I'm addicted to thrift stores and 'ukay-ukays'. Not only because I don't have a lot of money and I…read more-can- be cheap, but personally, it's a thrilling, satisfying experience and past-time that naturally curious folks would enjoy. Seriously, you'll never know what thing of beauty awaits you (and for less, too)! A couple of my prized possessions (mostly clothes, artwork/trinkets) I've purchased from such stores. I live 2 minutes away from Go Green Japan Surplus, so I frequent this place quite often to look around, see what's available. I really find the whole experience entertaining, to say the least. I mean, all these odds and ends from another culture, owned by a stranger you will most likely never, ever meet--who may also be still alive, or dead! Okay, that's not very enticing. But really, with a combination of luck, perseverance, and a good eye, you can really come home with a lot of good finds. This place mostly sells second hand furniture and home accessories. Their furniture can be a bit pricey, so do choose wisely. It might be helpful to check brand new items in other places first for a price basis. If you're a mug/teacup/plate hoarder, they have a huge selection of ceramics with novelty designs (i.e. ceramic sake glasses with erotic Japanese artwork called Shunga). For outdoorsy types, beautiful, secondhand Japanese bikes and surfboards are available here, too!

There's a relatively large warehouse-type store in the middle of Dona Soledad Avenue in Bicutan,…read moreParanaque City that simply calls itself Japan Store. It is, of course, a second-hand shop that sells a wide variety of houseware, furniture, home décor, bicycles and just about anything that can be sold used. Every so often, the Japan Store will sell shoes that look to be in good condition. I chanced upon a pair of tripods that I had been looking for and one was being sold for P1,200 and the other for P2,000. The most interesting item available was an old-style slot machine. Two of them actually. It didn't have the lever of the typical one-armed bandit, making the P5,000 gizmos next generation slot machines. The place also has surf boards and more cups and mugs than I could count. One seemingly fast moving item would be wheelchairs, as every so often a few would be on display, only to be gone a week later. Cabinets, clocks, kitchen utensils are also plentiful. For those who like to restore old furniture, Japan Store has a wide array to choose from. This place has been around for years so it's safe to presume that business must be booming. I like to visit it just to see what new old stuff they have for bargain hunters like me. I'm still waiting for them to have a classic juke box for sale, and I will probably bargain like crazy to have it.

Oh please. I know nothing about grocery shopping…read more Don't ask me how the prices are compared to other groceries. Or if their fish are fresh, chickens new and if their fruits just came off the tree. I wouldn't have any idea. My mom just drags me this supermarket when she's too lazy to go to Makati or Alabang. She calls this place a high end sari-sari store. Well, that's kind of true I guess. They have the basics: food, drinks, house stuff, soap, shampoo and stuff that you can find in your neighborhood sari-sari store. The difference? Robinson's Supermarket is clean, cold and it's pretty comfortable to shop here. They rarely have imported goods. When they do, I grab the chance and stock up on Cherry Coke and Vanilla Coke. In other supermarkets, they put certain items on sale every month. Robinson's does the same, but they don't put on sale items that are nearing their expiration date. This is great! The only time I've seen and experienced waiting in line to pay for what seemed like an eternity was last Christmas, New Year and Holy Week. On regular days and at all times, the lines are short, the cashiers work fast and all their workers are really helpful and friendly. Just in case you get hungry or bored while doing your groceries, there are little food stalls to fill you up.

A part of me has always wanted to relocate to Chinatown, and all my reasons are because of…read morefood--which are VERY valid reasons. This tiny store does a good job in carrying essential Chinese food products and other goods, making it very convenient for us who live here in the south. For the usual stuff, I get cheap dried shiitake mushrooms, noodles, and tikoy here. They also sell their own brand of chili garlic oil, which is AMAZING stuff and a steal at only Php 120 for a generously-sized bottle. They also carry other Asian items, too. There was this one time, I was intrigued by this dark brown solid square block that smelled SO GOOD. Turns out, it was a Taiwanese wintermelon tea block! Allow me to be proud of this discovery, as I've never seen anything like it, nor have I ever imagined tea as a heavy, hard block and not a tea bag. You dilute it in water using heat, and use it as a syrup to add to milk (in my case, I use soy milk) or just water, pancakes maybe, or whatever floats your boat.

Little Chinatown is a 10-minute walk from my house, or rather, from my parents' house. And since…read moreI've moved out, I've missed this store more and more. Their goods may be a little bit more expensive than other dumplings you could get outside, but these babies are worth it. Big pork and shrimp dumplings, with stuffing that you can clearly distinguish as being pork and shrimp. Chinatown is difficult to get to (and sometimes difficult to get out of), so it's nice having a satellite store that sells authentic Chinese goods. And when my folks come over, it's just like getting it delivered!

excellent service and hard working Zikhiana Guali,made exceptional service !!! Very respectful,…read morework fast ,

Quite accessible to commuters. Can be a hassle to those bringing cars because the traffic can get…read morenasty in Bicutan. Lots of restos, cafes, shops. The SM department store has Kultura and Home - but dont expect Home to have lots of items. The toilets are few - hence a queue in all my visits so far. They can be dirty too (like in my visit today).

I've had a lot of really good liempo in the last couple of years, but none of them as good as Mr…read more Liempo's version. They marinate it in some strong stuff so every bite is very tasty. The meat itself is tender and gives to bites easily so there's no struggle when you just want to relish really good pork pieces. What I really love about their liempo is how crazy crunchy they make the skin and how the fat melts in your mouth -- all without the taste of charred meat. Their lechon liempo is succulent and divine. It has the taste of lovely Cebu lechon with the feel of an Ilocos bagnet -- in the world of grilled pork that is really about as good as it gets. Don't forget to ask for their dipping sauce (vinegar with sugar, red peppers and onions.) It hits a home run every time!

Ok, ok. Mr. Liempo is part of a chain of charcoal broiled pork and chicken that can be found all…read moreover the metropolis. So what makes this one located at Russia street near corner Saudi Arabia, Better Living Subdivision, Paranaque City? There's even one located a few blocks away along the main thoroughfare of Dona Soledad Avenue. But here's the thing. My family loves liempo. And we've tried the other Mr. Liempo, as well as several other brands found in our neck of the woods. Believe it or not, there is a difference in taste. I know there isn't supposed to be. The whole point of having a chain of any food stall is the standardization of taste. But this isn't necessarily true. So we order from Mr. Liempo once a week on the average, either the whole chicken at P195 or a rack of liempo at P170. The place prides itself in being "Awarded as Most Trusted and Best Liempo of the Year 2012, 2013 and 2014." Fine with me, but they don't mention who gave them the award. Mr. Liempo also advertises itself as "bellyciously delicious!" I will not contest their claim. All I can say is that we will keep on buying Mr. Liempo on a regular basis for as long as we live in Better Living Subdivision. I give it the rare 5 stars.

"Are you seriously telling me that this place has good stuff?"…read more Yes. I am aware that the place looks like some hole in the wall sari-sari store. But before you judge them, let me tell you that this mini-mart has been open since 1972. They are open every single day including holidays and signal number three and four. Those who live in Merville have visited this store at least once. Still not convinced? They sell tampons. Not too many stores do that! They also have yummy Korean noodles. They sell imported chips and sometimes even chocolates and sodas. Yes, they sell drinks like beer and vodka and other drinks that get you hung over. They also sell cigarettes and they don't give you judging looks when you buy it. If you look well and hard enough, you'll see some books and old or even antique things for sale. If the owner is the one minding the shop, she sometimes lets people get the old books for free. Sometimes.

I am so thankfully that Family Mart finally opened a branch so close to my office. For the first…read moretwo weeks that they were open, I had nothing but Family Mart food. As a convenience store, they honestly don't have a lot to offer (unlike your local 7-11 or MiniStop) but they have, by far, the best food selection. Everyday, I discover something new when I stop by this particular branch. In the first week, I was addicted to their Twirl-all-you can ice cream. Pistachio soft serve ice cream. Wow. Just wow. Then I started going through their food options. For 3 days straight I had nothing but tonkatsu maki. It's so packed with rice and was really good. Then I started focusing on their wraps. The chicken karaage wrap which had wasabi mayo was very filling for less than P100. They also have different ramens -- I like the karubi ramen. Lately, they introduced the Fresh N' Lite line for those counting their calories. So exciting to have healthy food at an affordable price and so conveniently close to where I work. This branch has a second floor dedicated to just the dining area. So if you're looking for a quick place to eat, this is the best choice. Last but not the least, I love how the people here are so nice and friendly. Coming in early in the morning and being greeted with: "Welcome to the Family!" really brings a smile to my face every time.

I am absolutely in love with calamansi juice. If it wasn't so darn tedious to make (squeezing a…read morebajillion calamansi for 10 years!), I would have it everyday. I was so happy to discover the Green Fresh kiosk. Finally, a convenient place to get good and cheap calamansi juice! What I like about this place is that they don't add honey to their juices (I'm vegan and I don't consume bee products). Some similar kiosks do boast using honey for sweeteners. Green Fresh is cruelty-free juice. It's a pretty straightforward kiosk. All you can buy here is calamansi juice--and if you're feeling a bit flu-y, they also offer hot calamansi tea. Also, I feel so lucky I live in a tropical country that has calamansi. For people like me who cannot always afford to purchase lemons, calamansi is a lifesaver.

When people are trying to lose weight, they sometimes substitute unhealthy drinks like sodas with…read morefruit shakes or juices. A lot of people I know spend countless money on smoothies, hoping that it would help them achieve their ideal beach body. What people don't know is a glass of blended fruits actually has more amount of sugar than one glass of Coca Cola. Before I sound like a complete know-it-all, let me just ask why would people spend so much money on overpriced fruit smoothies that will make them fat anyways, when they can have 22 ounces of fresh Calamansi juice for only 25 pesos?!?! Green Fresh is one of my recent discoveries. I found this place when I was looking for a cheap juice bar that could quench my thirst. They seriously sell the cheapest products. You can buy a cup of freshly squeezed Calamansi juice for only 11 pesos. They don't use any kind of artificial ingredients in their product so there's no need to worry. PS: All of these information came from my friend's personal trainer, a certified gym junkie and cutie ;)

When I first saw a Mr. Binatog kiosk, I had no idea what it was. I've never heard of it, and the…read moreword "binatog" sounds... violent. Haha. Turns out it's an inexpensive snack that's like a sweet corn lugaw of sorts. If you're looking for a quick vegan snack, Mr. Binatog offers binatog (what else) in small cups. The original recipe is actually vegan (just corn, niyog and sugar) but to make it more palatable to people of all ages, and have it be more "dessert-like" this franchise offers binatog with niyog that can also come with milk, cheese, chocolate and butter. I'm vegan so I just have the binatog with niyog, salt and sugar, and it's tasty... and comforting. Like something you'd like to hug.

I love any store or restaurant whose owner has a sense of humor, even the naughty ones…read more Itlog ni Kuya along Dona Soledad Avenue in Bicutan, Paranaque City is one such place. I ask you, how would you translate its name, Big Brother's Eggs? Anyway, as its name suggests, Itlog ni Kuya's specialty is eggs, eggs and more eggs. It has very affordable "silog" meals like the classic tapsilog for P50. That's tapa, sinangag and itlog. If you don't care for tapa, there's also hotdog, tocino, longganisa and bangus to go with the fried rice and fried egg. For those with a very tight budget, a humble repast of kalog for only P25. That's short for kape and itlog, of course. That's coffee and egg for those who don't understand Tagalog. Their meal with the most borderline obscene name is pakaplog, which stands for pan de sal, kape and itlog which goes for P35. Pakaplog translates vaguely to "May I fondle you?" and you can see why a lot of folks aren't too happy when their kids see the item on the menu. A favourite among a lot of Filipinos is red egg, or itlog na maalat, and Itlog ni Kuya has this specialty, too. They also have balut as well as penoy, so those who crave the unhatched duck eggs can have their fix anytime of day, courtesy of Kuya. Since itlog na maalat, balut and penoy all come from ducks, the place recently included its Filipino version of Peking duck, calling theirs Pekin Kinulob. I'm not sure if I want to try this out, but the various silog meals are regular treats that I can go for anytime.