Ever since the new Super Metro Store opened in Talisay City, right outside of Bacolod, the BUZZ among the expat community has been about all the favorite expat food items that are available in their store!
Imagine a Super Wal-Mart in the Philippines! There is not one Wal-Mart in the Philippines but Super Metro is the next best thing! A number of cities in the Philippines have a Super Metro and they are gathering both Filipino and expat shoppers by the droves. There is not only a large variety of food products at Super Metro but every week, they have Super Promos. A recent example is if you purchase P1,500, you can buy 1 kg of Cream Dory Fish fillets for only P31! Now, is that a deal or what?
Hunting and Gathering Expedition
Just yesterday, two expat friends drove up from Kabankalan and Himamaylan, Negros Occidental, so they could go shopping at Super Metro. That my friends, is about a 2 hour drive, each way.
There is certainly nothing wrong with Filipino food but most people are happier eating the food they grew up with and enjoyed in adulthood in their own countries. Filipinos are no different when they live and work abroad. They hunt and gather Filipino food products at the local Asian groceries where they live abroad. What is great about Super Metro is that many of their items are very reasonable and you are not being charged 5 times the amount one would pay in their home country for certain food items!
It was my expat friends first time to shop at Metro and needless to say, they went wild and were very happy! Cans of Hormel Chili, Dinty Moore Beef Stew, Bush’s Baked Beans, Old El Paso Refried Beans, Black Beans, Pinto Beans, Campbell’s Soup, and such items were flying off the shelves and into their shopping carts!
Some of the items at Super Metro that I enjoy include Eggo Blueberry Waffles by Kellogg’s, the awesome deli meats and cheeses, the panini bread, baguettes, Bisquick for making Southern style biscuits, banana walnut bread, plums, asparagus, celery, baking potatoes and yellow & white onions. Yesterday’s promo was two jars of German Mustard for the price of one. P167 was the price. If you are going to buy German Mustard, you just gotta buy Bratwurst and Sauerkraut! No problemo. Super Metro has both in stock.
Among the deli meats, Metro has honey ham, smoked ham, black forest ham, salami, lyoner and pastrami. The average price for a package of deli meat is P95, You can buy a block of Parmesan Cheese for P140 and grate your own over pasta! It sounds great, doesn’t it? Several of the other supermarkets in Bacolod City have some of the items I mentioned in my article, however, they are in less quantities and they cost more! I have seen food items in Metro that I had not seen anywhere in our area of the Philippines over the past 4 years. Super Metro rocks!
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.
Not so surprising, Freddie, and this is nothing new. Many Kraft products are made here in the Philippines and their cost is local, not imported prices. Hormel makes Spam in the Philippines, in conjunction with Pure Foods. Coca Cola, Pepsi and RC have been made and bottled in the Philippines for years. Same as Colgate Toothpaste. All these products were
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.
Have a great day!
~ Gary ~
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.
Hi Charles,
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.
Have a great day!
~ Gary ~
Hi Tukaram,
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.
Have a great day!
~ Gary ~
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?
Hi Michael M,
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.
~ Gary ~
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.