Souvenirs, they take them with us after an adventure. A reminder of places our souls has been. A reminder of a time when we left our comfort zones and let life happen to us: TO THE FULLEST.
If you love travelling or know someone who loves travelling then you’d know how relevant souvenirs are. They come in forms of food, trinkets, clothes and bags. As Filipinos our travel itinerary isn’t complete without a trip to the souvenir store or market places, it’s our way of sharing our adventure with friends, families and loved ones. Today, I’ll be sharing with you the top 10 best souvenirs from my home country- the Philippines and the most accessible place on where you can buy them.
| BO’S Coffee |
Is an original Filipino coffee and coffeehouse chain, it was founded in Cebu city in 1996 and proudly boasts of its high-grade, locally-sourced coffee beans. If you want to taste real Filipino coffee, this is one of the best recommended brands you can buy. You can have yours about 280 pesos.
| Filipino Snacks |
Banana Chips – are dried chips of banana coated with brown sugar or honey and is a famous Filipino snack. You may get 200 grams of it for about 125 pesos.
Bacolod Piaya – Piaya is a delicacy most popular in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, it is a flat muscovado-filled unleavened bread. A box of it would cost you about 125 pesos.
Polvoron – from the Spanish word meaning: powder or dust, is a milky, powdery and very crumbly Spanish shortbread. It’s one of the many delicacies adapted by the Filipinos from Spain and you can have yours for about 150 pesos per box.
Cream-O – is a premium vanilla filled chocolate sandwich cookie, it’s one of the most famous biscuit in the Philippines and you’ll see layers and layers of it in any grocery or supermarket you visit. You can get one pack of it for around 60.00 pesos.
| 7D Dried Mangoes |
Is the most authentic and perhaps sought after tropical treat for those visiting and going home from a vacation in the Philippines, its sweet, luscious taste makes you feel like you brought a part of tropical paradise with you. 200 grams of this dessert would costs you about 250 pesos.
| Virgin Coconut Products |
With more than 3,600,000 km dedicated to coconut production, it isn’t a question why virgin coconut oils, coco lip butters and coco soaps are included on my list. Coco soaps are one of the most popular souvenirs to give to your health and beauty conscious friends! Lather up and soak in the natural nutrients these has for you. You can get yours for about 100 pesos for the coco lip butter and about 200 pesos for the virgin coconut oil.
| MANILA and Philippines-designed Eco-Bags |
If you have any Earth-enthusiast or Earth conscious friend, this would be the perfect gift for them. These shopping bags are not only reusable but artsy as well. Pair it with any casual clothes on and look summer-ready anywhere you go! Get yours for about 100 pesos each.
| Kamisa or T-Shirts |
T-shirts are perhaps some of the most common forms of souvenir and if it’s what you’re searching for then you can find them easily in Kultura, they have rows and rows of souvenir T-shirts, from the simple ones to graphic tees. Most of their t-shirts sell for about 200 to 400 pesos depending on the design.
| Where to Buy Filipino Souvenirs |
There are many places where you can go buy your souvenir but nothing compares to those which you can readily find inside shopping malls. They’re accessible, huge and most of the time offers discounted rates for foreigners so be sure to bring your passport with you.
KULTURA, is a lifestyle store which houses locally produced and original Filipino accessories, delicacies, clothes and souvenirs. It’s a go-to place for foreigners spending their last vacation days looking for good quality souvenirs and its usually found inside malls.
- Filipino shoppingmalls are some of the largest in Asia but don’t worry, you can always ask staffs, security guards or use the maps provided on each floor of the malls.
- You can haggle for prices when you go to outdoor markets like Divisoria.
- The prices in this article are from the time of purchase and may vary. Please check the details in the store.
- http://www.kulturafilipino.com/Kultura/souvenirs
MAP（The “Kultura” branch where we bought the souvenirs for this article）
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