Food & Grocery Best Posts in Thread: Import market for Expats

I am thankful that the WhyNot deli is not one of those. Somehow there seem to be loads of returned OFWs who are as fussy as the expats so the place is always busy.

 

I've actually wondered with all the expats in and around Dumaguete that someone had not opened something up. I've been overseas for so long there is not too much I really miss from the US as food goes (tools and such are a totally different story). Fortunately I'm back in Korea so some things that I do like (brown mustard, V8 juice) I can just go to the commissary on one of the bases and pick up. Probably the only thing I will bring back to the Philippines when I go on R&R at the end of the month is the mustard.

There is enough "substitutes" for most cooking that I can get by with Monterey, Robinsons and local things. I'm not the biggest fan of most Philippine food so I tend to tweak things a bit when I'm cooking and end up more on the grill than anything else.

I would check out a place that had more of a selection if someone was to open something up.

Shawn

 

Exactly, I have friends who source their products specially made for their Businesses back in Oz from Companies in Taiwan and China, they can made world class items if needed, but mostly they are called upon to produce cheap rubbish by the West, so they deliver...

 

My biggest problem was mostly hand tools; hammers, screwdrivers, chisels, tape measures etc...you can get Stanley there but I don't rate them as "quality" tools. I did have decent luck with a water pump and concrete vibrator that we picked up...the plate compactor looked solid but had to have a few repairs that I would not have expected.

Power tools are something that is a pain...you can find Dewalt and Makita but the cost is really up there compared to "back home". I ordered all my cordless Dewalt drills and such from the US but you need a step down transformer for the battery charger. I did pick up a few Dewalt and Makita tools locally and the quality of the Dewalt miter saw is awesome as well as the Makita planer and no complaints with some others.

I believe Australia is 50Hz so any electrical tools will have a shortened life in the Philippines, especially if you are in an area with voltage issues as well.

I plan to ship some tools from Korea to the Philippines as the voltage and frequency is the same; and they have some local brands that are quite inexpensive and the quality is good.

Shawn

 

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Worcestershire IS AVAILABLE at Lee Hypermart (I think, could be robinson's but definitely in dumaguete, we got a bottle in the fridge). There is a nice shelf just across from the meat counter at the left end of the fresh meats. Also red and white wine vinegars. Cholula is avail at Rustans in Cebu (also tapatia), wish we had a rustans here. d*mn, just remembered we forgot Malt Vinegar, anybody seen it here anywhere ??????

Had a conversation a few months ago with a woman whose husband makes runs to cebu about once a month, wish i still had her number, anybody know ??

We have a Task Rabbit in SF that will pick up stuff and take to LBC and ship, pricey but sometimes necessary. (you need a task rabbit account).. Most american online companies ship to the Philippines now, got to look for "international shipping" in the small print.

 

A greenhouse is for plants which need a higher temperature than that available in the local climate ..... the temperatures in The Philippines are high enough to support most plant life .... but some plants need COOLER conditions and a greenhouse will supply the very opposite. My article above discusses how possibly to overcome this for some plants ..... but there are some plants which may never succeed here whatever you do, other than providing air-conditioning!

 

Yes, it's compulsory in the PO form. My daughter was told that the airline declined the package due to a tiny battery of a toy magic wand and that they are shipping it by sea. Is it really that long? Originally, it was supposed to reach Duma not longer than 9 days.

 

LEA & PERRINS WORCESTER sauce is often available/in stock at hyper and lee plaza. p36 for the 60ml bottle.