We’re nearing the end of Week 2 of the Enhanced Community Quarantine in Metro Manila. My brothers and I along with our driver and ate have been staying home save for one grocery run at the end of last week. I’m in charge of shopping for groceries in our household, so I was worried that I hadn’t gotten our supplies before the quarantine. I usually just go to the grocery every 2 weeks and stock up on breakfast. Ate Elena does our weekly palengke run but obviously didn’t want her to go to the market and expose herself.
So, I tried virtually every online grocery app I could (my inbox is filled with welcome emails to these services) just to find one that had an available delivery schedule. Listing down the ones I’ve tried and what I successfully got from them in case any of you need to get groceries delivered, too.
Though we’re fortunate to have a grocery inside our community, it’s still not enough for all the residents. A lot of the shelves were empty when I went, and most of the fresh vegetables, fish, meat, and poultry were not fully stocked anymore.
Metromart
This was the first website I tried as it had different groceries you could choose from. I kept trying both Robinsons Selections and Rustan’s Marketplace but there were no available schedules anymore. Then I tried again in the evening and a few slots opened up for Robinsons. I manically added stuff to my cart and hoped for the best.
My delivery was scheduled for three days later, so I was anxious to see if they’d be able to make the delivery. On the day of my schedule, a shopper texted to say they were about to shop for my orders. They informed me that half of my list was out of stock. I decided to proceed with the order. This was a few days after the quarantine was in effect, so I’m not sure if that’s the reason why most of the stocks were depleted. I used a credit card for this and they charge you the total amount at first before they adjust it within the week to the actual total of your bill (in this case, much lower than my original bill since most of the stuff weren’t available).
Overall, not a complicated experience but also not a lot of choices especially in the meat, poultry, and fish category.
PalenQuick
My friend Dyan pointed me in this direction when I was lamenting how hard it was to find groceries that would deliver. They shop for the goods at Farmer’s Market and then deliver to you using Lalamove.
I had fish, meat, and vegetables on my list plus I requested for eggs. After two days of back and forth messaging on Facebook, they confirmed my delivery for the next morning. All I had to do was transfer P500 deposit via GCash, and then whatever the balance is plus the delivery fee would be transferred after delivery.
I understand that they were still figuring out there system but I had to follow up on the final invoice (they mistakenly put 5 kilos of eggplant instead of the half kilo in my original order) and then the delivery guy had been waiting for an hour until they called me to come get it. I didn’t get notified that the delivery was on its way.
I messaged them to say that I had received my order and that I would’ve appreciated if they gave a heads up about the delivery as the driver had to wait an entire hour before we were able to pick it up at the guard house. They were very apologetic and even offered a 15% discount on my next order. If you live in the QC area, it might be a good service to try. Plus, they’ve already uploaded an order form to make it easier to keep track of orders.
Note: They’ve recently suspended their operations due to the increasing risk to their health. But follow them on Facebook in case they decide to make the service available again.
Marvs Boqueria
Saw this on @chichajo (one of the accounts I follow on Instagram) and decided to try my luck. Messaged them through DM last Monday and promptly got their temporary product list. They were taking orders for Thursday delivery onwards and asked if I’d like to be put on the list. I sent them my order and just got them this morning.
Was able to get tilapia, galunggong, and white shrimp. Should last us a few more days of not going to the grocery. And I’m happy I was able to get fish because Gilbert, our driver, and Ate Elena usually like cooking fish and veggies for their meals.
I haven’t gotten my total bill, so I’m feeling a little bit guilty that I haven’t paid them yet! They told me they’ll send me my bill this afternoon. But I think it’s cool they delivered my orders even without me having to pay yet.
Ecosci Food Store
My brother Manu sent this link to our family group chat. I was eager to try as they had a good variety of frozen meat and potato products. Plus, my brother knows the owners (I actually invested some money in their company a couple of years ago), so I figured they’d deliver.
Got our stash this morning, too. You’ll need to pay the Lalamove rider in cash as they only charge you for your order. Goods will come from Antipolo.
FreshBida
Also got this link through @chichajo’s account. I have yet to confirm if my order went through but I already got a text message that they were checking on it.
You can order fruit and vegetables from here. If your order reaches P2,500, they’ll deliver for free. I didn’t, so I’m waiting on how much I’ll have to add for the delivery fee.
Wonderbake
And because baking is really my safe haven, I wanted to buy all-purpose flour (I forgot to get a giant bag from the grocery). Wonderbake is taking orders on their FB Page and they’ll tell you which branch the supplies will come from. My order came from their Megamall branch.
After they were unable to book a ride, I tried booking my own Lalamove rider. After an hour and a half, I successfully booked one and that’s why we have panbanging cookies (down to the last 3 pieces today, though).
Also picked up some butter and cream cheese for in the future. If eggs weren’t such a precious commodity right now, I would make a batch of brownie cookies. BTW, our driver was able to find eggs in a wet market near us. Another friend mentioned that Andok’s stalls sell eggs by the tray, too. I’ve also seen a few people selling them online. I’ll try one of the online sellers and add them to this list once we need to buy more eggs.
Soon, we’ll run out of tissue and canned goods, so I may need to stock up on that again. Really not keen on leaving the house again even if it’s just to the grocery near our building, so if you’ve got other online grocery suggestions, let me know! Hope this helps you with your grocery lists, too.
