Landmark After Almost 5 Years!

Landmark, the iconic department store beside Glorietta in Makati City, opened when I was in high school. My Mom absolutely loved the supermarket and that's where we'd go when Makati Supermart moved out of Makati. South Supermarket in Magallanes also left, so the next best one was Landmark. While in college, I'd sometimes go to Landmark to buy some stuff together with friends. Also did a grad school project at Landmark.

The area grew eventually. Quad was replaced with Glorietta and Greenbelt also expanded. By the time I started working I'd walk from Ayala through Greenbelt, Landmark, and SM to reach the terminal for my ride home. I was still able to do that in the past decade and I'd still visit whenever I was in Manila. This love affair with Landmark ended in 2019 because of the pandemic. It's one of the places we missed while in Singapore. 

We discovered when we celebrated Valentine's in Nuvali that there was a Landmark in the area. Burned off what we ate by going to Landmark after lunch. It's not the same Landmark I grew up with, but it was a good replica of the bigger one in Makati. It had all the same elements as the one I'm used to although the toy section was missing. 

Enjoyed going around and since it was a weekday, the store was practically empty. We were able to look at the furniture area at length since we need a sofa. They had nice affordable options. The bazaar section that Landmark is known for took up most of the second floor. I guess some sections were not included to protect the business of other stores (there's a Toy Kingdom in the next building). 

It's not the Landmark I'm accustomed to, but this one in Solenad, Nuvali would do for now. We were so excited we forgot to take photos, haha. Didn't really go shopping, just picked up some organizers for our bathroom. I told Sweetie that since Landmark in Makati is a high traffic area, we'll probably won't be able to visit it anytime soon. This one in Nuvali would do for now :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Valentine's 2023

Happy heart day everyone! <3

We normally celebrate Valentine's the day before or after to avoid the crowd. Also delegated this day for some important errands and will drop off something for Mom. This year, Sweetie decided to surprise me and Miggy with a short day trip out of town. He sent a clue last week with a photo of a heart shaped pizza with the code "ALC214". 

I've been playing word puzzles for some time now and I had an idea the code stood for "Amare La Cucina", February 14. He originally set it for the 14th because part two of the surprise is closed on Mondays. Part 2 though was suddenly open on a Monday. Suspended renovation work for 2 days so we could rest and have a break. 

Sweetie only told us we were heading south. Brought compression socks and a light jacket just in case we end up in Tagaytay (haha). Amare has several branches in the south and I thought it was good to be prepared. The funny thing is the resto called while we were on the way and the reception was loud enough for me to hear, hahaha. Told Sweetie then and there that I guessed right, hahaha. 

I've been wanting to visit Amare La Cucina since they expanded. The first time we ate there was in Baguio during their soft opening. They were still setting up and invited bloggers to try out their offerings. The visit was a bit of a blur for me since we hopped from one place to another. What I do remember about the visit though was the Pinoyboy pizza Edmark, the owner, served. It was really memorable and during the pandemic we found out they expanded. 

We ended up in their newly opened branch in Solenad, Nuvali. Here's what we ordered -

Pinoyboy pizza

Burrata salad

Ragu pasta

Cheese and spinach dip 

Miggy had carbonara. The bacon was addicting!

For some strange reason... I forgot to take a photo of my cheese lasagna! Hahaha.
I guess I was so excited to eat! Servings were huge so we ate the leftovers for dinner :)

Pinoyboy pizza was as I remembered it. Sarap! It has a distinct flavor that makes it memorable. Good thing Sweetie reserved us a seat because the place was full even on a Monday. There were several huge groups that filled up the resto after we arrived. Walked off the huge meal by exploring the mall. Twas a fun day. Ended up skipping part 2 of the trip since I was already tired, haha. Conked out as soon as we got home. 

Thank you Sweetie for the awesome V-day surprise! <3 <3 <3

Stressed Koi

The poor stressed out Japanese koi fish. I wonder if this is normal?