Sweet Memories

I've always had fond memories about the Magnolia Plant along Aurora Boulevard. 

Back then, it was the "place to be" for families, particularly Magnolia Ice Cream house. Every weekend, it was crammed with parents and kids who trek there to get their fill of their signature desserts such as Ernie and Bert, Peach Melba, Egg Nog, among others.

When there was a special occasion, families would go and buy an ice cream cake from that plant as well. I still vividly remember how it goes: you go to the display area to choose the cake you want, then go to the cashier with your order slip, then go to the releasing area where the big boxes of ice cream cake would roll out from the conveyor belt. Watching that was such a thrill.

It was also memorable for me on a personal level because Dad was still working at San Miguel that time. We had access to the offices and the actual factory, and I remember how I'd go to their pantry and eat as much ice cream as I wanted. There was also a time that they allowed me to walk on the conveyor belt, which I thought was way cool.

A decade ago, the Magnolia Plant became a Nestle Plant, and a few years after, the Nestle plant was closed and torn down to make way for a new mall. That made me sad because it was like seeing your childhood being demolished.

Yesterday, we made our way to the spanking new and impressive new Robinson's Magnolia Mall. Bonique told us how nice it was, and my parents also went there and said that it was a nice date place.

They were right to hype about this new mall. It really is impressive! Not to mention classy and so upscale. The interiors were tastefully done, and the attention to detail is noteworthy. Heck, even their trash cans look upscale. As D' Frendz joked, it's so beautiful, you wouldn't think it's a Robinson's Mall. Harhar.

What I like about this mall is that it has a good amount of open space. The back area of the mall opens up to a garden, along with some al fresco restaurants. It actually has a very Greenbelt 3 and 5 vibe, while Maricar said that it felt like Ayala Center Cebu's Terraces.

Even their movie houses have a dedicated entrance from outside. This eliminates that pesky problem of talking to the guard in the main entrance after mall hours and trying to explain to them that you're going to the cinema.

The garden is going to be a hit with families. The mall is just a week old and people haven't really discovered it yet. That's why the garden is still quiet and empty. This gave Audrey and Becca enough room and space to run around and play with bubbles.

Give it a few months and I'm sure this area will be crawling with people. But in the meantime, we'll enjoy the wide open space and let kids be kids. (And no, that does not include Tintin.)

Thankfully, they've "retained" Magnolia Ice Cream house. It's much smaller, much more expensive and has a smaller selection of ice cream concoctions. But the fact that its there will surely satisfy our generation whose memory of this place was anchored on this ice cream house.

It's probably because they know the history of this place, but the tagline for this mall is "Make New Memories." 

And after visiting the mall once and being impressed with what they done with it, I'll definitely take their suggestion.