Obsidian Bar and Grill will be the newest rock gig destination in Manila located specifically at the Ortigas Home Depot. We are inviting all of you to come and join us at the Weekend Launch Party on March 12 and 13. You better not miss this because really cool local bands will be performing (please see poster above)! Not sure yet about the entrance fee but I guess it’s just the normal P150. The food here is great and the beer is really cheap so this is the place to be when you want to watch local bands and chill out.

Hope to see you there!

You may see the map going to Obsidian at www.obsidianbarph.com.

SM North Edsa, being the second largest mall in the world, still continues to expand to make a difference globally and make a mark as well in Philippine mall culture. This mall is situated in an area which becomes a stop over for individuals who intend to go to Northern Metro Manila or CAMANAVA area (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela). Aside from being a gateway to Northern Metro Manila, it is also the gateway to the Northern provinces in the Philippines such as Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Nueva Ecija and many more. One cannot miss seeing this mall because of its size; one can already view this mall from afar.

When the mall was erected in 1985, I was still 2 years old then. My memories of going to SM North Edsa was when I was already 6 or 7 years old. This was one of the malls back then where my mom and I would have our Sunday hang out. I would always ask my mom to bring me to the arcade and ride a solo ferris wheel. I don’t know what it’s called but I called it as such because the kid would sit in a chair that is attached to a roulette. It was already a joy for me. And I remember feeling disappointed because as I grew up (and gained weight as well), I couldn’t fit in that solo ferris wheel ride anymore. Probably it was my first experience of ‘obesity becoming a hindrance to enjoying life’. Haha, just kidding.

SM North Edsa has also became a college hang out for me. This was one of the nearest malls from UP Diliman so whenever I have long gaps between subjects and also if I feel lazy to go to my classes , I would frequent to this mall. My UP friends and I would watch the latest films (international or even Filipino flicks) then have our film discussions in one of the coffee shops there. SM North Annex was our place to be whenever we feel like playing bowling. Being an SM Advantage card holder, I get to have 10% discount for every game. That’s already a good deal for me because I was still asking money from my mom then.

Right now, there are a lot of changes in SM North Edsa. They already remodelled the SM Annex and just recently, they have launched the Sky Garden. This is probably the best thing that they created because it becomes a green barrier against the busy traffic in EDSA. Strolling around the mall becomes a memorable experience than just being an ordinary mall.

giant waterfall

The Sky Garden is 400 meters long and if you will be looking from the outside, you will notice that it is shaped like a floating green ribbon. It has 55 species of plants, grass and trees which can be appreciated by mall goers as they walk by. Also, there is a giant waterfall which can be immediately noticed when you are in EDSA or at the MRT. There is a small hill where you can have a very good view of the fascade of the mall and EDSA as well.

view from the small hill

Mall goers can enjoy their stay with Sky Garden’s different attractions. There will be restaurants and coffee shops around to keep you fed and nourished while enjoying the green scenery . Some of the restaurants that will open are La Mesa Grill, Marina, Persia Grill, Padi’s Point, Ineng’s BBQ, Pixie’s Sinugba and Gerry’s Grill. Specialty dessert and coffee shops such as Starbucks, Cello’s Donuts and Dips, Kitchen of Cakes and Coffee, Coffee Experience will be opened as well to cater to the sweet tooth and caffeine cravings of mall goers. Some restaurants such as Starbucks and Persia Grill will be ‘floating’ (as seen in the photo below).

on the right side will be Starbucks and on the upper left side will be Persia Grill

Aside from nourishing the gastronomic cravings of customers, you can also enjoy watching special shows at the SM Sky Dome. It can accomodate 1000 people in the audience area and it has a movable stage that can accomodate different types of events in fact, I was able to watch the Mossimo Bikini Summit 2009 at the Sky Dome on the evening that I was there.

There are also modern sculptures displayed where people can take pictures of it. I prefer to see them in the evening because you can see the vibrant colors more than during daytime. Here’s one sculpture that I was able to take a photo of:

With regard to accessibility, the SM Sky Garden is connected with 2 bridgeways: one is in EDSA and the other is in Mindanao Avenue. In the future, the SM Sky Garden will be connected to the combined LRT 1, MRT 1 and MRT 7 Grand Terminal. SM North EDSA will have its own MRT station (probably in the SM Annex area) in the future to make it more accessible for customers.

The best of it all is that it has free Wi-Fi access everywhere. You can check your email, chat or blog while you are at the SM Sky Garden as well as when you are inside Annex, The Block and the main mall. How cool is that?

Can’t you see I’m happy? (taken by Karla Redor)

This is a post-Christmas celebration for the bloggers who are also plurkers. Last December 26, we went to Tagaytay and all we did there was to pig out, LITERALLY. We left Manila at around 9 am and arrived at Tagaytay City at around 10:30 am. It wasn’t that cold yet, it’s just the normal morning breeze. Our first stop was a Greek restaurant called Manos Greek Taverna. Since our group was really big ( imagine 25 food trippers), we have to divide ourselves into smaller groups so that billing and ordering would be much easier. I was of course part of the food bloggers group wherein each dish that comes to our table have to be photographed ( of course for our food blogs ). The food that we ordered in Manos were Moussaka, Tsatziki with pita bread and Grilled Lamb Chops. We also had yogurt shake as our beverage.

Half of the Plurk Lakbayan group at Bag of Beans taken by Arbet Bernardo

After eating lunch at Manos, we headed straight to Bag of Beans where we had our dessert and coffee there. We ordered Shepherd’s Pie and Iced Caramel Latte. I loved the ambiance of the place. It’s very cozy; I felt that I was brought to the countryside or something. I will definitely go back there.

We were still full and I thought that we’re gonna go to another binging session again. It’s good that we rested our intestines and took a look at the view of Taal Volcano. We hung out at the Taal Vista Lodge viewing area and savored the cool breeze of Tagaytay with the Taal Volcano just infront of us. Ohh, what a relief. I’ve always been fascinated of the that volcano. I always wanted to trek there and I think that that wasn’t a good time for us to go there since we are food tripping, eh? Of course, we cam whored while we were there.

The Plurk Gangsta in Taal Vista taken by Fritz Tentativa

Sun was already setting and our stomachs were again craving for food. We went to Leslie’s to eat Bulalo however we weren’t able to, apparently the waiter forgot to forward the order to the kitchen. Wow. 45 minutes has passed and no bulalo were on our tables. The bulalo was just supposed to be a pre-dinner thing. We were really supposed to have dinner at Kanin Club in Paseo de Sta. Rosa. Good thing, our busmate Fritz brought some junk food for us to feast on during the trip to Sta. Rosa .

When we arrived at Kanin Club, everybody was super hungry except for my busmates and the food blogger’s group (Melo, Marc, Gail, Nina and Shantee the dog). It was almost past 9 pm when we started to feast on the delicious dishes at Kanin Club. Mmmm.

Now this is the way to spend your post-Christmas, food trip! We all went home full of excess baggages in our stomachs and also gained new people in our lives. Can’t wait to have another Plurk Lakbayan

I’m not really a buff for video games but when I experienced playing Nintendo Wii for the first time at Redbox, I realized it was really fun. Starting this October, Redbox will be offering Nintendo Wii as one of its attractions. Customers now may choose if they opt to use the microphone or the nunchuck controllers. Note that there will be some rooms that wouldn’t have the Wii consoles so better ask the receptionist to get you the room with the Wii console. There’s no added fee for having the Wii there, you still get to pay the same rate whether they have a promo or not. So Redbox wouldn’t only be your one-stop karaoke place, but they now offer billiards, poker tables and of course the newly installed Wii consoles.

Last night was really fun, I played Bowling and Boxing. As you can see in the pictures hehe.

Thanks to the organizers of the Nintendo Wii party last night!

Redbox branches are in Greenbelt 3 and Trinoma.