Shopping in Philippines
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A
Greenhills Shopping Center
Greenhills Shopping Center is somewhat like a flea market, with stall after stall selling DVDs and brand-named clothing of questionable legitimacy. But snoop around and you’ll find quality antiques and the best selection of genuine pearls in the country.
reviewed
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Street Market
Around Quiapo Church there are dozens of dubious apothecary stalls selling all manner of herbal and folk medicines, as well as amulets (carved stones and medallions believed to have magical powers). Showing admirable initiative, vendors will tell you that the 'Pampa Regla' potion is good for everything from weight loss to curing erectile dysfunction, depending on how you look. Langis Ng Ahas is literally snake oil - maybe.
The lively stalls around Carriedo St sell thickly padded bras, hardware, porn DVDs and just about anything else.
On M Recto Ave, in the direction of the harbour, are hundreds of stalls selling household goods and bale clothing.
reviewed
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B
Robinsons Place
Shopping malls at times seem to have eaten Manila. Many are thronged on weekends as residents escape their jammed and steamy abodes for a walk through the air-con comfort. You can find a range of department stores such as Shoe Mart at most, and, depending on the neighbourhood, the selection of stores can be startlingly upscale. Most include a supermarket and food court.
Ermita and Malate are served by Robinsons Place. It's a vast place and it's getting bigger. Is this glitzy change from the broken pavements of Ermita good or bad? And does this point to a Makati-like future for the area? The hordes inside have voted with their feet.
reviewed
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C
Marikina Shoe Expo
Easily the oddest collection of stores in Manila is at the Marikina Shoe Expo, a once open-air collection of discount shoe vendors. Some of the shops in this old single-level complex remain (with inventory unchanged since Imelda was in her prime), but now some of the storefronts have been taken over by an uber-hip assortment of kitschy shops and galleries who have discovered the cheap rent. There's a gallery, Blacksoup Project Artspace, a bookshop, Datelines Bookstore and a funky Italian café, Bellini's.
reviewed
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Ortigas Center
Mall fans with Brobdingnagian fantasies should head east to Ortigas Center, which sits on the border of Quezon City, Mandaluyong and Pasig. With its dense concentration of shopping malls and high-rises, Ortigas Center has become Manila's second-biggest business and commercial hub. However, it's still got a lot of work to do to find its soul.
Here there are no less than four malls: Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Robinsons Galleria, The Podium and the the biggest one of all, SM Megamall.
reviewed
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Good Shepherd Convent
A short walk from the park is the Good Shepherd Convent, where sales of the convent's famous ubi (purple yam) jam and other preserves go toward advocacy programmes for single mothers. While you're up here take in the impressive view from Mines View Park's lookout. You'll be hard pressed to spot any mines, but a few small rice terraces are visible on the steep slopes across the valley. To get here take a Plaza-Mines View jeepney from Otek St.
reviewed
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D
Ayala Center
You can buy authentic brand-name clothes in Manila for a fraction of the prices charged in Europe, Australia, Japan or the USA. Locals happily note that the designer stores stock this year's collections, so you won't have to worry about looking like last year's sensation. Look for them at Ayala Center, a vast complex of interlinked buildings, shops, hotels and enclosed malls, which at times seems to have taken over the entire town.
reviewed
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Mines View Park
Has rows of souvenir stands where you can find jam, peanut brittle, various other edibles and knick-knacks. While you’re up here, take in the impressive view from the park’s lookout. You’ll be hard-pressed to spot any mines, but a few small rice terraces are visible on the steep slopes across the valley. To get here take a Plaza–Mines View jeepney from Otek St.
reviewed
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Easter Weaving Room
Has genuine Igorot weavings and garments. Also carries a broad selection of high-quality, locally made items. Easter Weaving Room sells everything from hand-woven bookmarks to tapis (woven wraparound skirts). It’s well organised and prices are clearly marked. In the basement factory you can watch women hard at work on their looms.
reviewed
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Barcelona Multipurpose Cooperative
The Barcelona Multipurpose Cooperative, down a side road off the main thoroughfare, sells a wide range of very reasonably priced boxes, place mats, sunhats and other products made of natural fibres. This is a cooperative of 300 weavers linked to the International Federation for Alternative Trade.
reviewed
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E
Ayala Center
A six-storey dome, you’ll find most banks, airlines and tour companies represented here. There are also European and American label boutiques, restaurants, bars, health spas, cinemas, every fast-food chain imaginable, games halls and even a child-care centre, which makes you wonder if some people ever leave this place.
reviewed
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Glorietta Mall
The main focus of the Ayala Center is Glorietta Mall is actually four malls (Glorietta 1 to Glorietta 4) under one cross-shaped roof. There are hundreds of mostly midrange shops and stores here. Certain areas are devoted to electronics, art and other specialities. There are dozens of restaurants at all prices.
reviewed
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SM City
The pièce de résistance of shopping malls. You can organise travel and banking, and cover all other necessities in a place big enough to have its own government and currency. Those planning to do adventure sports can get outdoor supplies and equipment at Habagat on the ground floor.
reviewed
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M H del Pilar St
Along M H del Pilar St in Ermita there are numerous shops selling paintings by local artists. The standard is often quite good and the subject matter varies (puppies and sunsets are faves), even though the artists turn these things out at an alarming rate.
reviewed
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F
Bong Salaveria
Easily the oddest collection of stores in Manila is at the Marikina Shoe Expo, a once open-air collection of discount shoe vendors. One of these is Bong Salaveria, selling authentic retro 1950s and 1960s décor collected by a local film editor.
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Duty Free Fiesta Mall
South of NAIA is the Duty Free Fiesta Mall where newly arrived passengers can pick up cigarettes, chocolates, liquor, cosmetics, electronic goods, household appliances etc at duty-free prices. Grab a taxi, private car, bus, or jeepney to get there.
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Tam-aw Handicraft
Here you'll find a small selection of backpacks, money belts and other practical items in the traditional patterns of the region at good prices.Tam-aw Handicraft is on the road to Banga-an, where the weavers are deaf and/or mute.
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Chunky Far Flung Gallery + Store
Easily the oddest collection of stores in Manila is at the Marikina Shoe Expo, a once open-air collection of discount shoe vendors. One of these is Chunky Far Flung Gallery + Store, selling figurines and other goofy toys including Astroboy gear.
reviewed
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H
Balikbayan Handicrafts
This is the kind of place that pulls in tourists by the busload. The merchandise is of a surprisingly good quality, considering how much of it they have. The speciality is beautiful, glazed coconut dishware, decorative balls and other products.
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I
National Book Store
Starting out as a mere book stall way back in the 1930s, this is the mother ship of the Philippines' largest bookstore chain. Branches of the store can be found at major shopping centres in Manila, including the convenient Robinson's Place.
reviewed
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Solidaridad Bookshop
Owned by the Filipino author Francisco Sionil Jose, this small but fantastic shop has a masterfully edited collection of both Western and Eastern non-fiction, international magazines, and hard-to-find Filipino history titles.
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K
The Podium
Just behind SM Megamall in the Ortigas Center is The Podium. Virtually every chain store and restaurant and fast-food joint can be found in this retail blight, which is as suburban as you can get in Manila.
reviewed
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Fully Booked
Manila’s most comprehensive bookstore, with a great travel section and an outstanding selection of fiction and non-fiction. Other branches are in Bonifacio High Street in the Fort and in Mall of Asia.
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L
Kamantian Native Handicrafts
Kamantian Native Handicrafts has a quite a large and high quality selection of, mainly generic ersatz native masks and statues of the type found everywhere from Nairobi to Bangkok.
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M
Popular Book Store
This eclectic shop sells new and used books. Titles range from Suzanne Somers' Get Skinny to Freemasonry and Its Etiquette to numerous academic tomes on Filipino culture.
reviewed