29 October 2008

The Asian Store


When we were moving off to New Zealand, one of our primary concerns was food. Will we still have rice on our table, or change our diet to breads and potatoes? How about our bagoong and toyo and suka? Banana ketchup? A Filipino home, no matter where it is, won't be the same without these.

So imagine our delight at knowing that a couple of Asian stores are near us. "Asian Store" is an all-encompassing term for these shops that sell food items that are, um, Asian. For the stores we have here, one is owned by Chinese, and the other from India or thereabouts. The latter store understandably sells an abundance of spices as well. And a couple of racks for Filipino goodies!

Of course, these are now imported goods and so we buy these at a premium. A small can of sardines in tomato sauce, for example, costs $0.90. That's approximately P30.00. A bowl of instant noodles sell for $2.10, or about P68.00. Yep, imagine us mentally converting from New Zealand dollars to Philippine Pesos and imagine the faces we make. But still, there's nothing like a good can of sardines from our country after you have tasted their sardines here. Not that their sardines taste bad; think Century tuna in oil with no tuna taste; even a sprinkling of salt does not make a difference. It might be the type used in sandwiches? I wonder if there is a preparation to be made first with it, or perhaps we are just accustomed to strong flavors? But I digress.

Aside from the bagoong, toyo, suka (their vinegar here tastes different as well), they also have our potato chips and sweets on stock! And where the Filipino food are, the Filipinos are there. We have actually met a couple of Filipino families in the area so far and we end up chatting about life in general while the kids stay in the play area outside.

Thank goodness for life's simple pleasures. Now what I want to see is such a shop being run by a Filipino! Now there's an idea!

13 comments:

  1. tama. magtayo ka na lang dyan. at napansin ko na ang mga bahay sa ibang bayan ay nangangailangan ng walis.

    seriously though, big business ang filipino store. :) good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  2. so you guys eat rice pa rin?

    you should put up your store there.. sell stuff like fish crackers and all those candies.. yum

    belated haberday sir nick! i ate the cake dusit sent you.. ehehehe thanks ha

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  3. nakakatuwa ano. mapapailing ka sa kaka convert ng $ to peso kasi maiisip mo na mas mura iyon kapag nasa pinas ka.

    Mas maganda, magpapackage ka ng mga pinoy food items para magkarun ka ng sideline diyan.

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  4. sir nick si dessa di ako pinakain ng cake na binigay sayo ng dusit... grabe... :P hahahaha...

    but it looks yummy!!! choco cake sha :D

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  5. Uy, magandang business yan!

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  6. Dyezebel: Oo nga... walang walis tambo o kaya walis tingting dito...

    Dessa girl: Gawa kami ng sari-sari store. hehehe! Good to know you guys celebrate my birthday there!

    Jho: Yeah... napapaisip kaming gawin yun...

    Follen: How nice of Dusit naman!

    Meowok: korek! Nagtataka nga ako e kung bakit wala pang pinoy na may store dito.

    ReplyDelete
  7. dito sa lugar namin, walang filipino store at ang Asian store naman walang salang Philippine product kaya kailngan pang magcross state hindi kagaya sa california na kahit saluyot meron.

    at saka walis tingting which i prefer than the plastic broom na dumidikit ang mga dumi.

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  8. Hi Nic,

    Belated Happy Birthday!!! Hope you had a blessed and wonderful birthday together with your family.

    a filipino sari sari store is a good venture. let's explore that opportunity pagdating ko jan hehe

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  9. Cathy: Walis tingting ... oo nga, magiging mabili yun dito.

    Leo: Oo nga... ikaw pa, business is in your blood!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Almost in every place where there is a Filipino store, there are lots of Filipinos living nearby...

    Patayo ka na ng Filipino store diyan, Watson :)

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  11. Anonymous12:21 am

    Hello

    Chanced upon your blog whilst googling for something. Hehe.

    Do you know there is actually a sari-sari store in Lower Hutt called "Filipino Mart". It's loaded with all things Filipino.

    Hope this helps!

    Oh, that Longkou vermicelli you blogged about, that isn't a great brand. I found one packet with hair in it. Scary.

    -Steph
    (fellow Pinoy in WLG)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous2:11 pm

    pls what locatiobn your store i am live in levin right now hope you reaplay my coment

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  13. Anonymous2:12 pm

    hi nasaan yan store new what place st.?

    ReplyDelete

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