I often seen, read, heard of the big supermarket in the United States called Walmart. The only counterpart I encountered in the Philippines was Waltermart. I was pretty excited going there for the first time. Well, honestly, I have a thing with supermarkets, I love scanning around and spotting new products.

My first time was in 2005, in Beijing, where I shopped for chocolates to give as gifts for my family and relatives. It was pretty neat inside and quite huge. I went back again in 2006, I was still impressed but I think they lack personnel to help you out. In my marketing class, we had a case study about Walmart and I believe they are esteemed for their great customer service but I didn’t notice that. During weekends, it was pretty jammed packed but you’ll love freebies around this time. (more…)

SPR Coffee seems to sprout in China like mushrooms. Looks a lot like Starbucks but it’s not. It’s a typical cafe but it lacks the distinct frapuccino I love in Starbucks…though I think it’s overrated.

SPR comes from the word SPRING, not the season but it’s the small stream of water flowing from the earth.

Around Wudaokou, there are 2 branches where we love to hangout when exams were near. The huge branch in Tsinghua Science Park is our favorite because of warm ambiance and unlimited WiFi access. The huge tables are perfect for a library feel where you can study and lounge around at the same time. Just bring all your stuff (laptop, books, pen) and you can stay for as long as you want (it closes at 12mn on weekend and sometimes earlier). Just of course, order 1 or 2 from the menu. There’s also free distilled water with lemon zest. and Order the Cheesecake! (more…)

Zhongguancun is by far the busiest area I have gone to where it’s always jampacked with people wanting to buy new gadgets or shop at the newest mall there is ( 888 Mall) or buy groceries at Carrefour. Heavy traffic during the time I was there because of some pavement construction nearby.

Gadgets are not really my thing but you can get the cheapest electronics here at Zhongguancun. There are a lot of electronic malls in the area and if you plan to canvass for the cheapest, you need to set aside 2 days to get around all the places. (more…)

I’ve heard of Ikea when I was still back home. I knew about the one-of-a kind experience of creativity and design in Ikea…and now, I finally saw it here in Beijing!

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