Can someone please tell me why Manila has so many nice shopping areas to go to?…read more U.P. Town Center is one of those shopping areas that have shops and restaurants inside the mall and outside the mall. I personally enjoyed my trip over here to this shopping center. I remember it having H/M; H/M Home (we do not have this in Los Angeles), The Body Shop and many filipino brands. They do have my favorite Filipino Brand, Apartment 8, located on the second floor I believe. My cousin and I so happened to stumble by this store and I was so excited when I saw it. They have a grocery store as well, inside the mall. Restaurant- 1 restaurant i did try but I don't think i found on Yelp is a restaurant called RECIPE. I thought this restaurant deserved to be mentioned. I heard it is a chain. This place serves traditional filipino food and it was do delicious. We ordered 1) Crispy Tilapia- Surprisingly super delish. Nice and crispy with a nice dipping sauce. I don't really like tilapia but this was pretty good. Has a clean flavor and again an awesome dipping sauce. 2) General Tsao Chicken- This was the first time i actually enjoyed this dish. I've ordered it several time here in Los Angeles in different Chinese restaurants, however it is to my surprise that this establishment in Manila got it right. Nice and crispy in the outside and moist in the inside. Not too sweet and not to spicy. 3) Chicken soup with Sotanghon noodles- This simple dish was done so right by Recipe. Its simple flavors of chicken soup with the combination of sotanghon noodles (mung bean noodles) was spot on. Just like how my grandma's makes it. 4) the last dish we ordered was the Bistek. This was super yummy as well. The beef was prepared thinly sliced and was really tender. The sauce as well was really good not too salty. 5) Green Mango Shake- When in the Philippines, I always order mango shakes because they are made with fresh mangos.... and you can tell... They ran out of ripe mangos so i decided to try the green mango... Boy was it sour... but what do you expect, non the less it was refreshing on a hot evening... I did see a lot of students walking around the area, and my cousin said because there are colleges and schools around the area. When I go back to the Philippines I will surely be back! Enjoy!!

I love the stores, I love the restaurants. Ambiance is a plus and parking became more convenient…read moreover the year since I last came here. Go see a movie in their 4DX cinema for the experience .

If you live near Don Antonio, Vista Real and Capitol, this is a very convenient place to go for…read morequick meals and grocery shopping. BUT beware. Customers aren't their number one priority. If you expect friendly service, be wary. I had an incident wherein I accidentally ran over one of their delipidated traffic cones at night, in rainy weather. I literally did not see it! You can imagine my surprise when the guards arrogantly flagged me down. They insisted that I pay P1k+ for a new cone. I was angry, but considering the situation where I was there with my wife and we were being surrounded by guard and administrative personnel, I thought it prudent that we pay for the cone. So be careful. Those people are not for your safety but for theirs.

For those of you who are familiar with the Don Anotonio area, I know what you're thinking, what the…read morehell? But hey, as rowdy as the crowd may be, as filthy as the mall can get (as in rats and roaches in the cinema filthy), let's be honest, there are some good finds here as well! Starting off with the mini bazaar at the middle of the mall, this is actually a good alternative venue to get cheap finds and perhaps some knockoffs that are exponentially cheaper. Second, an array of food stalls that sells basically everything that your heart, and stomach, would desire. To top that, they're extremely affordable as well! Last thing, Shulamite. If you're not familiar with this, it's actually carrot soap that's extremely effective against pimples. Where to buy it? Where else but Ever Gotesco!

"A girl can never have too many shoes!"…read more Such is probably the motto or the slogan overused by fashion-fanatics all over. Because really, there has to be a perfect pair of shoes for each ensemble, right? For girls like me who have wide feet, the angels from shoe heaven sent the ladies of Shoe Addict. Started by a tandem of confessed shoe addicts, they hold flash sales almost every month in the Quezon City area, sometimes in Makati or Alabang. They sell foreign brands and display them by size, which is so much more convenient than finally seeing a pair you absolutely love only to find out that it's not available in your size. They sell pairs at a standard rate of PhP2,500. For some pairs that are more high-end, the prices go up by a reasonable margin. Once or twice a year, they also hold an all-out sale wherein they swing the prices even lower. With all of that plus the shoe bags they hand out for free, who wouldn't be a shoe addict?

In today's world where fast fashion reigns supreme, I must admit I'm pretty sick of throwing away…read moremoney on a pair of sandals made of shitty material that only lasts a couple of months before I have to throw them away - yes, I wear out my shoes past the point of any help that Mr. Quickie can provide. That being said, I like to invest quality footwear because I walk a lot, and it's a nice plus if I invest in things that are proudly Filipino. Our Tribe is a footwear and bag brand that showcases Filipino leather craftsmanship at affordable price points. It has a couple of branches located in malls around the metro, but luckily, there's an outlet store along Maginhawa Street in UP Village (yay!). What I love about Our Tribe is that each pair of sandals looks (and feels!) really sturdy. Most of the sandals have a certain granola-eating, dirty hippie esthetic, which is TOTALLY fine with me because I personally love wearing strappy leather sandals with most of my outfits. Plus, they are comfy as hell (after you break them in, of course). Our Tribe is a local brand I am proud to support and talk about!

It's Our tribe since I was in elementary and uppto now I still love wearing this brand. My friends…read morein United States always notice sandals I'm wearing they say it looks unique and very good quality.

The moment I saw this boutique, I wished I could transport the whole store inside my bedroom. Oh,…read morehow much I wanted that all the pieces in Nava were in my own wardrobe and that the accessories and decorations of the store were my own as well. Overall, the store exudes a mix of modern and vintage and its collection is equal parts girly and edgy. Lending an image of strength and modernity to the store are the black bars and straight lines formed by tables and panels. Red bricks and antique-looking wood items lend some vintage feel to the place and feminine details such as flowers and cursive handwriting soften the otherwise structured arrangement of the store. This theme extends to their clothes. You can find sexy blouses, flowing skirts, fitted pants, soft-toned cardigans, dark-colored jackets, checkered-printed tops, floral printed blouses, colorful shoes, and animal skin bags. Girly and edgy, modern and vintage may initially sound contradicting but they all achieve harmony in Nava Boutique. Wearing Nava could just give me the chance to show my secret sassy side while also maintaining the girly image that my friends already know and love.

I chanced upon NAVA exploring a bazaar held by one of my friends in UP Town. They had such a nice…read morecollection of clothing, and I was unfortunately very, very broke (ah, the college life!), so the moment I received my measly tutor's salary that month, I dropped by their outlet in Market! Market! to have a proper look around. Their store is very brightly lit and vintage-looking, and they had an assortment of accessories and bits-and-bobs on display, such as sunglasses and notebooks and little trinkets like compact mirrors and card-holding tins. It was very charming. The clothes are beautiful, and on the vintage side, but not exactly cheap. Not very expensive either, but great nontheless. I ended up leaving the store with a very pretty floral-designed backpack for P650! A floral backpack in Forever21 would have cost me P1750, so I was pretty pleased. Want to shop for your own vintage pieces? NAVA, thankfully, has an Facebook page where you can browse some of their items: https://www.facebook.com/navashop. Happy shopping!

I only learned about this place just this weekend when a former colleague-turned-friend asked to…read morehang out here. I've always liked Maginhawa but it's just really complicated to go to for someone who doesn't own a car so admittedly, I wasn't too thrilled about the idea. I still agreed to go, though since it has been a while since we last saw each other. Since I wasn't familiar with Maginhawa, I decided to take a cab and Waze it. YAY, WAZE! It was situated right in front of the famous Artsy Cafe. WUMS (When Uan Met Sally) Cafe had a conjoined store of all things kitschy! They have bracelets, necklaces, boho-inspired garments, boho bags and a ton more! If Phoebe Buffay swung by this place, she'd probably live here. Too bad though, most of the items are pretty expensive. Think a bracelet for 1,000 bucks or more. On to the cafe part. Okay, first off, I love Mumford and Sons, and I feel like if they ever made a Mumford and Sons-esque cafe, it would be similar to WUMS. It just had that very down-to-earth, hippie vibe that I love! Just walking into their small cafe and seeing the interiors, I knew I was going to love this place. I got to try their French Onion Soup and to be honest, there wasn't anything special about it. I'd still prefer Friday's French Onion Soup any day. Their Margherita Panini, however, was pretty good. I also loved their frozen house blend iced tea. Overall, this place is a delight to have been discovered. If only it weren't too far from me, I'd probably visit this place more than a few times in a month.

I just love this place…read more I live about a block away from this place and I would pass by it ever since it was still being constructed. I watched it evolve from an empty garage to a construction site, and now, a really hip and cool place to eat, to shop and to hang out with a couple friends over good food and wine. I love the artistic vibe and the very artsy inspirations that went into the design and the concept of the store. It combines a lot of intricate Byzantine frescoes and paintings with distressed furniture, lots of bronze and wrought iron, and lots of soft textures from the silks and the clothes that are being sold. They have antiques and flea market finds from all over the world that you can buy and add to your collection of curios at home. This antique shop/vintage store/gift shop/knick knacks paradise/cafe/restaurant (whew lots of slashes there) is a fun and quirky neighborhood joint that will have you coming back for more. I am a big fan of the squash and sweet potato soup, which is just the right consistency and creaminess. Squash soup is simply my favorite, and I love how they do a good job with that here. The service is top-notch and the ambiance is just lovely. I would recommend it for a date with a special someone, or if you want a cute space for a meeting with a client. I will surely come back for more!

I have this problem where I cannot walk into a bookstore and then walk out empty handed. I'm a big…read morebookworm and saying goodbye to an entire store filled with books without a book for myself is just unthinkable. That's like hiring a prostitute, giving her a hug, and then sending her away. Actually, it's worse than that. EXPLOIT THE OPPORTUNITY, methinks. This is especially hard when it comes to secondhand or cheap bookstores like Bookay-Ukay. This place is amazing. It is filled from ceiling to floor with books - and not the usual crap you see in chain bookstores, either. You can tell that these titles were handpicked by whoever manages this place, and you're sure to find something you like in this hole-in-the-wall. My girlfriend had to drag me away from these books. I wanted to buy the entire building.

Finally visited the store, saw one of my fave comic books and bought it. never knew that I could…read moreget one for a such a low-cost. I'll definitely visit the store again for sure.

I know a friend who shops incessantly at Artwork, and I don't see why she wouldn't. They have a…read morerack full of white muscle tees priced under 200 pesos, notebooks, shirts, and shoes - all with great, edgy designs! They definitely have better clothes now than from when I last visited a few years ago at another mall. If you need to update your wardrobe without going all the way to Greenhills for cheap finds, Artwork's worth a visit!

I love Artwork. I haven't been to one in quite a while and…read moreonly recently returned when my friend and I visited the branch at UPTC. And just, wow. I missed it so much. Artwork is a great artsy place that sells 1. cheap (SUPER YAY), 2. local (support local stores, yes), and 3. unique clothes, hats, beanies, bags, pouches, wallets, shoes, and notebooks. Artwork is all about their prints. The designs here are so funky and hip you will not know which to choose. If you're into art and odd and weird then you will love the stuff at Artwork. I got so giddy entering here and went ahead and bought something (I couldn't resist). The shirts are my favorite because they're super comfortable, and you can pair it with any type of bottom and you won't look plain because the designs are so loud and out there. You are literally wearing/holding/writing on/carrying an artwork and I think that in itself is amazing. The designs are all made by hand either transferred or done directly on the fabric. You can come in here with P1000 and come out with at most 5 shirts (they sell tanks for under P200).

At the entrance of the parking structure, a security guy with a mirror at the end of a long stick…read morestuck the mirror under the car and scanned the perimeter of it. I was so confused so I asked my aunt "What is going on?!" and she said "He's checking for bombs." I didn't realize terrorism was that rampant in the Philippines, but it apparently is. Better for establishments to be safe than sorry. It's one of the newer and nicer SM malls. But it's small. It's 3-4 floors but it's only a block of stores. There's no getting lost in there because you walk straight through it and back the same way or up and down the escalators but never right or left. They have the essentials but none of the rare things that I can find at the bigger malls. Kids/teenagers in school uniforms can't go in until after a certain time on weekdays during the school semester. A lot of kids skip school so this is a way of lessening that in the area. It's also less crowded on school weekdays because of it.