Holiday is not all about playing at the beach and visiting places. Once in a time, you might want to buy yourself local snacks and drinks, and these are easy to grab from nearest mini markets. However, if you are staying for a few weeks or months, you might start looking for more basic needs, particularly if you are staying in a villa where you can cook by yourself. Maybe you need more than food to cook, but also a pack of tissues, a bottle of new lotion and toiletry supplies, and basic daily needs. When you are staying for a long time, soon the time to go grocery shopping will come. So, where’s the best place for sourcing your daily stuff?
Pepito Supermarket
This supermarket is well-recognized by its green and orange color. Even from afar, you can always spot a Pepito easily. They have branches in Seminyak, Sanur, Kuta, Canggu, Ubud, even Jimbaran, generally, there’s at least one Pepito in one tourist hot spot. This supermarket stacks frozen goods and meal, local and imported vegetables, fruits, almost hundred type of cheeses, local coffee & chocolates in cool packaging worthy enough as souvenirs, various snacks, alcohol, to cleaning equipment and yoga mat. What makes this supermarket special is that Pepito packs and sells their own spice; great range of local to international spices in a small jar.
Bintang Supermarket
Bintang supermarket is popular among expat and foreign travelers as daily-to-go grocery shopping. Located in central Seminyak, this supermarket sells food and beverages, various kind of toiletries for every age, imported goods (including vegemite—I almost hear the Australian scream in happiness!), fresh meat and fishes, vegetables, to imported dressing oils and sauces. This two-story supermarket also features Balinese knick-knacks, clothing, and money changer.
Hardy’s
Hardy’s is more a department store rather than a mere supermarket. This two-story shop has a supermarket on the first level and the department store upstairs. Inside the supermarket, you can find the usual goods such as foods and beverages, bread, local and imported dairy products, great range of wine and alcohols, vegetables, and fresh vegetables, fruits, meat, and seafood (as Sanur being close to the village of fishermen). Aside from that daily needs, you can find popular Balinese gimmicks that are commonly found at souvenir shops, such as Balinese peanuts, spa products, wood carving, to Bali print T-shirt and sarongs. They even sell ridiculously cheap yet cute bikinis!
Upstairs, Hardy’s sells a great collection of clothing items for all ages and gender, makeup, various tools and homeware, and even party equipment. This shop is popular among tourists as well as locals.
If you have difficulties to reach these shops, however, you can always head up to the nearest mall and go to their supermarket. Generally, they are selling the same things, with a slight variation of products and prices. Many international supermarkets in Bali understands that their visitors are coming from every country in the world, and they might want to recreate something that reminds them of home.