A Walk in the Parqal

After seeing it on YouTube so many times, we finally got to visit Parqal.

It's a nice and spacious mall, much, much different from what we think what malls are supposed to be.

Then again, it's very far and requires investing time to visit.

But once stores are open, I'm going to go back and visit this place again soon.

Flowers of March

Yes, yes, I know. The original song is "Waters of March."

But this isn't about water. This is about this pretty installation that they placed at The 30th Ayala Mall.

It's a cascade of bright and colourful flowers that makes me smile whenever I enter the mall. It's so bright, spirited and beautiful, and it really gives you that "beauty of nature" feel. (Even if the flowers are all artificial.)

Despite that little hitch, this mall is definitely blooming!

Let’s make it a Point

North Point Mall in Alpharetta is one of our go-to places in GA. Mainly because it’s quite near the house of Biboy.

It’s been 2 years since we were last there, and while I was searching for one of the mall tenants, this popped on my feed.

They’re going to have (or already having) a redevelopment. And it looks like they’ll be more outdoorsy, similar to Avalon, also in GA.

I can’t wait to visit GA and North Point Mall soon. And hopefully when we go there, it’ll look like this already.

Missing Mega

It's more than 5 months since I last stepped into the hallowed halls of SM Megamall.

And given this current situation, I'm not entirely sure when we'll be able to comfortably and confidently step into these halls again.

Soon. Hopefully soon.

Mall this time

Just when you thought we had more than enough malls in Metro Manila, they open another one!

After a frantic, last-minute push, they've finally opened the new Podium Mall. It's going to be the high end mall of the SM group, and seeing the interiors, it looks like they're serious about the imaging.

Everything's so clean, streamlined and pristine. And the lines are unlike the usual boxes that SM is known for. This mall is more curvilinear and softer. It actually reminds me of Pacific Place in HKG.

At least we have a new mall to hangout in now.

Mall right

I've been seeing the billboards for the new mall beside Trinoma, and I've always been curious to see how it looked like. That's why one weekend, I decided to check it out.





Called Vertis North Mall, it's part of the new development in the Quezon Avenue area. Because they built the space from scratch, they had more room to work around. Thus, the mall is very vast and airy.

The ceilings are high. There's a lot of open spaces and greens. And it feels very premium.

Plus, it has H&M. 'Nuff said.

This mall is all right. I'll probably drop by again sometime soon.

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.

This bugs me

Three years ago, I wrote about how The Bar went over and copied Britney Spears' fragrance ad for their apple variant. It not only showed lack of creativity, but also a bit of laziness on the part of the creative people behind it.

Last week, I had a bit of a deja vu when I saw this particular ad.

This was a digital ad that promoted the Midnight sale of Ayala Malls. The visual device they used were insects that were made of different articles of clothing and accessories. For example, the bug on the above photo is made up of bags, bracelets and some eyeglass frames, methinks.

The same visual device was mirrored in their other materials, including their billboards and posters.

What struck me is that their campaign looks eerily similar to the current Louis Vuitton campaign.

Yes, their campaign consists of insects made up of Louis Vuitton items, such as bags, bracelets and scarves. And this is mirrored in their other materials.

Again, it might be coincidental, or it just might be plain laziness on the part of the agency. Whatever the reason is, I must say that this lack of fresh ideas really bugs me.

McKayla-ed

With all the talk about SM Aura, I made it a point to visit it this weekend. 

Yes, there have been horror stories about the traffic going there, and the descent of the Divi crowd to BGC, but these didn't deter me. Today, I went to the mall, not just to check it out, but to attend the Uniqlo event as well. (Fine, and score some loot from Uniqlo.)

After seeing, feeling and exploring SM Aura, here's my assessment:

It's just like one of those hollywood films that everyone is raving about, but when you finally see it, you find out that it's not that great after all. That was my initial reaction to this mall. Mainly because of the following:

1. River Island is still closed.
2. The Mall itself is small and the corridors are narrow.
3. The interiors look very ordinary. It reminds me of SM Annex in North EDSA.
4. River Island is still closed.
5. The restrooms were dirty! (Considering it was just opened yesterday.)
6. The crowd was rowdy.
7. River Island is still closed.

Despite the fact that I'm McKayla-ed, there are certain parts of the mall that I like. Their Sky Garden looks awesome, and I can imagine it to be a hit once all the trees have bloomed and the grass has turned from brown to green.

The SM Store looks very nice and tres classy! It reminds me of Lane Crawford.

Also, they're having a San Pedro Calungsod Chapel within the mall, and it looks very promising.

That said, I won't be going back to SM Aura anytime soon. It looks like River Island isn't opening anytime soon, so that's okay.

Maybe when it opens and I come back, some impressive changes might have happened already.

Rolling on a River!

Being a self-confessed mall rat - something that Mark can attest to - it excites me when new malls open in Manila. 

Today is the grand opening of SM Aura at The Fort, so I decided to check out their website to see what to look forward to. As well as if there are new shops worth visiting.

Lo and behold!

We have River Island in Manila!!!

Just as I was lamenting last February that they've closed River Island in SG, now it's open in MNL!

I'm there! I'm so there!

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.

Irritants and Elements

While I was in the CX lounge at the NAIA this morning, there was this fellow who was irritating everyone within his vicinity. In the hour and a half he was there, he kept on calling his friends and telling them that he was "at the business class lounge of Cathay Pacific." Personally, I found it amusing how he kept on interjecting that line in all of his conversations. Example:

"Good morning. Nasa house ka pa ba? Ako? Nandito ako sa business class lounge ng Cathay Pacific."
or
"Wala, nangungumusta lang. Kumusta ka na? Ako, ok lang. Naghihintay ng flight ko sa business class lounge ng Cathay Pacific."
or
"Ang aga ko nga dumating ng airport. Kanina pa nga ako dito sa business class lounge ng Cathay Pacific."

The lady sitting across me was amused and miffed at the same time. When he made his nth call, she mumbled: "Yes, we all know where you are..."

I was just too happy when they announced the flight was boarding and the guy hurried to the plane.

When I arrived in Hong Kong, I alighted at the Kowloon Station and was finally able to see the newest mall in the area - Elements! The mall is named as such because it's divided into 5 areas which represent the different Chinese elements such as wood, water, earth, fire and metal.

Based on HK standards, it's pretty huge in terms of floor area, but it's only 2 or 3 floors high. In terms of merchandise, they have the 2 fast fashion obsessions here - Zara and H&M. There's HMV, threesixty, and an area devoted to high end brands like LV, Versace, Gucci and their ilk.

On the whole, the mall is spacious, spanking new, and it has a lot of interesting "element" details. There are sculptured wooden sofas and metal installations. I particularly like the fountain near Zara and H&M. The best part is, there's a free shuttle bus that passes by my house and goes to the mall.

Looks like i'll be laying off IFC for a while. I think I've found my element.

Madness!

There are two places you should see and/or avoid during a sale: Kamiseta and Janilyn. I passed by Ayala Center this lunch, and found out that they're having their midnight sale. As expected, those two shops are packed to the rafters.

While eating my favorite chicken nugget/fries combo at McDonald's, I created a story behind the madness that happens in these stores:

Episode I: Attack of the Shoppers

Fashion Holocaust! Style is about to come to an end!

Clothes as we know them are about to be annihilated from the face of the planet. Three days before the prophecized end, people are in a state of panic. Blinded by the thought of being a fashion victim the rest of their lives, they rush to the nearest centers of style and grab whatever they see. They eye two stores: Kamiseta and Janilyn.

Knowing that this is their last chance at perusing nice clothes and shoes, they mob the store and mindlessly yank clothes and shoes from their racks. Relentlessly, they fight tooth and nail to get that last bohemian skirt, sequinned tunic and knitted top. Unmindful of injury or cost, they snatch the remaining ballet flats, espadrille wedges and charrol pumps.

What's left is a store that appears to have been looted by hundreds of thousands of mad shoppers. Hangers are scattered on the floor, a few, remaining pieces of tops and skirts and strewn on the racks, and a couple of shoppers scout the area like vultures hoping to get the scraps left by the more voracious ones. This vicious cycle continues until 9pm. At this time, they are driven out by armed salesladies.

The stores close, and droves of disappointed shoppers leave. But tomorrow, they will be back.