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Choice I suppose Bob and if you are that adamant you want those products go for it. I simply adapted to local products, after 6 years? I'm still alive and happy with local availability but still miss a good meat or seafood pie and decent steak but have found plenty of other delicacies that fill the gap.

Cheers, Steve.

bigpearl said . . . .Choice I suppose Bob and if you are that adamant you want those products go for it. I simply adapted to local products, after 6 years? I'm still alive and happy with local availability but still miss a good meat or seafood pie and decent steak but have found plenty of other delicacies that fill the gap.

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What local products would you suggest for paper towels or zero calorie sweetener?

One of my favorite products is Trader Joe's Cocktail Sauce made with fresh horseradish. I use to buy it and frozen cooked shrimp. My meal would be shrimp cocktail till I bust.

Trader Joe's discontinued it but several years ago I found somebody in the states selling three bottles, I bought them and had them FedEx them to me.

Just recently I found a seller on Shopee selling three bottles which arrived today. P1,000 for the three bottles plus tip.

When I bought the three bottles from the states I also bought several packages of Black Soft Licorice made in Oz.

I'm still looking for Red Man Chew which started in business in 1904. It was bought out in 2022 by a Swedish Company and they changed the name to America's Best Chew. More DEI ?

Also I'm looking for smokeless tobacco (Skol or Copenhagen)commonly called dip in the states but called Snus in the Philippines.

Some local things I will not adjust to: Balut, eating with my fingers instead of utensils, using a knife to cut instead of the side of a spoon.

We use high quality toilet paper and have toilet seats.

Nice rant Bob  but I see you are stuck with what you know and won't explore what is available here and most likely cheaper. Paper towels and bum fodder we buy the local crap (pardon the pun) and flushes fine, cleans the derriere the same as the stuff you purchase. The 5 toilet bowls we have here and all with seats, dual flush, the workers toilet (no 6) doesn't have a seat and is a dipper flush and a bum gun.

Sweeteners I get enough from my JD and we simply have the brown sugar for those that need it as well as cooking. All the stuff I would like from my home country? I don't need and for 14 years have not missed a meat pie or decent cabana, a wide selection of cheeses and olives etc. Sanity at a government local level, driving ability from fools, point is we are not in Kansas now and chose to live in the Philippines with all it's foibles, thing for me is the good outweigh the bad and no regrets. We live here very well with what is available.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

bigpearl said . . . .Nice rant Bob but I see you are stuck with what you know and won't explore what is available here and most likely cheaper. Paper towels and bum fodder we buy the local crap (pardon the pun) and flushes fine, cleans the derriere the same as the stuff you purchase. The 5 toilet bowls we have here and all with seats, dual flush, the workers toilet (no 6) doesn't have a seat and is a dipper flush and a bum gun.
Sweeteners I get enough from my JD and we simply have the brown sugar for those that need it as well as cooking. All the stuff I would like from my home country? I don't need and for 14 years have not missed a meat pie or decent cabana, a wide selection of cheeses and olives etc. Sanity at a government local level, driving ability from fools, point is we are not in Kansas now and chose to live in the Philippines with all it's foibles, thing for me is the good outweigh the bad and no regrets. We live here very well with what is available.

**

Steve it seems all the "Ranting" is coming from you.

About me:

I was a regular visitor to Las Vegas and when I turned 62 I moved there. It was the happiest time of my life and I loved Vegas.

I met a Filipina in Vegas and we've been married 18 years.She could have been any nationally. I was not looking for a Filipino or matter of fact anyone for a permanent relationship, I did not think anything was missing in my life. Our ages are close not 20, 30 or 40 years apart. She was Americanized.

Her friends were Filipino's almost all Americanized. They were all educated and fluent in English. Many of her friends when retiring with a pension moved back to the Philippines. I had stressed many times I had no intentions of moving to the Philippines.

My wife owned a house in the Philippines the one we are living in now. When I retired at the age 76, I had a change of heart and moved to the Philippines knowing it would make her happy.

I have no desire to "explore" what is available here or change to a cheaper life style. I had a good life & lifestyle in Vegas and wish to continue it here the best I can.

My meals are American style and the rest of the family Filipino style. When we go shopping at S&R we have two shopping carts, mine & hers. She can buy anything she wants and me likewise. We spend about P20,000 and sometimes more. I also give her P15,000 for the small market & wet market for her favorite foods.

Sometimes if S&R has frozen White Castles, Eggos or Kings Hawaiian Rolls which I will buy. From time they have Tillamook Ice Cream my favorite, but it would be melted by the time we would get home by Grab.

The only water I drink is water in my coffee. Otherwise my beverages are V8 Vegetable Juice, Orange Juice, Welch's Concord Grape Juice or Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice, so I do pay a premium, who cares?

In Vegas we would grocery shop at Sam's Club, Walmart & Seafood City. Seafood City is a gigantic Filipino store. I had my first Jollibee's & Chow King there.

An example of our differences (breakfast) I will have Kirkland Signature percolated coffee P1208 or Dunkin Donuts coffee P1500 with Member's Selection Sweetener P949 & Coffee Mate P582. I will have whole wheat toast, scrambled eggs mixed with Pastrami.

She will have Nescafe Instant Coffee black with brown sugar. She will have bakery rolls picked up hot by our house keeper. She will also have a fried egg with one of the following: ham, mega sardines, spam, hot dogs, Vienna sausages or Hunts Pork & Beans.

She likes Kewpie Mayo, I like Kraft with olive oil. She like Spaghetti, I like Rotini or Fusilli.

I'm missing many of my favorite things but from time to time search for them.

Main thing is you are happy Bob.

Cheers, Steve.

@Enzyte Bob

I met a Filipina in Vegas and we've been married 18 years

Say hi to Rose from all the forum members Bob.

How do you know she never had an affair with Dean?

@Enzyte Bob: I met a Filipina in Vegas and we've been married 18 years

*

Lotus Eater said . . . Say hi to Rose from all the forum members Bob.
How do you know she never had an affair with Dean?

*

You read the misread the archives wrong, but let me set it straight. First of all my wife's name is not Rose. But Rose did exist and introduced me to my wife and I have know idea who Dean is.

I met Rose at the now defunct Western Casino. She was sitting next to me at the blackjack table and we exchange banter. Several days later I ran into her again and we went out to dinner. Rose told me she was married which didn't bother me at all. Another time she pointed out a player telling me that was her husband.

One time I was playing blackjack and he sat down next to me, he was unaware about Rose & myself. Well to make a long story shorter, he was not her husband, but her boyfriend. But she did have a husband who I never met.

Well this boyfriend was into home remolding, but a scammer. He was a Filipino and his customers were Filipino's. He would take their down payment and never complete the job, he would gamble the money away. Rose was getting worried and she asked me what would happen to her and her boyfriend. I explained to her after getting out of prison they both would be deported.

This post is getting too long, ask me about Imelda (Filipina) a blackjack dealer at the Western Casino. Also about Suzie a Thai dealer at the Western, married who I dated. She was married twice to the same guy. Eventually she was lead out of the Casino in handcuffs. She inherited 200K USD and lost it all playing bingo.

And of course stories about other Filipina's who were my wife's friends. Several of them became Americanized and ditched their partners, only using them to get to the states. Another one was name Vilma, she was getting $6K a month from her disabled service husband who she met at one of the military bases. When he passed away she took a lump sum of $50K and gambled it all away. She won a new Toyota in a casino drawing, she then sold it for $18k and gambled it all away. The last I heard her own car was repossessed and she was evicted from her rented home.

I thought I was. Fussy eater but I could get by with your wife’s breakfast. I agree with you about the bread though, I do not like them sweet rolls but decent bread, ham and eggs I could definitely do a couple of days a week.

I would love to find good quality cured (not smoked) UK style back bacon (not American style belly pork bacon) here in the Philippines, I found it in Singapore and I found it in Hong Kong, maybe it's available in Manila but I could not it find even when I visited Cebu and definitely not in Cagayan De Oro.

@FindlayMacD

I did find some lovely lamb chops that came with a small  jug of mint sauce on the menu at the restaurant in the XYZ Hotel in Tacloban a few years back. Delicious.

@Cherryann01

I buy lamb chops and mint sauce from S&R, that's my dinner today actually.

@FindlayMacD

For fear of sounding like an echo chamber I also have a penchant for Lamb. I tend to go for the Welsh or French Lamb cutlets (more tender) available at my local Waitrose store her in Bath. I dispense with jar condiments as I am lucky to have fresh mint growing in my garden. I dice the mint and mix it with a little demerara sugar and white wine vinegar in a glass dish.

I've never been able to find Lamb in the Philippines and if I did would it have the flavours and texture I am used to.

@FindlayMacD
For fear of sounding like an echo chamber I also have a penchant for Lamb. I tend to go for the Welsh or French Lamb cutlets (more tender) available at my local Waitrose store her in Bath. I dispense with jar condiments as I am lucky to have fresh mint growing in my garden. I dice the mint and mix it with a little demerara sugar and white wine vinegar in a glass dish.
I've never been able to find Lamb in the Philippines and if I did would it have the flavours and texture I am used to. - @Lotus Eater

The frozen lamb chops her at S&R are cut a bit too thin for my liking so they have to be cooked carefully, but very tasty if cooked correctly.

Not sure if anybody had asked the question.

Who is paying the always suggested tip of PHP300 ??

emvaningen asked . . . .Not sure if anybody had asked the question.
Who is paying the always suggested tip of PHP300 ??

**

Sometime in the past Metromart on checkout suggesting various tips. I deleted the order. I always tip, but when somebody would determine a suggested tip amount, I'm finished with them.

The best I can recall on that order I believe it was split in two, motorcycle & vehicle.

In general Filipino's don't tip or poor tippers.

Myself I lived in Las Vegas the city is built on tipping. The biggest gripe was about Europeans in general who don't tip.

@Enzyte Bob

Tipping in a restaurant for example is an emotive subject at least here in the UK. My own feelings on this subject are that tipping should be discretionary and not assumed by the serving staff or indeed anyone serving the general public. If I feel the service is poor I will not tip. If good I am happy to oblige. More and more restaurants are now incorporating the tip into the final bill as a 'service charge' which you have to opt out of. Of course most people don't.

However when I'm in the Philippines I tend to be more generous given the long hours and limited pay of serving staff in general.

Lotus Eater said . . . . Tipping in a restaurant for example is an emotive subject at least here in the UK. My own feelings on this subject are that tipping should be discretionary and not assumed by the serving staff or indeed anyone serving the general public. If I feel the service is poor I will not tip. If good I am happy to oblige. More and more restaurants are now incorporating the tip into the final bill as a 'service charge' which you have to opt out of. Of course most people don't. However when I'm in the Philippines I tend to be more generous given the long hours and limited pay of serving staff in general.

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Eater, you expressed this better than I could ever do.

Giving a tip makes me feel good, it goes back many years. I was in a deli and the young man behind the counter was slicing  some pastrami for me and he trimmed all the fat off before weighing it. I gave him a tip and he smiled at me and said "Thank you, I appreciate that". It made me feel good.  Now I get that  good feeling every time I tip.

Want to feel good? Try tipping.