Weave got it all for you!

No, this isn't a post about SM.

It's about Gateway. We went there last week and saw that there was a trade fair happening at the mall's atrium. It was particularly interesting because it was a showcase of different Filipino weaves.

Chanced upon one of the stalls and found a trove of pretty weaves with interesting embroidery. The pattern reminded me of aboriginal drawings of people, or cave drawings from ancient times. And the white embroidery against he colourful weave actually worked.

This pattern was from a skirt. Naturally, it went from the rack to a shopping bag that went home with me. A few hours later, it was off to The SM Store (wait a minute, so this is a post about SM) and got this white knit top with gold buttons from GTW.

And with that, the ethnic, Filipino weave can now be worn as a casually cool ensemble.

Plush points

After a few months of wondering what it's all about, they finally opened this store named KKV in Gareway 2.

Apparently, it's like Mini-so on steroids. It's this huge store with knick-knacks and bric-a-bracs of different shapes, sizes and types.

They have home essentials, food, beauty products, toys and everything in between. But what caught my attention the most is their plushie selection.

(Apparently, kids these days call "stuffed toys" "plushies.")

Just made a quick scan around the place since we were about to have lunch already.

I'll just make it a point to drop by the next time I'm bored and in the area.

Hello HLA

My first encounter with the HLA brand was in Robinsons Manila. 

From afar, their logo had this strong "GIU" vibe. From the outside, their merchandise looked like stuff that you'd find in SPAO. Upon doing some research, it turns out that the brand is a Chinese brand, and the company wants HLA to be a "Chinese Uniqlo."

Despite the curiosity, I wasn't able to check out their store. But recently, they opened a branch very near us - Gateway Mall in particular.

This brand is unique because it only sells men's clothing. Yup, it's a one gender clothing brand. That's a rarity these days as almost all of the fast fashion brands are diversified. That little factoid makes the brand more intriguing.

Now that it's jus tin the neighborhood, I'll probably pop in and say hello.

Dancing on the Ceiling

No, this isn't a Lionel Richie post.

But tomorrow might be.

Today's post is about the new Gareway Mall and one of the features that's unique to the mall.

It's called the Quantum Skyview. It's basically a huge TV screen covering a huge chunk of ceiling.

I've passed by a few times, and the content varies. These days, they feature the FIBA games, particularly those being played in Araneta Coliseum. There was another time when they were playing music and music videos.

So, there really was dancing on the ceiling. 

Let's go, Coco!

Long before the milk and fruit tea craze came to Manila, it was something we'd enjoy daily at our office in HKG. There was this stall across AIA which served awesome teas and snacks, and not a week goes by without the creative team noshing on those for our afternoon snack.

That's how my fondness for tea drinks developed. (Vita Lemon Tea included!) That's also the reason behind my constant look out for new tea shops. Yes, my loyalty to SimpleLine and Chatime will always be there, but it's always good to scope out competition.

One such shop opened a few months ago inside Gateway Mall. It's a place called Coco, and looks like another Taiwanese chain.

At first glance, their menu isn't very impressive. They offer the usual suspects in the tea drink universe - pearl milk tea, choco milk tea, passion fruit green tea, and the like.

After almost giving it a pass, an item at the bottom part of the menu made me stop and order. It was a drink called Orange and Grapefruit Mountain tea.

(I feel like a giant in this shot.)

It's really, really good! The mountain tea flavor isn't as strong as the jasmine flavor of green tea, and the fruit combination gave it a pleasingly tart profile. The bonus is that they really use freshly squeezed orange! You could taste the pulp bits with every sip.

Sometimes it just takes one product to change your mind over a brand. And for Coco, this tea is definitely it.

Hello there, My neighbor.

So it's confirmed. H&M's next branch is right here in Cubao!

They've finally put their billboards all over the boarded-up part of Gateway Mall. While there were already talks that they were taking over that area, we still had to wait for confirmation. And this is it!

This is so cool! Dangerous in terms of shopping, but still so cool!

Park and Shop

Gateway Mall is one of the closest malls to where I live, so it's one of my default malls if I need to get something. 

Whenever I'm there, my go-to places are Uniqlo, Rustan's, People are People, and Shoe Salon. For food, it's usually Taco Bell, Pancake House or World Chicken. These places have become my routine, to the point that I don't really get to explore the other parts of the mall.

This weekend, I missed my elevator stop and ended up at the topmost floor of Gateway. And when I stepped out, I was surprised to find this!

There's actually a park at the topmost level of Gateway!

Well, it's a sort-of-park since there's a 50-50 split between real greens and faux plants. Or as Bugs Bunny once said: "fake grass, artificial air, artificial..."

The park is called "Garden Topiary" due to the abundance of topiaries in different shapes and sizes. They're mostly animal shapes, such as these elephants. There are also some birds, swans, and a herd of giraffe scattered all over the place. (And yes, they're made of plastic plants.)

While not as vast or fresh as the sky gardens of Trinoma, Glorietta or SM, I think this park at Gateway is a good start in introducing some greens in the Cubao area.

To health!

While passing through Gateway on my way home, I spotted this peculiar poster near the food court:

 What made it peculiar? It's talking about "lusog," and the first dish on the menu is....

CRISPY LITSON!

How healthy can you get. Harhar.