Filipino Oriental Store

A loud bleep signifies I’m walking into a non-​Western wonderland. Truly. This Filipino store had me marveling at the multitude of intriguing and sometimes inviting goodies I’ve not seen or heard of before.
Fruit pudding jelly in bags with colourful cartoon characters surrounded by Japanese fonts — I will have to try them. At only a few bucks for a decent sized bag, I really can’t go too far wrong.
Korean style seasoned seaweed; I’m sure it would be nice with the right accompaniments but not so keen to jump aboard that boat.
Dried shrimp. I will leave that one to the experts.
There is also almost an entire wall lined with different sauces, vindaloo curry paste and satay sauces. Very reasonably priced and probably much more authentic than your Coles varieties.
Asian music plays and an Asian lady talks briskly on the phone. It’s all background noise to me. I’m so taken by the vast array of products from far-​off lands my eyes begin to bulge.
The Filipino Oriental Store does things its own way, and I like that. I see some familiar faces in the form of Peters and Streets ice-​creams. But wait, there’s a twist. They’re jostling for visibility among the barbecue pork buns.
The floor is not ultra-​clean and I think — good. It’s clean enough and an ultra-​clean, ultra-​regulated and regimented Western society lends itself to boredom. Boredom, this place is not.