Koi fish feeding pond Solenad Laguna

Philippines Bargain shopping in Manila; Paseo de Santa Rosa & Solenad

Date: May 10th 2014

Being really hot during the day, I decided to step out only at around 2pm.

Cheese flavour KFC rice meal
I began my outing by having a KFC lunch. The outlet I sat at had cheddar cheese coated KFC. It was bleh! It’s basically the same artificial coating you find on cheese balls crisps but now on KFC. The meal cost ₱99.
Ladies train MRT Manila
I then went to Ayala to withdraw some money from Citibank branch there

After withdrawing some money, I walked around the area (very posh, mind you). Lots of malls and office buildings.

Asian Institute of Management Manila
Asian Institute of Management — it’s one of the top-ranked B-schools in Asia
Comic Sale Central Greenbelt mall Manila
I entered Greenbelt 5 mall, which is just one of many malls under the Greenbelt name in the area
Greenbelt mall Makati Manila
This is Greenbelt 3, the posh mall with all the really high-end brands
Naruto t-shirts Robinsons Manila
I spent some time at the SM department store picking up some t-shirts for my younger brother. SM has official merchandise from popular anime like Naruto, One Piece and other cartoons. Pretty cheap too, t-shirts can be found ranging from ₱99 all the way up to ₱399.

After that, I went to Carriedo (LRT station) where SM has a clearance mall

SM Clearance mall Carriedo Manila
I had seen this building from taking the LRT, figured I would check it out

I found some great bargains inside. Besides a bunch of in-store brands by SM, they had a few name brands and foreign brands in short supply (maybe export rejects). None the less, I found H&M cargo shorts for ₱400. Definitely export-reject-worthy Rip Curl swimming shorts for ₱200. And then some bermuda shorts for like ₱100 each. Not everything was cheap, but then again, coming from India, I wasn’t planning on buying many clothes from Philippines anyway.

One thing I found funny was just how many sales persons are there to sell you socks. Like, super-aggressive when it comes to shoving socks in your face. Think perfume sales people offering a spray to get you talking to them — but a lot more of them selling packs of socks! High margin socks I presume? 😀

Carriedo street market Manila
Outside, Carriedo is home to a rather large street market

Carriedo market Manila Philippines
I walked through Carriedo market
Carriedo street market clothes Manila
It’s mostly clothes, but you get everything from toys to proper food market later on
Carriedo street market Quiapo Manila
Carriedo seemed to have a historical charm to to it
Quiapo church Carriedo Manila
I ended up walking till this church
Quiapo church Carriedo Manila Philippines
This is Quiapo church
Quiapo market Carriedo Manila
I walked around some more
Quiapo market Manila Philippines
Turns out Quiapo and Carriedo used to be the financial hub of Manila in the 1960s
Carriedo street market vegetables Manila
Now I was in the fresh market area
Pulses dried fish Carriedo market Manila
Dried fish and pulses
Prawns vegetables Carriedo market Manila
White prawns on sale. That’s the cost per plate.
Carriedo street market stalls Manila
I left Carriedo
Divisoria Night Market entrance Manila
And made my way to Divisoria
Manila textile market 999 mall Manila
Fortunately no rains today
Central prime block Divisoria Manila
You have some older shopping centers here
168 mall residence building Divisoria Manila
I made my way to 168 Mall
Anime comics toy store 168 Mall Manila
On the ground floor I stumbled upon this toy shop. They had a whole lot of Naruto and One Piece figures that looked, really good for just ₱100-₱300. I bought a set of 4 characters for just ₱150 (after bargaining).
Naruto figurines Sasuke model
These are the figurines I bought (photo taken at my brother’s place once I got back)
Toy store 168 mall Manila
There are other stores just like that at 168 Mall, selling anime and pop culture merchandise
168 mall food court Manila
After doing some shopping, I went up to the food court
MC 168 toy shop anime comics Manila
I decided to check this store out. They had all sorts of figurines and mecha toys. I picked up a One Piece Luffy hat for ₱230 from this store.
Mecha toys K-pop posters Manila
They got some good stuff, and you can bargain too
Seohyun computer parts Manila
SNSD’s Seohyun unofficially hawking electronics 🙂
Wedding dresses floor 168 Mall Manila
The basement has an entire section devoted to wedding gowns and other dresses
Rufo's tapa meal Manila Philippines
On the way back to the hostel, I had dinner at Rufo’s, an eatery famous for its Tapa meal. This is it: beef curry, garlic rice and egg. I would have liked it… had the gravy/sauce not been a tad sweet.

Date: May 11th 2014

Today, I decided to go to Paseo de Santa Rosa, in Laguna. Paseo de Santa Rosa is where you have a lot of outlet stores of famous brands. Being a keen bargain seeker, I figured I would check it out.

Jacliner bus movie Manila
You can hop on buses going to Laguna, but tell them you need to go to Paseo de Sta. Rosa. I boarded a JAC Liner going to Sta. Rosa, Laguna, from their Buendia Terminal (near Gil Puyat LRT). The ticket cost ₱61.
Coca Cola factory Laguna Philippines
Where you get dropped is at an T-junction near the Coca Cola bottling plant. From here, you have to then take a tricycle taxi to Paseo de Sta. Rosa.
Coca Cola intersection taxis Laguna
I boarded one and it was short ride that cost ₱10
Paseo de Sta Rosa outlet shops Laguna Philippines
Although there is more than one mall housing outlet stores, the famous one is Paseo Greenfield City
Adidas Starbucks Speedo outlet stores Paseo De Santa Rosa
I mainly came here because I read online that Zara had an outlet store here
Skechers Giordano outlet stores Paseo De Santa Rosa Laguna
You have a whole host of brands here: Skechers, Giordano, Adidas…
Toby's Crocs National Book Store outlet branches Paseo De Santa Rosa
Tobys, Crocs, National Book Store…
Marks & Spencer outlet store Paseo de Santa Rosa Philippines
Marks & Spencer, Timberland…
Nine West Aerosoles Paseo de Santa Rosa outlets Laguna
Nine West, Aerosoles, Payless Shoesource…
Nike Mizuno Gforce factory outlet stores
Nike, Mizuno, G-force…
The Outlet GAP Banana Republic Paseo de Sta. Rosa
But as I looked and asked all around for the Zara outlet store, most people were clueless about its existence. A few pointed to this store, which also sold GAP and Banana Republic. I found that quite a few of the clothes had their tags removed, so you couldn’t make out it was Zara or not.
Kawasaki pro shop Laguna Philippines
Disappointed, I decided to leave Paseo after an hour of checking out the stores
Pasta fish fillet Spaghetti House
I had a quick lunch at The Spaghetti House. This was a bland fish fillet pasta meal that cost ₱275 (with beer)
Paseo De Santa Rosa mall stores Laguna
I had scanned all the shops and made a note of what I wanted to buy — I wasn’t going to yet
Dockers Levi's Adidas stores Paseo Laguna
I would come back later
Paseo de Santa Rosa outlet mall Laguna
I left Paseo and took a tricycle taxi to the other major outlet mall…
Solenad 2 outlet mall
Solenad 2 in Nuvali
Aldo liquidation store Solenad2 Laguna
You have more brands here
Asics The Optical Shop Hafelle outlet shops
There was an Asics store to the left, The Optical Shop and Hafelle to the right. Solenad2 welcomes cyclists too.
Vans Rox Republic outlet store Laguna
You have Vans and a lot of other shoe wear brands inside
Bratpack Sebago Hush Puppies Laguna outlet
The prices were definitely on the higher side at Solenad 2

Stoked Inc Bench Solenad 2 Philippines

Gerry's grill Solenad2 Laguna Philippines
You have a Gerry’s grill out here
Solendad Laguna Philippines
After checking out Solenad2 and finding nothing I wanted to buy, I walked to Solenad1… just like that.
Solenad business park Convergys Laguna
Convergys has an office here. Solenad1 seems to be more of a business park. And then I spotted something in the water.
Lots of Koi fish lake Philippines
It was koi fish… like thousands of them!
Koi fish feeding pond Solenad Laguna
People were throwing feed and the koi fish were jumping out of the water to catch them… which was kind of sad
Koi fish pond Laguna Philippines
Still… quite a sight

After walking around Solenad, I went back back to Paseo de Sta. Rosa. I ended up buying the stuff I wanted from the Giordano store. A slim fit suit jacket for just ₱1000 (₹1300/$22/€17), a pair of white pants for just ₱400 (₹540/$8/€7), and a pair of nice denims for ₱600 (₹800/$13/€10). Considering the brand and the quality, I’d say the bargain was worth coming this far.

Puregold supermarket Laguna Philippines
Once I was done with my shopping, I took a jeepney back to Sta. Rosa town
Jac Liner buses Laguna Philippines
I found the Jac Liner bus terminal and boarded the bus going back to Buendia

So is it really worth it going all the way to Paseo for shopping? Depends really. There sure are some neat bargains to be found, especially on shoes. For example, a pair of Adidas basketball shoes that I saw back in Manila for around ₱3500+ was available for ₱2200 at Paseo! That’s more than ₱1000 in savings, which more than covers your bus expenses going to Paseo and back. Still, I’d say Paseo de Santa Rosa and Solenad 2 are at least worth checking out.

Pepperoni pizza Pink hostel Manila
For dinner, I had a peperoni pizza from Pink Hostel itself. Costs ₱199, and its passable for pizza if you are not in the mood to step out like I was.

I went to bed early because I had to wake up early to get to the marina from where I would have to take a boat to Corregidor Island tomorrow.

Next post in the series:

Philippines 2014: Corregidor Island tour

Philippines 2014: Manila Chinese Cemetery

Philippines 2014: Pahiyas Festival in Lucban; Kamay Ni Hesus

Previous post(s) in this series:

Philippines 2014: Japanese tunnel; leaving Davao for Manila

Philippines 2014: Scuba diving for the first time, at Samal Island (Davao)

Philippines 2014: Philippine Eagle Center, Davao

Philippines 2014: Attractions at Eden Nature Park… and getting lost

Philippines 2014: Sky Cycle at Eden Nature Park, Davao

Philippines 2014: Leaving Cebu for Davao; Davao City sights

Philippines 2014: Tumalog Falls; Oslob church, Cuartel

Philippines 2014: Oslob – Swimming with whale sharks

Philippines 2014: Trek to Mount Pinatubo crater lake

Philippines 2014: The itinerary this time around; UP Diliman and Maginhawa

My Philippines journeys: 2011 series | 2013 series

Related Posts with Thumbnails