I am not advocating drinking, however, Super Metro has a large selection of imported and local beer and liquor. Bombay Gin, anyone? No thank you, but I do enjoy a cold beer! One of my treats from Metro is to buy a couple of bottles of nice imported beer. Such as Crown Lager from Australia, Beck's from Germany and Newcastle Brown Ale from UK. Wow! One sip from any of those and the taste is dancing in your mouth! Of course, there are several good local beers in the Philippines, such as San Miguel, Red Horse and my favorite, Beer na Beer!
Super Metro is much more than only food! Clothing, shoes, jewelry, electronics, appliances, toys, housewares, and school supplies are all available and at affordable prices. A quality electric fan is P1,000.
Since I have not lived in the USA for the past 13 years, Going to Super Metro is actually something to do and not just a shopping trip! It is an enjoyable experience because each week, I know I will discover a new treasure in the aisles!
The shoppers need to read the labels past the American name. Sometimes it is surpise suprise!! It was manufactured in a different country, that may have different food safety standards. Buyer beware.
available in the Philippines since 1986, when I lived here the first time.No doubt, they were around long before I arrived!
Coors, Coors Light, Colt 45 and Lone Star American beers are brewed in the Philippines by Asia Brewery. Japan is also allowing Asia Brewery to now brew, bottle and distribute their famous Sapporo Beer.
I've lived in Asia the past 13 years and never had a problem with American food products made in other Asian countries. Once more, these products are not at imported prices but priced for local people to also enjoy. Coors Beer is the same price as San Miguel!
I think it is more buyer be aware instead of buyer beware. I would like to hear from you about specific American food and/or drink products that you bought in the Philippines and had a problem with.
I wish we had one in Iloilo! It sounds great ha ha. I saw someone make a video about this joint and it looked pretty sweet. And Charles – it is not that we prefer the boxed, processed foods, but sometimes a "taste of home" is kind of nice. I found a store in town that sells Cheetos (made in Plano, Texas!). I bought one bag and enjoyed them. That was 5 months ago… I will probably buy some more one day… but no worries. It was just good for a change.
Do they have American sized clothes? That is hard to find here.
They drove 2 hours each way to buy processed, canned & boxed food…? Is it that bad there or are they just taste impaired..? I saw a video about that store. The hard goods are a great buy.. Employees aren't bad either.
I think many expats crave certain foods that they are accustomed to eating back home. I spent about $7 the other day for a large bag of lime flavored Tostito;s tortilla chips and a large jar of Tostito's salsa! Yes, I could certainly still be happy in the Philippines without those two items but I saw them and I wanted to eat them! I may not buy those particular items again for the next year or even two years but I bet I will see something else I like in the future.
There are a number of Filipino food dishes that I really enjoy but I am not going to eat them every meal or even once every day. I do not require high end food in the Philippines but I do enjoy eating certain foods that I grew up eating and still enjoyed as an adult in Florida. I am happy with a bowl of Great Northern Beans with a little ham or bacon added, chili sauce and a large slice of cornbread! Those items are available in Bacolod. Several times each week, I enjoy a large bowl of grits with butter and an over easy egg. I can also buy grits in Bacolod.
I've also seen Filipinos go wild in the USA when they shop at Asian groceries. Philippine products such as canned sardines, instant noodles, jars of bagoong or shrimp paste, dried fish, the different fruits sold in jars to make halo halo and even pumpkin seeds.
With all the fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood and meats, the Philippines offers a very healthy diet for expats. However, I am one who enjoys eating things from the USA or Europe several times each week just because I enjoy those items and they are available here.
Sorry for the late reply but I've been out of the loop a few days without power due to the typhoon.
Yes, that is true about the taste of home. We shopped at Metro yesterday and they had Banquet turkey pot pies and chicken pot pies, so you know, yep, I just had to buy a few of those! I passed on the Banquet TV dinners but was tempted by the turkey and dressing dinner. My favorite when I was a child and we sometimes had the TV dinners.
SM Dept Store in Bacolod sells American sized clothing. The used clothing tents and stores are loaded with American sized clothing and they are cheap. I am lucky that I am Filipino size! Bench is my favorite brand shirt and I buy them brand new in the mall for only P479 each.
I was curious if they sell cilantro at any of the stores there. Sounds like SM might be the best chance to have some. We are looking to move to Cauyan in a year and may have to grow our own if it isn't readily available. We also love Thai food, are there any Thai restaurants in Bacolod?
SM in Bacolod does not sell cilantro all the time but they do have it occasionally. Metro sells cilantro all the time. My wife also grows cilantro in pots at our home.
The previous 3 Thai Restaurants in Bacolod went out of business but a new one opened recently at the Hi Strip 4 Building. We have not tried it yet but plan to soon, so I don't know the actual name of it. There is also a Vietnamese Restaurant and a Mexican Restaurant in the Hi Strip 4 Bldg. I always enjoy Pad Thai Noodles.We dined at the Vietnamese Restaurant once and their Vietnamese Sandwich was very good but not their Beef Pho. Too oily for my liking.
Thank you for your quick response. We are looking forward to learning more about living in Negros Occidental and all it has to offer. It sounds like a wonderful place to live and if we search hard enough we can find much of what we like here in the states. Thanks for making it easier to investigate and get answers. More to come!!
I was looking for some ingredients which I intend to use with our soon to open burger joint in Antipolo when I saw this blog. Thanks Gary for this wonderful post! You make my day, can't wait to visit Super Metro in Anonas since I lived in QC.