But definitely pay much lower compared to supermarkets.

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Tiendesitas, which means "small stores", is located along Ortigas corner C-5 and has opened lately just in time for the holiday shopping time. What Chatuchak is to Bangkok, Tiendesitas is to Manila.

The stores in small to medium-sized stalls are housed in 12 Maranao-inspired single-storey buildings. The stalls are zoned in clusters as Fashion, Food Delicacies, Pet Shops, and Antiques. At the center is a huge stage where live band plays nightly. Within the perimeter are food stalls and restaurants with shared tables at the center giving a big food feast atmosphere come Happy Hour.

Open from 9AM to 12MN. Free Parking and ATMs available.

What to buy: Various retail items mostly of local crafts are offered. Hardwood furnitures from Pampanga, knitted clothes from Baguio, bamboo crafts from the Visayas, Maranao brasswares and handicrafts from Mindanao are just the few items sold.

The food stalls offer regional specialties like the "bagnet" of Ilocos, "batchoy" of Bacolod, "inihaw na panga" of Davao, "sisig" from Pampanga, as well as the all time favorite "adobo and inihaw", making it a Philippine Food Festival for anybody anytime.

What to pay: Definitely, much cheaper goods compared to those sold in the air-conditioned department stores. The wide variety of goods to choose from is the come-on.

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Green hills is a mall / swap meet style shopping center located in San Juan. It has a section of regular shops and restaurants, but it also has a section that is swap meet style. This is where i like to go. This place gets pretty crowded so make sure you watch your wallet here. This is where you go if you want to get the fake stuff. LV, Gucci, Prada, Nike, Adidas, Puma, Polo, most of the stuff looks real and its really cheap. I like to come here for the shoes. They have some Nikes, well fake Nikes that look really good. You can only tell they are fake if you are a sneaker fiend. They pretty much have the whole line of jordans, which are 1000Php = $20 US and most other Nikes are $500Php of course its cheaper if you are a local, but not by much. The AF1's look pretty real. I dont recommend playing basketball in any shoes you get here though. Last time i came here i bought 7 pairs of shoes, so be careful when you go there, cuz it can be addictive. For women, I hear its a great place to buy jewelry, and the fake name brand purses. They also have a section dedicated to mobile phones, cd's, dvd's, video games.

This mall was just across the Discovery Suites that I was staying in. I had forgetten about it (despite going there a few times for Starbuck's coffee) until a fellow VTer reminded me. The reason that I had forgotten about it, is simply because this mall resembled the malls I can find back home. (In fact, it is a joint venture between Singaporean and Philippino firms - it figures)

The mall is very clearly targeted at the higher income earners in Manila with its posh and branded boutiques and swanky open-space and cool light architectural design that gave the mall an instant snooty air. You will find top notch designer brands here selling a range of items from lingeries, leather belts to the latest hand bags.

Me? I took a quick spin and settled for Starbucks.

What to buy: If you are into branded stuff, hey, this is your place.

What to pay: No idea. I did not bother. I can tell you the price of a Starbucks coffee if you want...ha ha.

Follow the directions I have given in my Manila Travelogue for Chinatown Ongpin

"Chinese Drug Stores"

You will not find this drug on the Internet.

What to buy: Whenever you have diarrhea, which is easily possible for a foreign in tropical areas. you should have this medicine.

The name is

"SEIROGAN"*
Gastrointestinal Pillsm

Sometimes the name is only available in Chinese characters. But if you explain, they will understand in any Chinese drugstore.

The pills stink terribly, but are very helpful.

BTW I use those pills since my very first encounter in Taiwan in 1987. In Hong Kong I was so sick, that I could not help to see a physician,who was recommended by a Chinese friend. He sent me to a drug store in Kowloon. Since then, I have this medicine as a steady companion during all my travels.

Even friends of mine now rely on this medicine.

What to pay: maximum 140 Pesos = less than US$ 2.50