When I went to visit my sister last June, she gave me strict instructions to bring as little luggage as I could because we would be taking the BART from the airport to where she was parked near Union Square.  Two weeks before I left, I sent my sister a list of things she might want me to bring to her, things she missed from back home or were a bit expensive in the U.S. but she wanted to get a taste of again.  I stuffed as much of these as I could in my borrowed suitcase and wished for the best.

Here is a list of the things I ended up bringing.  This list is subject to personal preference, but reading this is a good starting point when you’re trying to determine what to pack for your own trip.
 prepared food
•    canned tuna (afritada/mechado/bicol express etc)
•    Goldilocks laing in foil pack
•    Moondish ginataang halu-halo in foil pack
•    packets of instant champorado, arroz caldo, ginataang mais
•    dried mangos

flavor packs
•    sinigang mix
•    Mama Sita bbq marinade in foil packs
•    Del Monte/Best Foods/UFC Pinoy-style or fast food style spaghetti sauce
•    juice concentrate (melon/calamansi/poncan/melon

condiments
•    Mang Tomas lechon sauce – foil pack
•    UFC banana ketchup (sister consumed four of these in three weeks!)
•    canned bagoong
•    canned taba ng talangka
•    atsara

noodles
•    instant pansit (bihon/canton/palabok)
•    instant noodle soup (sopas/sotanghon/La Paz batchoy/lomi)
•    Maggi instant Pinoy spaghetti

baked goods/other sweets
•    Goldilocks/Sasmual special polvoron
•    pastillas – ube, langka, de leche, queso
•    Eng Bee Tin hopia (mongo/ube-queso/ube-langka)
•    biscuits/cookies (pasencia/uraro/puto seko etc)
•    sampaloc candy
•    buko pandan/taro jelly with nata
•    nata de coco/kaong

tsitsirya/other snack food
•    Oishi Marty’s Chicharon: vegetarian chicharon with texture and taste that is reminiscent of the real thing; my sister loved it!
•    Chippy/Clover/Piattos or any favorite from childhood
•    Dingdong or Cornbits
•    cornick

chocolate
•    Chocnut
•    Ricoa flat tops

For more ideas on what to pack for your trip abroad, check Pinoy-Everything.com’s Top 10 Pabaon to Friends and Relatives going abroad here… http://www.pinoy-everything.com/Top-10s/Top-10-Pabaon-to-Friends-and-Relatives-Going-Abroad.html