Live in the Philippines

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Got Milk?

Adjustment, Food/Drink / by

Last week, a friend and I were exchanging e-mails.  He is also an American who lives in the Philippines.  He is going back to the States soon for a combination of a visit home and a “visa run” so that he can get his soon to be expiring visa renewed.  In our e-mail discussion he told me that one thing he was really looking forward to on his return trip was the milk.  He told me that one of his first stops after leaving the airport would be at the convenience store where he would buy some milk and chug it down, enjoying every drop!

Huh?

It surprised me, because in my time of living here, I have never felt that there was a problem with the milk that is locally available.  I asked my friend what he meant, and he told me that good milk was not readily available in his area.  It surprised me, and I told him so.  I explained to him that in my experience, I could go to any supermarket or convenience store in my area and buy milk that tasted exactly the same as the milk in the States.  He replied that it wasn’t the case where he lives.  Hmm…  we talked more, and he mentioned the “irradiated milk” that is available here, but he has not really tried it much, because he didn’t like it the first time he drank it.

When he said that, I knew exactly what he was talking about.  Now, people use terminology differently, but in my mind, if you say a food product is “irradiated” that means that radiation is used on it to kill the germs.  That is not the case on the milk here, so I did a little research.  Soon, I found out that some people use the term “irradiated” interchangeably with Pasteurization.  But, milk in the States is Pasteurized too.

In my research, I found out the differences.  Milk in the USA is Pasteurized by a different method than the Pasteurization here.  The Pasteurization method in the States requires that the milk be heated to 71.7 degrees C (equivalent to 161F)  for a period of 15 to 20 seconds.  When milk is Pasteurized by that method, it must remain refrigerated and will remain fresh for a short period, maybe 10 days or so.  This milk is kept in the store’s refrigerated section, and is labeled with an expiration date.  When you buy it, you must take it home and put it directly into the refrigerator, or it may spoil.

The milk used in the Philippines is Pasteurized by a different method, though.  It is called “UHT” or “Ultra Heat Treated” milk.  UHT milk is pasteurized by the UHT method, which requires that the milk be heated to a temperature of 135C (equivalent to 275F) for a period of only 2 seconds.  Milk that is UHT Pasteurized has a shelf life of  six months or more, even without refrigeration.  Once the package is opened, though, the milk must be refrigerated or it will spoil quickly.  UHT milk is kept on the regular (non-refrigerated) shelf of the supermarket, and when you bring it home there is no need to refrigerate it until it has been opened.  In my case, I refrigerate it a few hours or even a day before I intend to use it, because I prefer my milk to be cold – it just tastes better to me.

Now… what about taste? In my years of living here in the Philippines, and using UHT milk products, I have never noticed any difference in taste compared to what I used to drink in the USA.  However, in doing my research into this, I found that there appears to be a fairly lively debate on this issue.  UHT milk is what is used in most of the world.  Most of the non-UHT milk appears to be used in the USA, and in Britain (although, I believe both UHT and non-UHT are available in the UK).  I have found plenty of forum debates on what tastes best.  Many people can’t seem to tell any difference, like me.  Some people swear that the UHT is simply terrible tasting.  From what I can find, it appears that a large majority find the taste the same, or similar enough that it is not a big deal to them.

Aside from UHT milk, there are other types of milks in the Philippines too.  I can remember the day when the most common type of milk used here was powdered instant milk.  That is still quite common, but UHT is more popular now, I think.  UHT milk is often called “Fresh Milk” here, so if you see Fresh Milk, most likely that is UHT that is being mentioned.  Almost all of the UHT milk that I find here is imported from New Zealand.

How about you, do you feel that the milk here is substandard compared to what you were drinking “back home”?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bob,
    UHT milk has been available in the USA for quite a number of years. It has never become popular, but it is sold in many supermarkets so someone is buying it. I have never tried it, but I am not a big milk drinker. I drank a little in the Philippines and didn’t notice any difference.

    • Hi Richard – I can’t remember ever seeing UHT milk in the States, although when researching for the article I did come across mentions that it is available. But, you are certainly correct that it has never become popular. Like you, I am not a huge milk drinker anyway. Perhaps that is why we cannot tell a difference?

      • Hi bob, im jane, im filipina but my husband is english. We used to buy ‘ nestle’ fresh milk in a blue bottle container, the shelf life is less than 10 days… We like it so much that we buy 4-5 bottles every time we go to supermarket, we buy it in sm hypermarket but the last few months, we cannot buy it anymore, we ask the personnel in the hypermarket about it and they say that the nestle company pull out their fresh milk and dont supply them anymore( im not sure if they dont produce it anymore) but now weve been looking areound differwnt supermarkets to see if anybody sells it but sadly no. Do u have any idea if where do they sell NESTLE low fat milk( its blue bottle container) … Jane

  2. Hi Bob;
    I also prefer fresh milk over the UHT milk, and I told your friend where good fresh milk could be purchased, as he comes to this area often. We get it with a 5 day shelf life on it, which is not a big deal, as when my granddaughter visits she drinks it all anyway. The quality and taste of UHT has improved over the years and I’ll drink it when my fresh milk runs out. When I buy the fresh milk I put in my cooler (beside the beer) with ice to keep it cold until I get home.
    I first drank UHT in the Navy on long deployments, back in the 1960’s. And the crew would groan when the fresh milk ran out. As I said it’d improved over the years.

  3. Hi,

    UHT milk is available here in the UK (Ultra Heat Treated), but it tastes horrible compared with “real” milk. You can get away with it in tea or coffee, but you’d not really want to have it on your corn flakes or in a glass to drink. It’s not popular here; some people buy it just to have an “emergency” carton in the cupboard that will keep for months in case the real milk runs out at any time!

    Have not tried to drink the milk in the Phils, but I will make a point of it when we come for Christmas this year.

    • Hi Jim – Ha ha… seems you fall into the “stuff tastes terrible” camp! There are plenty who think that way, I’m glad that I can’t tell a difference. I do use it on my cornflakes, and have never felt that it was sub-standard. I don’t drink it straight from the glass, though… I’ve just never been a milk drinker. Probably the stuff here in the Philippines tastes about the same as what you have in the UK, though.

    • I agree with Jim from the UK. I grew up on a diary farm in PA and fresh milk is the only way to go. I’ll drink the other stuff when I have too, or in an emergency, other than that its only good for coffee and tea, and then only in a pinch.

  4. Bob, I love milk and I drink it two or more times each day. I tried the mild that Marlou bought there and just spit it out. I would love to find fresh milk when I am there. Good milk is a blessing bad milk is about as bad a taste as you can find. Got Milk?

    • Hi Ron – Ha ha…. actually you can also get fresh milk here. There is a dairy outlet down near Davao Power and Light where they sell fresh milk products from Samal.

  5. Hi Bob – Well, my first career spoiled me. UHT milk, powedered eggs, Korean-era canned meats, and, oh! the mashed potatoes. Too many years of something will somehow turn it into a good thing. 😉

    I can’t drink any milk without first shaking the container! 😆

  6. On Fort Hood we have available Vanilla, Strawberry, Choco, Banana, and white UHT.

    I generally dislike milk,,,but the choco and strawberry UHT iss actually pretty palatable.

  7. I can confirm that UHT milk is nasty stuff. That was one of the downsides to the RP for me, since I prefer a breakfast of cold cereal with milk.

    Fortunately larger stores like SM have non-UHT, refrigerated milk, at least in Metro Manila.

    • Hi Jonathan – Ha ha… it seems people either react violently against UHT, or are kind of ambivalent. To me it tastes no different, but I am not a big milk drinker, though. 😉

  9. Bob, as I was in search of milk in Manila last year, I came across UHT milk. I had no idea what that meant, so I kept looking for milk labeled homogenized and pasteurized with no luck. So I decided to do research once I returned to the states. The information I found was what you described, but I still wasn’t satisfied. Now I’m not much of a milk drinker (except with morning cereal), but I like to have it around anyway. I found your article very helpful and I will give UHT milk a try when I return.

  10. I can understand how there would be a good market there for UHT Milk as it seems quite a few homes do not even have refridgerators from what I have experienced during my visits. With so many of the open markets with ” really Fresh ” perishable foods available daily it made it easier to understand how so many people can survive without a refridgerator.

    In all of those health precautions I had recieved before my first visit, it cautioned against the consumption of dairy products in The Philippines indicating that they may or may not be pasteurized or homogonized. Thanks for this very assuring article Bob that the Milk is pasteurized.

    I remember those boxes of what my UK friends call ” Long Life ” milk readily avaliable in the UK. The packaging that it comes in, as well as certain fruit juices also sold in that kind of packaging were always a challenge for me to open properly ! When I had some UK visitors here they found a similar difficulty with certain USA packaging methods. LOL

    On my last visit as you know, I have been enjoying more and more variety of food in The Philippines at certain public eating establishments without difficulty, including coffee which I drink a lot of at home. Everywhere I had coffee it was always served with powdered coffee creamer, not milk or half & half . I didn’t really mind the powdered coffee creamer as I guess it is the norm there ? I don’t think I had any milk there at all.

    I’ll take a look and see if my local supermarkets here sell UHT Milk.

    Thanks again for this very reassuring article Bob about Milk in The Philippines.

    • Hi Bob – Glad that the information is helpful to you. Regarding the refrigeration… remember, once the UHT is open it will spoil just like “regular” milk, though.

  11. Bob:

    I’m not a milk drinker either… God invented Diet Coke for a reason.

    I do like cheese and yogurt, though.

    It all goes back to supply and demand. Refrigeration is still not in every home, and most refrigerators sold here are considerably smaller than those in the States in most people’s homes. Fresh milk spoils quickly (especially in this climate) and takes up a lot of fridge space. Add in the Asian lactose intolerance, and the demand is just not there, except in larger stores in larger metro areas. Same thing in the yogurt and cheese aisles.

    When I lived in the Middle East, fresh milk was available, but considerably more expensive than the Kiwi or Aussie UHT stuff… We always shopped at Carrefour for cheese and dairy, especially the French cheeses and sinful French and Belgian yogurts they stocked (Even though yogurt is very common there… The real French stuff is absolutely no resemblance to the standard Yoplait!). Unfortunately, the closest Carrefour stores are in Singapore and HKG 🙁

    • Hi John – Yeah, the Lactose Intolerance is a big problem here, and really squelches the demand for milk anyway. For me, I find that UHT fits the situation here quite well.

  12. I haven’t tried milk here yet, but this answers my question on why that Chucky Chocolate Milk sits on the shelf without spoiling.

    Back in SC, I just know of skim or buttermilk tastin’ bad or funky. But… there was a nearby farm called Happy Cow Creamy that we went to once (about 7 years ago). I noticed that the milk and chocolate milk from there tasted sour. The difference in it than store milk is that it was fresh (according to my mom).

    I have had that Chuckie Chocolate Milk here, but it didn’t taste bad to me.

  13. I just got back home to Canada on January 27 after spending 4 weeks in Ilocos Sur and Norte and I was suprised not to find milk in the grocery store fridge. It was the first time I have ever seen milk on the shelf warm. The other thing I have noticed in the grocery store is it is not to easy finding 100% pure orange juice to go with my vodka. Most is orange drink available there, but I did find only one store Four Brothers supermarket in Candon City where I spent most of my time that did carry small tins of pure orange juice. One other thing interesting there was the fact that in CSI Supermarket I used my Visa to pay for groceries, then went to there electronics and appliance division and purchased a washing machine using Visa. I then proceeded to there clothing department and we purchased some items and handed the Visa card over and was told the system was not working and we needed to pay cash. I was suprised as I just spent 24,000 pesos on my Visa in the same store. After I asked for the manager the Visa machine suddenly worked again. A few days later my girlfriends father became sick and he spent 3 nights in the hospital. He got out the morning of the 27 when we were flying home. At the front door as well as on a large banner over the reception of the hospital there was a sign saying they accepted Visa. We stopped at the hospital to pay the bill and say by to her father. My girlfriend went to reception to pay by Visa and the hospital said cash only. I walked down and explained to them the signs and pointed to two Visa terminals sitting on the counter, and told them we have Visa only and guess what? They instantly took the Visa card for payment. I love the Philippines and actualy purchased a 2000 square meter lot on the sea this trip, but find that in your a foreigner people try all the time to take advantage of you. I hired two vans and one driver for each van to take 12 people for 7 days around the Ilocos Norte up to Sagada, Banaue, Bontoc, Tinglayen, Baggio and back to Candon City not in that order. We agreed on the price of 25,000 pesos and I would pay the gas and meals. The night before we were picked up they called to comfirm everything as well they asked how many wpould be coming. I told them 6 in each van plus one driver per van. The vans were 12 passanger vans but we wanted room to streach out and for luggage, and coolers, as well as all my camera gear. The next morning they arrived and showed up with 5 drivers. Three drivers were in the other van so I did not even notice until I was paying at lunch in Vigan there were 5 of them at one table. They came from Loag so I thought they would exit there and said nothing. We ended up In Padupaog and they were still with us. My girlfriend complaind that that was not the deal and we would be stuck paying 63 extra meals as well as not so much room in the vans. One got on a bus in Padupaoge in the morning and the rest stayed for a free 7 day trip. There attitude changed once we complained, chocolate and candies (boxes) of them went missing that I brought to hand out to children in the villages, and then we found out one of them brought a gun with them. This shocked us as there is a gun ban and we were pulled over everyday for checks. We had a good trip but it would have been much better with diffrent drivers.

    • Hi Mike – I tend to disagree that Filipinos are out to take advantage of foreigners. However, that said… well, it doesn’t sound like you had a good trip! I know you said it was a good trip, but from the sounds of it… well, it could have been better….

    • in my experience visiting P.I they will take advantage of you if you dont know any better or you let them . when you stand your ground and they see your not going to budge they fold and the price becomes cheaper or all of a sudden the rule is changed in your favor . there are two prices the filipino price and the foreigner price but if you have your filipina wife or filipino friend negotiate before they see you . then the price will be the local charge almost every time!

      • There are people in the Philippines who will take advantage of you, no doubt. There are people in Egypt who will too, and in the UK and the USA, and Guatemala. There is no country where there are no people who will rip you off. But, in my extensive time in the Philippines, I have met some of the kindest and most generous people on the planet. The number of people who will scam you is small, but they are vocal and you must look out for them. This is my experience.

        • I agree with MindanaoBob here, I believe that in all places there will always be people taking advantage of non-local people. In the USA/Middle East locals there take advantage of Filipinos (maybe not financially but physical labor/working conditions/false work benefits). On the other hand, in less developed countries – when they see foreigners that are from countries that are known to be well-off than theirs, they see them as walking cash.

          So I believe that the experience overall in most countries are the same in terms of people treating foreigners.

    • I have often wondered, if you go into a place feeling that you are going to be ripped-off, chances are you will be. Although I always try to patronise places with posted prices, and have a sense of the cost of something I want to buy, I have enjoyed some great shopping experiences while visiting The Philippines. An appliance store I went to in Iligan City where I bought a few ” Major ” items offered me a discount for cash off the posted prices ( and the posted prices were not overinflated, I checked ). On top of that they even threw in a couple of nice oscilating table fans.

      A small computer store, crammed from floor to ceiling with all kinds of things I wanted to buy some PC Accessories from, recognized me shortly after I walked in the place and all of a sudden from behind the counter I hear someone say ” Hey, You must be Bob New York ! . With a welcome like this, obviously the store knew me from the internet. You think they would even think of overcharging me ?

      An independent Hardware store, another place crammed from floor to ceiling with all kinds of interesting and unique items, no posted prices so I had my Filipino friends go in and get the items I wanted and when they got the price they came out to the sidewalk where I was waiting. When I went in to pay for the items and the store person realized a ” Kano ” was buying the stuff, they threw in some accessory items No Extra Charge !

      My first visit to The Philippines, I arrived with no luggage ( the airline misplaced it somewhere between Taipei and Manila ) all I had was my small camera bag with me. The Hotel inquired about my luggage and I told them waht happened. They asked if they could help, if I gave them the phone number of the airline ( Manila ) they would do their best for me in tracking down my lost luggage. Three days later I had my luggage and the Hotel never charged me for the long distance landline calls to Manila. When I offered to pay them for the numerous calls they politely replied ” No Problem Sir “.

      I went into a certain Jollibee location, it was near the popular meal time and the place was packed with an ” SRO ” ( standing room only ) crowd. I was the only ” Kano ” in the place. The manager came up to me and after introducing himself to me, offered my Filipino friends and I seating at what I would call the ” staff” table. Now that is what I call Service !

      Although most of my shopping and transactions were favorable, at any time I felt I may have not been given the same price as a local would get I politely said with a smile, ” I’ll think about it and get back to you ” and left the store. For me however those occasions were few and far between.

      The merchants described above, and others, have and will continue to get my repeat business. I don’t have to be there to buy things from them. They will profit much more that way than trying to ” Kano Tax ” or price gouge a foriegn visitor.

      Unfortunately, similar scams and overpricing happen to retail establishments frequented by foriegners in New York City too. It is not something unique to The Philippines.

      • Hi Bob – Your experiences really confirm how I have been treated in the Philippines. From time to time you will have a feeling that you are getting the short end of the stick, but the majority of time you are not only treated good, but people go out of their way to treat you better than they have to! It’s a nice feeling.

    • This is a very typical story. Living here for 3 years already and I cannot tell you how familiar this is.

  14. about half the people you meet ,anywhere , will take advantage of you if you let them .filipinos and filipina are no different.its just the way of the world today.its sad , but thats just the way it is.

  15. Bob

    In emy visits to Baybay Leyte we have found only the powdered milk. My wife has developed a taste for soy milk here in the US and we are hoping we can find that for her when we retire there.

    On an unrelated topic I have tried to send an e-mail to John
    Miele regarding relative adoptions through your contact page but I keep being told that there is an error in my verification. I have tried several times and I know I am using the correct vereification number,

    Anyway, keep up the great work. You are always among the first places I go to on the internet.

    • Hi Richard – I’m happy that you enjoy the site, and find it useful! Re-try to use the Contact Form, I have made a change on it and your message should go through now. I get this complaint from time to time… not often, but the change I made should fix that for good! 😉

      On the milk – I’m surprised that you have not been able to get UHT in Baybay. It’s not in the refrigerated section, perhaps you were looking in the wrong place? While I find the UHT perfectly acceptable, I can’t drink the powdered stuff! 😆

  16. I didn’t notice any difference. I remember years ago, I bought UHT milk here in TO. But they’re not available anymore. “Fresh milk” to me comes straight out of a cow with all the creme and fat in it. Great taste. All the milk we have here now is not technically fresh, they’ve been processed and sitting refrigerated for a while.

  17. oh by the way ,bob, very nice picture.i’d buy anything they were selling!!! hehehe, before i met my beautiful wife Armalyn ,of course!!!

  18. When we came to the Philippines many years ago, all that was available was powdered, full cream milk. I basically quit drinking milk at that point, except in coffee or tea, but my kids like it just fine. In recent yeart, UHT milk has come along, and to me it tastes like boiled milk, so I skip that too unless that is all that is available for my hot beverage. I recently found a local dairy that has pasturized, non-homoginized milk. We now buy that and use it to make our own yogurt and kefir. Really delicious and creamy!

    In my reading it sounds like inmilk that is heat treated, the enzymes go away and the proteins in the milk are altered. The more the heat, the more the alteration. I still use powdered milk in my coffee, since I am sure it has to be healthier that coffee-mate!

    Have you noticed that it is hard to find evaporated milk and condenced milk? Yes, it is almost ALL canned milk products are now called evaporated (condensed) creamer, which means it contains very little, if any milk at all and is composed of other fats, fillers and flavorings. Ugh!

    • Hi AmericanLola – Nice to hear from you, I hope you and “AmericanLolo” are doing well! I did not realize that it was hard to find evaporated and condensed milk! I thought those were readily available here. But, I am not a cook, so I am not surprised so much, because that is not something I follow. I have heard before, and actually even written an article on my Mindanao Magazine site, about the dairy farm in CdO. Glad you are enjoying their products.

  19. I am in the “the milk tastes bad” camp. While the milk here is fine for cooking, coffee, etc I notice a huge difference when I am drinking it as a beverage (yes, I am 31 and drink milk as a beverage). In Manila where I live I have lucked out because at S&R they now sell “California Sunshine” milk. While it is ultra-ultra-ultra pasteurized as well (the cartons I bought yesterday expire March 7) it tastes just like the milk from San Francisco where I am from. At P175 a half gallon it is not cheap and there is the carbon footprint to contend with (it must be refrigerated even before opening) but this is a luxury that is well worth it for me. Now if I could just find good sour cream……

  20. i drank about 1 – 2 gallons a week in the states but here it taste so different hard to drink for me ..taste funny hee hee .. Phil n Jess

  21. Hi, Bob!

    Of course, the Philippines got milk! And I’m referring to our native milk-the milk from the “lowly” carabao. That’s right! Carabao’s milk has long been a staple in the traditional Filipino diet. You can drink it straight from the bottle or it’s served quite differently. When I was a kid, we usually eat with it. We boil the milk but briefly only, and then pour it on a plate of cooked rice with a bit of salt. Tastes great! You can buy it from the palengke (but it’s quite seasonal), and are usually stored in small (GSM) bottles capped with a piece of banana leaf. They say carabao’s milk is even richer and more nutritious than the commercial and imported milk we have in the country. And most local ice cream makers such as Selecta and Arce Dairy use carabao’s milk because of its richness and creaminess. Also in my own experience, I never had any tummy aches that I usually have after drinking commercial milk when taking carabao’s milk. Perhaps you should try it! You’ll probably love it!

      • Hi, Bob!

        Ha! ha! That’s good to hear! In that case, other expats should really try it too! 🙂

        • Hi JR – Whenever I drive between Davao and CdO, I always stop at the Carabao Research Center at Central Mindanao University near Valencia. They have Carabao milk and many other products (like Cakes and such) made with Carabao milk! I’ve never tried anything there that wasn’t delicious!

  22. Anyone who has ever lived and worked on a dairy farm knows that the milk sold in the grocery store is a travesty compared to “local” milk. Personally I don’t drink milk all that often, too expensive over here for me and as with your friend I don’t like the taste. But my carping about the taste has less to do with the UHT treatment and more to do with the dairy industry definition of “Whole Milk” vs “Skim Milk” (or lowfat). It all tastes the same (it shouldn’t) and even in the usa skim milk has taken on the taste of “Milk flavoured water”, it tastes like the stuff we used to give to the calves when we were weaning them.

    One interesting aside is Mozzarella cheese. The Mozz made here in Davao is from Carabao milk and is sold at a relatively reasonable price (I bought one for 350 pesos and it was around 650grams IIRC). In the states high end grocers also stock buffalo mozzarella… at an astonishing $13/lb (P1,287/k)!

  23. I am also prejudiced against UHT dairy products, but I asked the kids which tasted better: ‘real’ Nestle chocolate milk from the supermarket ref or the UHT Chuckie? They looked surprised and said they didn’t know they were different. I suspect our minds subconsciously make us taste what we expect to taste.

      • I am an avid milk drinker, and I had no idea there would be a difference in the taste of milk. When my gf took me to find milk in the local SM (I’m in Metro Manila), she took me to an unrefrigerated shelf. That confused me, and I told her I was used to milk that had to be refrigerated. We found some “lowfat” milk there, so we bought it. It tasted terrible to me – as if it had spoiled. I had no preconditioning on this, so it is definitely a difference in taste.

        I expected no difference in taste since it poured and looked “normal.” But the taste was way too strong and sour, and it seemed thicker than I expected. I thought maybe, since the bottle was so much smaller than I am used to, that it was condensed milk. I’ve been drinking it with 50% water, which gives the consistency that I had expected, but it is still very sour to me.

        We do have a fridge in our apartment, so I was also surprised on the 3rd of the month that the open bottle had spoiled, even with a “use by” date of the 6th.

        I really do hope to find a good milk source, because I do love my milk. But maybe it is just going to have to be a sacrifice for me. 🙁

  24. Hi Bob,
    I am from New York but will be locating inTagum City not far from you. I know that most of the coffee consumed thereis instant but I still prefer brewed and with Half & Half. I was talking with my friend and she never heard of it there. Maybe only cream is available..I know it is a crazy consideration ……Do you know if fresh coffee cream is available?

  25. well here i am on vac. in phl. looking 4 fresh milk on the net. i’ve been trying 2 find some close 2 where i am, been at this over 2 hrs now. as i’m an expat in iraq i’ve not had fresh milk in long time, also i’m kinda spun up 2. the very best fresh milk i have had was when i was a kid on farm in iowa, 1 guernsy milk cow, milked by myself. (ol’ elsie). second best was from the holstein we got 2 replace ol’ elsie (betsy). then it was the small town dairys in glass bottles. once the industry stopped using glass bottles the flavor & taste of milk has dramatically gone down hill. although right now i’d b happy 2 have 1 gallon plastic jug of FRESH WHOLE MILK. that’s all, back 2 my milk mission. so long folks. Darrell Niemeir… Average Citizen… Proud American

    • Good luck on your search, Darrell! I hope you find it! You didn’t say where in the Philippines you are. If you are in Davao, I can tell you a couple places where you can get fresh milk.

  26. I’ve been an avid whole milk drinker all my life while we lived in the us. I have three kids and we go through 4 gallons of milk a week. Once we moved here to the Philippines, their as well as my milk drinking has severely decreased since we can’t find regular tasting whole milk here. Their “pasteurized” or fresh milk, magnolia, nestle, bear brand, etc. is soooo sweet compared to the mild (almost water like) taste of Borden or any regular brand whole milk in the US. It’s really hard to enjoy sweet desserts like cookies or brownies when you have to also wash it down with something equally as sweet. Blah =P I miss whole milk from the US. Shoot I’d even settle for 2% right about now!

    • In angeles city you can buy american milk noe both whole and 2 percent its called karlens milk you can buy at jjs market by fields ave. It is cold milk not shelf milk its 80 ,pesos for 1 liter whole milk 87 pesos 2 percent I love it

  27. Hey Bob! I really got curious and looked up on the net about milk that tastes good locally here in the Philippines. I was really missing that slightly thicker, creamier taste when I was in the States. I’ve only had a couple of drinks wherein I think the milk tastes really great. One is Trappist Dairy in Hong kong. Things they have in common, as far as I could recall, is that they have only a short shelf life, not like the local ones here. Cowhead, Nestle, Alaska, they all pretty much taste the same, a bit on the bland side. Its really hard to find milk that’s made locally, it isn’t that convenient. Oh well, just two cents of mine. Cheers! 🙂

    • Hi Andrei – Personally, I don’t really have any issues with the taste of the milk sold locally. Many expats do, though. To me it tastes the same.

  28. You can buy milk at any Starbucks cafe. It’s very good and comes in the gallon container. It’s going to cost you 490 Pesos.

  29. I bought Selecta fresh milk twice from.different supermarket and I encountered the same problem,,, when I open the twist cap,, the foil inside was already open, I dont know if this was a factory defect on sealing or somebody or someone is intentionally opened it. Thats why I go back to the grocery and.returned the product of Selecta fresh milk.