Ali Mall, Cubao

Ali Mall is literally the very first shopping mall in the country, making it the oldest as well. It opened in 1976, a year after Mohammad Ali, where the mall got its name, went to Manila for the "Thrilla in Manila" in 1975 where he defeated Joe Frazier. It was named Mohammad Ali because of his remark on a press conference after his win over Frazier. He said that a shopping mall should be built near the Big Dome, or Araneta Colesium, where the match was held; because during this time, there was no malls in the entire country.

Ali Mall is located at Araneta Center Cubao in Quezon City. It stands 4 floors containing about 100 shops and restaurants. Currently, Ali Mall is undergoing major renovation to revive is status as the premier mall in the country and also to be able to compete with nearby malls, namely SM Cubao and Gateway Mall.

Ma Mon Luk

I'm going to feature one of my favorite restaurants in the metro, Ma Mon Luk. Some may not know this place, but for those who does, would agree with me that it's the best place to eat mami and siopao. The restaurant started during the 1950's with its first branch located in Binondo, Manila and was founded by, guess what, Ma Mon Luk. He was born in Guangdong, China some time in 1896. He moved to the Philippines to earn money and did so by selling chicken noodle soup, or we now commonly call mami, on the streets of Manila before he opened his first branch.

Some critics believed that the word mami was coined by Ma Mon Luk himself. "Ma" comes from his name and "mi" is a chinese word for "recipe." But according Filipino language experts, mami comes from "ma" for "manok" or chicken and "mi" for "miki" or egg noodle. Wherever the name come from, I strongly believe Ma Mon Luk made mami popular and a household name.

There were about 6 branches of Ma Mon Luk in Manila during the 1990's. The one I usually eat at is along EDSA in Kamuning, Q.C., which is now close and was replaced by an online casino of PAGCOR. Today, there are only 2 branches left open, the one along Quezon Blvd in Quiapo and the other is along Quezon Ave. near Banaue St. in Quezon City.

On cool thing about the Quezon Ave. branch is the old photos of popular individuals or celebrities that once ate at there are displayed at wall near the entrance. Ma Mon Luk, by the way, is also famous for their siopao.

Cuneta Astrodome

Cuneta astrodome is one of the most famous indoor sporting venue in Manila. It was built in 1993 and was named after Pablo Cuneta, Pasay's long-time mayor and father of actress Sharon Cuneta.

Cuneta Astrodome is mostly famous for hosting basketball events; from the collegiate (UAAP, NCAA) to the amatuers (PBL) to the pros (PBA). PBA made it their home from 1993-1998 and played a total of 29 championships before going back to Araneta Coliseum, it previous home for many years. One thing I noticed, nowadays, PBA mostly host their games here during which Araneta Colesium is hosting other events.

Cuneta Astrodome also has its doors opened to other events; from evangelical to political gatherings to other sports discipline. In 1994, World Wrestling Federation (WWF), now World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), held a live event here and the most recent is the 2005 Southeast Asian Games for the sport of taekwondo.

By the way, Cuneta Astrodome is located along Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City.

SM Mall of Asia

SM's slogan "no mall comes close " is indeed true when you speak of SM Mall of Asia, or MOA as it's commonly called. MOA is the largest mall in the Philippines and ranked 3rd largest mall in the world. It is situated at the southern most end of EDSA in Pasay City, Manila. In front of it is a notable giant globe, which during at night, has a light dispaly that changes color every 45 seconds.

There's a rumor about MOA before it opened last May 21, 2006 that it's so huge, one can't walk the entire mall in one day. Of course that is not true, unless you're planning to visit all 600 stores and 150 dining establishments including the grocery and department store. Aside from its usual mall features, MOA also boast some first of it's kind here in the Philippines attractions. The most famous of which is the San Miguel-Coca Cola IMAX Theater which houses the only IMAX 3D screen in the country and be ready to she P450.00 if you're planning to watch a movie here. MOA also houses the only olympic size skating rink in the country and the P300 Million plus Science Discovery Center.

At the back is where you can find the San Miguel by the Bay. It's a dining strip lining the shoreline of Manila Bay. It has a couple of small fish market (locally known as Dampa) where one can buy fresh fish and sea foods and have one of the resturants cook it for you. I strongly recomment visiting SM Mall of Asia, just make sure to wear something comfortable on your feet.

Starbucks Coffee

Everybody knows and loves Starbucks Coffee. Ambassador Bienvenido Tantoco Sr. is man responsible of bringing Starbucks here in the country and he was not disappointed. It was a huge huge success and it started the coffee craze here in the Philippines evident by the appearnces of other coffee shops like Seattle's Best Coffee (which is owned by Starbucks by the way), Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Glora Jean's, and many more. I believe Filipinos are known to be coffee lovers as it is our most favorite breakfast drink; after which is milk. Starbucks quickly became a household name, next to Nescafe, when it comes to coffee.

But let us look at a brief history of Starbucks. It started as a coffee bean roaster and retailer in Pike Place Market in Seattle Washington back in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegel, and Gordon Bowker. Bowker is the one who came up with the name Starbucks, which he got from one of the characters in the book Moby Dick. Today, Starbucks sells a wide selection of hot and cold coffee and espresso-based drinks, snacks, pastries and confections, coffee products, and other coffee related items.

Starbucks Coffee roughly has 15,000 stores in 44 countries. It first started to expand outside America in Japan back in 1996. In December 3, 1997, Starbucks opened its flagship store in the Philippines at 6750 Ayala Ave. Makati City. It is operated by the Rustan Coffee Corp., a susidiary of Rustan Group of Companies. RCC currently has 149 Starbucks stores, 129 of which is located in Metro Manila. If one would like to open their own Starbucks branch, one has to go Rustan Coffee Corp because Starbucks does not allow direct franchise to single individuals; and be sure your piggy banks are fat enough for that.