Northbound shopping

We went North because we needed to buy something that was available only in a health store in Quezon City. Also because one of our readers convinced us to re-visit the Hi Top supermarket on Quezon Avenue, near the EDSA rotunda, so we could check current prices of prime commodities. This was not the first time we’d go there. Luckily we cruised along on an early morning, without being hampered by bumper-to-bumper traffic. Along the way, there’s Makro and Farmers’ Market. So to maximize this trip, specially with regard to saving gas, we dropped in on those places as well. Unfortunately we did not have enough time to include Shopwise on this "expedition".

Always, Hi Top comes to mind when our brood craves for roast duck, which is sold there, fresh from an authentic Chinese kitchen, with the traditional plum sauce. It sells for P210 a pack, which is a meaty half-bird, enough for a small family like ours. The store is on the side entrance leading to the grocery. The Nutra Life outlet is likewise a regular stop for us, where we get our vitamins and this time we took a bottle of Highland Natural Honey (P50 the small one of 325 gms). It also carries Virgin Coconut Oil, organic vinegar and bottled calamansi with honey. The two young women manning the store are always gracious and remember their regular customers, no matter how rare the visits are. They open between 10 and 10:30 a.m, while the supermarket opens at 9:30 a.m.

Prior to going inside, there are more temptations from the sellers of Bulacan kakanin– puto, kutsinta, suman, banana turon, among others. If we allow ourselves to indulge and not think of calories (and cholesterol), our basket would be full even before we entered the grocery section. Inside, the first thing we noticed was the bargain area where lots of items, from biscuits to champoy are piled one on top of another. Among these is Fashooned Parmesan cheese priced at P99.95. Over at the dairy section Lurpak butter goes for P98.50. President is sold at P79 while Bega is tagged at P126. Two brands of queso de bola: Piña at P391.25 and P684.75 (small and big) and Pato at P612.75. Also storing up for Christmas, there’s King Sue Chinese ham and ox tongue.

The fresh section has chicken at P96 a kilo with sinigang pork at P88 plus a kilo and regular Monterey beef at P280. Seafood is not any cheaper–lapu-lapu at P420; shrimps (non-jumbo), P580; squid at a high of P200 Here’s a comparison of vari-branded cooking oil (one liter bottles)–Jolly Canola at P90.95, Simply for P98.25, Sunbeam at P89.35, Sunfrie at P120.05, Top Choice, P104.75. Baguio Oil now has canola in smaller bottles. For those who use a lot of olive oil for home consumption or commercially, it is perhaps more practical to invest in a big tin, as in 1 gallon, at P2294.25.

At Makro practically every fresh food item is in one kilo, 3-kilo or 5-kilo packs, each with corresponding discounts of about P2 a kilo. Mangoes, not looking so good, from P40 a kilo, watermelon from P17.50, cabbage from P35, imported onions from P31. From the fresh catch, tilapia from P77, bangus at P101 and shrimps for P525. They’ve got small Magnolia chicken, in packs of twos. Always we can not resist any new frozen stuff, the latest being the Little Chef collection from Thailand, all pre-cooked–Shrimp Shao Mai (P123 a box of 18), Shrimp Dumplings (P109 for 12 pcs), Dimsum party box of crab rolls, spring rolls, seafood wantons and crab toasts for P317. All for deep-frying. This is most practical when entertaining a small group or when wanting something different on the family table. The store has a row of cooked food, among which is the Cagayan Lechon at P440 a kilo and Crispy Chicken, P119.

Farmers’ Market is one place that needs a lot of time and enough money, serious considerations since it is quite a distance from our base. Anyway, the profusion of blooms in a burst of colors at the entrance is enough to lift the spirit and put the shopper in the best mood for shopping. Most of the stall owners are very enthusiastic. We found bigger-than-usual Ilocos garlic at P180 a kilo and had to part with P40 for two pieces of capsicum. In the wet section the seafood was so temptingly fresh. We got prawns at P210 for half a kilo, scallops in shells at P240 a kilo, clams at P80 and squid (rather small) for P150. Beautiful, robust mangoes sell at P80 a kilo, cantaloupe at P60 and mangosteen at P200, a big jump down from its prohibitive price a month ago. As we did not have much of either time or money, we hurried back home.

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