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Cosmic Kidz, The Biggest Playground in Manila

Kids Universe is the "Fun Ranch" innovation of SM Malls. It is the latest kiddie place that opened in time for the Christmas season in SM Mall of Asia. With the World Pyro Olympics being postponed to early next year, there is really no other "new" place to go with your kids. There's no new Carnival or visiting exhibits like the Dinosaurs last year (except for the traveling Big Blue Whale Exhibit in Ayala Malls).

One of the reasons you might want to consider visiting Kids Universe is that it houses Cosmic Kidz, the biggest Kiddie Play Area in Manila -- about 4 stories high. I'll give you a photo tour of the place so that you can use it to share stories with your kids. Also, I'll share with you potential dining options around the area.

Healthy Desserts @ MOA

Syoti Joshua says "Wowowow!" every time he sees food he likes...

Xu Liu Xian Healthy Desserts of Hong Kong opened its first stall in Mall of Asia. It is worth trying, especially if you are looking for something healthy -- but it won't satisfy your yummy craving. After all, we do still want our chocolate dessert once in a while. :)

Heads or Tails - a new kaya place in Mall of Asia

Heads or Tails is a franchise from Thailand and I heard stories of people lining up in the food court of Siam Paragon (The flagship beautiful mall in Thailand) just to get a taste of their buttered toast and kaya toppings. We love kaya so we decided to try them. They are trying to replicate the concept in Manila by situating Heads or Tails in the food court of Mall of Asia.

(BTW, I forgot to ask why it is called Heads or Tails)

Heads or Tails specializes in Buttered Toast and Toppings. We tried the Strawberry Fruit Jam topping (P40) and the Taro Kaya Topping (P40). We like the Taro Kaya but we find the fruit jam ordinary which I ordered for Aidan.

San Miguel Bay Walk @ Esplanade, Mall of Asia

Thanks to Henry Sy for creating the Perfect Bay Walk Gimmick Place in the Esplanade @ Mall of Asia. For those who missed the Manila Bay Walk demolished by Mayor Lim, the Esplanade is a better alternative because it has...

• Manila Bay walk ambiance with decent restrooms...
• Seaside Paluto restaurants with Aling Tonya's, Trinity or Julie's iHaw-iHaw...
• Pier One and Padi's Point inuman place with a nice view of the fireworks...
• Clean and secure ambiance with security guards on motorcycles...
• Plenty of parking space and near SM Mall of Asia...

The entire place is branded as San Miguel by the Bay which means only San Miguel products are sold (I don't mind). The only thing is they built it tooo close to the bay. I do hope they will able to maintain the cleanliness of the place and Manila Bay.

Manila Bay Cruise by Metrostar Ferry @ Mall of Asia

Mall of Asia complex is already an integral part of Aidan's childhood memories. Every time we would go out, Aidan would say "go to SM" or "go to Mall of Asia". I don't want to sound like an endorser of SM but it is now part of our daily conversation with Aidan.

Another awesome addition in the MOA complex is the Metrostar Ferry Manila Bay Cruise. For P120, you can enjoy a one-hour round trip around Manila Bay. Aidan love boats too so having a one-hour ferry ride was awesome! Most of the Manila Bay cruises have disappeared already when the Manila Baywalk was cleaned up by Mayor Lim.

The Metro Ferry dock is located beside The Shrine of Jesus, The Way, The Truth and the Life (Church across Mall of Asia). I would recommend to take the sunset cruise (5.00pm) or the evening cruise (6.30pm) on Fri/Sat/Sun in time for the MOA fireworks. (I need to check the exact time again because the soft opening departure hours are different from the regular schedule. Please comment if you know the actual schedule.)

Special Moments @ SM . MOA

Official Entry to the SM Hypermarket Blog Writing Contest

I hate supermarkets. I drag my feet every time my wife would suggest to go to one. I don't like to go from one aisle to another in search for diapers or milk. Most of the supermarkets in Manila are not designed for you to hang around. The only time I would go to one would be to do a store check of our products as part of work. I also do shelf management for supermarkets so every time I go to a supermarket, it reminds me of that work. Maybe, I hate supermarkets because I don't like following a certain routine or I don't cook at all (surprisingly). My wife can attest to the number of arguments and negotiations just to convince me to shop in a supermarket on a weekly basis.

There is only one supermarket that I love going to. I love going to SM Hypermarket in Mall of Asia which I think is the best supermarket in Manila!

Top 8 Things Why We Love SM Hypermarket in MOA

1. SM Hypermarket in MOA, is Aidan's playground. You should hear Aidan say "Papa, go SM" with a paawa effect facial expression. We love it because it is spacious, and there is enough carts with this little Tykes car. We never had a problem getting one of these cars even on a peak hour like Sunday evening. We would imagine that this is the MOA race circuit for Aidan and racing through the food section, to the non food, all the way to the apparel and appliance section. Going to SM is a special bonding moment for the entire family.

2. Best Value for Pampers. We know that the prices in SM are a little bit higher than Cash and Carry, Puregold, Shopwise or Robinson's which are SM's competitors in the Mall of Asia catchment area. We live in the area and my wife would alternate between Cash and Carry or Puregold to get the best deals. But buying the Pamper's XL 34's with free 6 pads is more than enough motivation to go to SM Hypermarket. We know that this is the best place to buy Pampers and Mr. Sy would ensure that it stays that way.

Manila Bay Sunset -- One of the Best Sunset in the World

Summertime is the best time to enjoy Manila Bay's Sunset. It was awesome to see the golden sun in its full glory while descending down the Manila Bay horizon. How I wish that I can take off from work as early as 5pm to go back home, pick up Aidan and just watch Manila Bay's sunset. I want him to grow up and appreciate the beauty of the Manila Bay Sunset that admittedly, we sometimes take for granted.

My best spot in watching the sunset is in the Esplanade area near Mall of Asia. This is where you can still see the sunset and the bay without any foreground distraction. Particularly, my favorite spot is beside the Esplanade1 area where it is still not that crowded during sunset and where I took the shot above.

I've been to UK, US, Egypt, Dubai, Japan, Australia and nearby Asian countries but I have never seen a sunset as beautiful as Manila Bay's Sunset. Truly, it is one of the Best Sunset in the Whole Wide World!

The Highland Steakhouse View - The Best View of the World Pyro Olympics :)

From L-R (Sam Pascua of Artes Cafe, Will the Canadian Photographer, Jennifer the Soprano, Ivan Mandy of Old Manila Walks, Noemi -- the winner of the best personal blog in the Philippine Web Awards, Brian Medina and Tanya Pablo of Nestle.)

There is no doubt that the best view of the fireworks is from the second floor, Highland Steakhouse. Mr. Henry Sy would definitely agree and we infact saw him a few tables from where we are eating. It is a hassle free view -- no need to rub shoulders to shoulders with people, you get to enjoy one of the best steak in town, and the area is well lit with enough water and decent restroom. It was fully book when we arrived but we managed to get a table on the last minute.

I'm glad the fireworks started early this time at exactly 8pm for the Germany fireworks show and 9.30pm for the UK. So by 10pm, the show is finished. We hang around for an hour and the traffic was better. This is the unobstructed view of the fireworks from Highland Steakhouse. You can see the barge and the crowd below. This is definitely an awesome view!

Ah, delicious prime rib! Ok, you can argue that we spend around 1,000+ which is equivalent for the VIP viewing area at Php 1,250 each. But Highland Steakhouse is definitely better and you can share the steak with your friends if you are on a budget.

In between the fireworks show, we got to taste these decent desserts from Highland steakhouse: Sansrival, Flourless Chocolate Cake, and Chocolate Cava(?) Cake. Can you ask for more?

They are fully booked for this weekend. But here is the contact number just in case:

Highlands Steakhouse
Entertainment Mall
2nd Floor, north Wing
Tel No: 556-0768

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Highland's Steakhouse finally in Mall of Asia!