Friday, March 1 90°F 49% Humidity…read more Let's go souvenir shopping! Gift giving (pasalubong) is an important Filipino tradition, and Kultura offers a wide range of products that showcase the country's culture, cuisine, clothing, and craftsmanship. This retail chain is owned by SM and you'll find them inside most if not all SM shopping malls. I went to the one inside SM Makati. What do they have? Apparel - atleisure, polos, footwear, T-shirts, jackets, traditional outfits like filipiniana or barong, Accessories - jewelry, sunglasses, hats, shawls, tote bags, purses Food - dried mangoes, chocolate bars, jams, polvorón (shortbread), cookies, banana chips For the home - placemats, coasters, picture frames, utensils, ornaments, figurines, other diningware I didn't buy too much because it was still early in my trip; didn't want to overpack my luggage because I had two more flights to Mindanao and Cebu. I mostly browsed around to get an idea of what they had and made plans to stop at another location on my last day. But I did get a small bag of YeloYolo cacao cookies, which are as "healthy" as cacao can be. All real plant-based ingredients and an excellent source of fiber, iron, magnesium, protein, and potassium. Halal certified as well. Overall lots of unique gifts you can bring home and share with family, friends and colleagues! Philippines 2024 collection: https://www.yelp.com/collection/DHwKzvo7o_ll8jmXFFU3KA/PHIL-2024

Kultura Filipino is really your one-stop shop for Authentic & Quality Pearls, Barong, Filipiniana,…read moreand Local Souvenir items. It's located in the SM Makati mall on the second floor. Chances are you will find what you need. From a range of T-shirts, caps, magnets, keychains, coffee, cookies, candy, chocolates, chocolate dipped mangoes, handmade items, etc. I could've spent hours in this place.

Department Store in MOA (MANILA Philippines)…read more The SM Store offer a wide range of merchandise. I remembered this as Shoemart when I lived in the Philippines until I was 11 years old. I bought a pair of Crocs flats to replace my worn out pair back home. I love these... my mom and sister each also purchased a pair. The salesperson was very helpful. She patiently went to get the correct sizes for us. She had to go to another part of the store to grab them. Not sure how far she went to get them but we waited quite awhile. The Crocs were displayed in a small section right at the entrance (which immediately caught my eye). Prices for the Crocs were comparable to U.S. pricing (about $52 for my flats). There was no line at the register and the transaction went fast and smooth. We were able to pay by credit card. Located in the South Parking Building on the first level. The SM Store is the largest department store chain in the Philippines. Review #3301

For those westerners this place is like a mix of Macy's plus Walmart. The worker to customer ratio…read moreis 2:1 and it's awesome, it's like having a personal shopper! They have a wonderful selection of local and traditional items for sale also around the store, but local! I'll be stopping here more in the coming months. So if you don't want to walk all over the Mall of Asia then come on over here and save your feet. And it has AC! Also a plus anywhere in Southeast Asia. Enjoy!

Pasalubong is such a well loved Filipino tradition. It's so well known that even when my friends…read moreand relatives from the States come to visit, they bring something for their friends and families back home. One of my favorite places to take them when they're looking for souvenirs is Team Manila in Power Plant. I love how it's uniquely Filipino and yet has managed adapt to the times and branded themselves and the "new" pasalubong. They've got really great and useful things like tumblers, wallets, and lanyards designed with Filipino words and images that make it distinct. Their graphic designers are so talented coming up with the images they put on their items, I really love it on shirts too! If you're looking for pasalubong that's different and not the usual banig inspired souvenir, Team Manila has awesome alternatives! Oh, they also sell lomo cameras and lomo film if you're into that!

Team Manila is originally a graphic design studio that now has a store to sell their creative…read moreproducts. I highly recommend it for all those looking for funny and cool t-shirts related to the Philippines and its culture. Are you going back to your country and want to give your relatives some gift? So there's a cool alternative to the obvious Kultura Filipino. Their designers are so talented that they can take a trivial Rizal's picture and transform it into a cool t-shirt or a wallet. There's a certain hipster vibe, that's a fact. You can notice it by the shelves dedicated to Lomography - yep, they are official distributors of Lomography products in the Philippines. If you're dreaming with a new Diana or La Sardina, then take a look at this store. They sell not only the cameras, but also some accessories.

I'm glad I came here for souvenirs before heading home. This store in the Mall of Asia (MOA) has…read moreFilipino food, art, clothing, history, and culture. It's thoughtfully designed and clean. I think it's valuable to visit a unique place like this as there's lots of rare finds. It was pretty busy. I had to maneuver around a lot of people while browsing. They had a lot of merch that I wanted but I knew I didn't have a lot of space in my luggage. When you check out, just know green shopping bags are sturdy and good quality. I regret buying the brown shopping bags. I noticed they smelled funny when I unpacked my luggage when I got home. I ended up recycling them. I wish I had more luggage space. I wish I had more time in this store. I guess it gives me a reason to come back here on my next vacation.

My favorite store in MOA (MANILA Philippines)…read more This store had everything and then some to warm your pinoy heart. You know I'm not fond of shopping but I enjoyed browsing through the many items and merchandise in this store. I found lots of souvenirs and handicrafts here and some must-have "pasalubongs." I like to pick pasalubongs that will capture the essence of the Philippines and they have many of them here including novelty shirts, home decor items and don't forget snacks: Crispy Mushroom Chips, Banana Chips and, of course, Dried Mangoes. I also found some cool local fashion I can't wait to wear this summer. They had luggage and bag tags that come with free personalization. Made the recipients happy... Great prices because the U.S. dollar is strong ($1 = ± 56 pesos). There are plenty of employees to help if you need assistance. The best part is... they accept major credit cards which was good because I was running out of pesos LoL! Filled one luggage to capacity (22kg, almost 50 lbs which was the max allowed w/o paying excess) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Okay, that's all... happy shopping. Review #3300

Our family has always been a proponent of the "Buy Filipino" movement. As much as possible, we try…read moreto look for local alternatives to imported products. However, this doesn't mean that we will just buy locally manufactured products even if they are substandard or irrationally expensive. We want to elevate the quality of goods made in the Philippines, so we would not let our family be taken advantage of by companies that support bad practices. Community-made goods, such as those sold by Mangyan Village Products, are some of the things that we support and encourage. It's really inspiring to see that top businesses, such as Ayala Corporation, are helping and providing opportunities for our indigenous communities to showcase not only their heritage but their craftsmanship as well. If you ever find yourself in Glorietta 3, visit the Mangyan Village Products outlet on the second floor. Here, you will find intricate hand-woven baskets, plates, bags, bracelets, and even drinking cups made from dried nito grass. There are also beautiful beaded bags. I gifted my sister a beaded blue clutch bag from this kiosk. She and everyone in her office loved it.

Just to be clear, I really do not believe in all this feng shui stuff but a lot of people do, and…read morenot just my Chinese friends either. My brother, for one, is a firm believer after a feng shui expert gave him some advice about where to place certain furniture at his place, and also recommended some feng shui items like the kind found in this store. After that, he swears that his health improved substantially. A lot of my friends also believe in feng shui. Mostly, their premise is "it can't hurt." I do find some of the stuff here quite decorative, and they do make good gifts for those who are into this oriental mumbo jumbo. No offense meant for those who believe in this. Anyway, the store is one of the biggest of its kind that I've ever seen and I've seen plenty. I suppose tourists will find this store extremely interesting.

Kultura Filipino is conveniently located in the Mall of Asia. The Mall of Asia gets a lot of…read moretourists each day (especially those who might be flying back home soon), so that was a brilliant idea to put this store inside the mall. Kultura Filipino has a wide variety of pasalubong (souvenirs) to bring back as gifts for loved ones or as keepsakes for yourself. The prices aren't the cheapest, in fact you can for sure find cheaper souvenirs elsewhere throughout the Philippines, however, the items here shouldn't break the bank (especially if you are on a budget). I for one like Kultura Filipino and their items due to the variety and the convenience, since I can make last-minute pasalubong purchases before going home. I look forward to visiting the store again on my next trip back to the Philippines.

For anyone coming to the Philippines and don't have time to go to other places for souvenir things,…read morethis is the store to go to! They have all the native items to buy from clothes including barong, shelled dishes to frames, pasol (lighted stars), jewelry to sweets. Very surprised there was a store like this in the SM Megamall (mega A side). I liked everything but only limited funds to buy a lot at the time for me. The prices of course is a little expensive here but if you have no time and still have to travel to get to the cheaper store, I would just buy from here. It's organized and clean. [121/100]