Where You Can Buy Cheap Fresh Goods In Pampanga, Philippines and Buy Products of International Brands

 

(Photo: Courtesy of Sunstar - judgefloro)

    (Photo: Courtesy of Alamy.com)

(Photos: courtesy of cityofsanfernando facebookpage & Abel Lingat, Luke Mendoza)

The first market of San Fernando, Pampanga is where the original San Fernandinos get their consumer goods. The trading areas then were near the Baluyut bridge, where boats were used in the small creek. The boats were also used to transport goods to and from people from other parts of the province. It is near the San Fernando, Cathedral and Municipal Hall.

Later, the new public market was built to accommodate more sellers. However, some stalls here sell early in the morning and closes early. So, the other option is to go to the old public market where stalls are usually open later than those in the new public market. There are some goods in the new public market which are cheaper than what they have in the old public market. Depending on where they came from, there are some food and goods in the old public market which are cheaper.

Most Public Markets in Pampanga sell goods that are direct from the suppliers. If you are early, you can choose the best goods in the local market. Some of the products sold in the public market are milkfish, tilapia, chicken, pork meat, beef, mud crab, blue crab, various varieties of rice, eggs, vegetables and fruits (various kinds of cabbage, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes and sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, mangoes, grapes, onions, corn or maize, citrus fruits like calamanci, dalandan, lemon, cassava, purple yam and other varieties, sometimes oranges if they are in season, rambutan, peanuts and more). There are some imported goods like corn starch, wheat flour, and canned goods.

The public market has some old restaurants and new ones (in the SM Downtown Mall) where people can dine and eat together. There are also other fast-food chains and bakeshops located in the area. There are also small stalls where you can buy shawarma, Quek-quek, fishballs, fried peanuts, halo-halo, taho (ground soybeans with syrup and tapioca) and other kinds of dishes that you want to try, usually for take-out or if you want a quick meal to take home or for a snack. There are also other kinds of food sold like fresh flowers, coconut or buko and more. These sometimes are sold by street sellers who may park by their spot and sell to buyers. They are most of the time cheaper than what you can find in the mall.

There are also thrift shops and second-hand goods sellers where you can buy cheap clothing or hard to find brands. These may include clothing, or restored damaged electronic devices. And other electronic goods which may be very expensive to buy in malls. There are also motorcycle retailers and car dealers along the Jose Abad-Santos avenue along the Olongapo-Gapan road. The public market also has some thrift shops where you can buy used clothing and other items.

There are also repair shops, hardware stores and various transportation services available. There are watch repairmen, shoe repair shops, cell-phone repairmen and transportation services offered around the town. There are street peddlers who drive the three-wheeler bikes, tri-cycles, electric-powered passenger cabs jeeps kalesa or horse-drawn carts. If you want to ride them, you can ask for the price that the driver would like to have, try to haggle for a smaller price if you cannot afford to pay much. Otherwise, you can simply walk or take the jeepney ride and stop at the destination where you are supposed to go. Jeepneys usually only have a route where they can pass, but they can usually stop on streets where you are supposed to go to. Find the right jeep to ride to get to the spot where you are supposed to go. Tricycles are sometimes not allowed on the main roads, but they can do so if it is an emergency, or if they have a permit to pass. The same goes for jeepneys, they also have permits to pass if they are coming from other parts of the province. They pay some fees to pass the streets and go to the public market and visit the historical sites of the town.

Local taxis and buses are also available, especially before the pandemic. They can usually be found along Jose Abad Santos Avenue and the malls like Robinson's Starmills and SM Pampanga. There are, however, rental car, vans or SUV services where you can hire someone to drive you to a destination of your choice. Especially if you intend to either to go to another town or to another province or city. They usually have a driver who is knowledgeable in the area where you are going. But if you have an international driver's license, then sometimes they can let you drive a car that you can borrow or rent from close contacts. If you want to rent a motorcycle, they have them in Angeles City.

For accommodations, hotels and motels are also around town. The prices of the hotel rooms vary from the kind of hotel that you would like to stay in. And the services they provide vary as well. Meals are not usually included in the package, but sometimes there are some that do provide meals for their guests depending on the accommodation package that you have paid. However, there are several restaurants and shops where you can buy meals that the hotel or motel do not have around town. Some shops are located on the MacArthur Hi-way and near the motel or hotel where you are staying.

If you want to sample Pampanga cuisine and other local dishes there are some places that serve these as well. These include Holidayland, Bale Capampanga, Pipanganan, Capampangan Island, Susie's Cuisine, LA Bakeshop, Partyland (inside SM Pampanga), Apung Jung/Apung Gari (near the public market). There are also new restaurants open now if you want to dine in.

There are also new and not-so-new brands in the food business that have recently penetrated the market. These include Yellow Cab, Zarks, The Sandwich Guy, Samgupsal King, Samgupsalamat, Coffee Project, Parmisanos, Orange Bucket, Chicken 'n Claw, Green Kitchen, Ikabud, Prime Steak House, Cafe Noelle, Tokyo Tokyo, Mang Insal, Botejyu, BurggWings, 'l Padrino Coffee, Hen Lin, Red Rickshaw, Cookbook Kitchen, Grillside, Binalot, Aling Lucing, Cindy's, Pasalubong, Sumo Niku, Shawarma Shack, Samgeopmasarap, Siomai House, Gerry's Grill, David's Tea House, Affinitea, All About Baking, Breadtalk, Lugaw Republic, BonChon Chicken, Cabalen's, Chingu Buko House, Dairy Queen, Dakasi, Gong Cha, Hotdog on sticks, Halo, Happy Cup, Razon's Halo-Halo, Kabigting's Halo-Halo. Sweet and Fancy, K's Diner, Gee Cee, Mr. Park's, Passport Foods, Mattarello and more.

There are also small shops and restaurants that you can find all over town where sometimes the prices are lower. Especially, those located near the public market. There are some food parks around town where you can eat at cheaper values. Some of them are located along the MacArthur Hi-way and Jose Abad Santos Avenue otherwise known as Olongapo-Gapan Road.

There are also international, other local food shops and local fast-food chains inside and outside the malls or supermarkets where you can dine in and have various kinds of meals. These include Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, KFC, McDonald's, Shakey's, Burger King, Jollibee, Greenwich, Chowking, Potato Corner, Zagu, Paotsin, Turk's, Racks, JCO, Kuya J, Barrio Fiesta, Passport Foods, Bibingkinitan, Cheftony, Belgian Waffles, Vikings, Kenny Rogers, Kettle Corn, Kusina, Krispy Kreme, Mister Donut, Mr. Kimbob, Rai-Rai Ken, Nathaniel's, Pepper Lunch, Persian Avenue, Pizza Hut, Contis, Kabigting, Fruitas, Mango Slushy, Pines, Ala Creme, Congo Grill and many more. Some of these shops can also be found in the malls and some are outside the mall near and around the town of San Fernando, Pampanga. There are also squid ball shops, dumpling shops, food shops, inside malls. Some of their prices vary from the meals that you would like to eat or the snack that you would like to have.

There are also international and local clothing brands and electronic equipment available in the market. These brands include Apple devices, Cherry Mobile, Acer, Asus, HP, Toshiba, Nokia, Samsung, Myphone, Oppo and other brands with various accessories that you may use for your devices. Clothing brands, shoes and other kinds of footwear include Surplus Shop, Cotton On, Crocs, Nike, Sketchers, World Balance, Penshoppe, Uniqlo, Payless, and other brands inside the malls.

There are also sellers of imported brands where some require a membership fee to avail of their goods and services. This include, S&R, PureGold, SM, and Robinsons. Local brands may be found in local grocery stores and retailers like Garbes-Dizon, Jenra, AA Grocery, and other local stores near the Public Market. There are also shops that sell furniture like Infinity and other smaller shops where prices might sometimes be cheaper.

There are other services available for your wellness needs. There are medical clinics where you can have yourself checked or if you are travelling from abroad and if you do not want to wait in line in local Public Hospitals. There are several private hospitals that can cater to your medical needs. There are also wellness services that you can go to like spas and massage dens where you can have massage all over town. Some of them are along MacArthur Hi-way. Some malls have grooming shops as well that can cater to your pedicure, manicure and hair-styling needs. If you wish to pamper yourself, you can have a hair cut, pedicure, manicure for as low as $1 or 50 pesos (PHP). There are also some who offer home-based work for these services, if you know someone who knows some of them, you can also avail of their services.

We'll talk more about some of the things you can do in San Fernando and Pampanga soon. Have a good day or night.