Visiting SM’s The Podium has always been a pleasant experience. It’s small, yes, and I never do any real shopping except on sales, but the atmosphere is quiet, the elevators are pristine, and the comfort rooms are elegant without me having to pay anything (an aside to Gateway and Shangri-la malls that ask for P10 for a decent rest room use). The restaurant selections are nice, too, and the best thing about it is that it’s only a walk away from SM Megamall and St. Francis square.

So our usual Ortigas date would be to park at the parking space beside The Podium (across Megamall), head to Megamall for a 3d movie or to roam around Toy Kingdom, then head on to Podium for food and yogurt (Yogurbud at the 3/F will do wonders for you!).

Some of the excellent restaurants here are Burgoo, Banana Leaf, New Bombay, Healthy Shabu-shabu, Florabel’s and Arya. If Yogurbud tastes aren’t really for you, there’s a gelato place at the top floor – quite pricey though, it comes at P100 per order (2 small scoops on a cone). I recommend the mint if you’re, ehem, planning other things.

There’s nothing much else to do aside from stroll, eat or watch a movie though. At best, you can check out food at Terry’s Selection and hope you can find a delicious bargain. At times there are free shows at the ground floor, but then you’d have to know the schedule beforehand and it honestly is rare enough to risk catching it by the luck of the draw. I’ve written a separate review on the Podium cinema/moviehouse, and you might want to take a look at that – though it honestly isn’t anything special.

The Podium's lobby with Xmas decors

View from the the Podium's top floor, looking down

Restaurants often spill out into the mall corridors

The Podium is certainly a nice space – I recommend you take a date here if you want a nice and quiet dinner and movie date. If you want to do anything else, cross over to Megamall, or if you don’t want the crowd then you’re probably better off at other malls like Rockwell, Eastwood or Gateway.

For an afternoon date, prepare P500 per person which includes parking, snacks and a movie.

The book collection is quite nice at Bestseller, and do check out the Markati Palazzo for some independent shops that offer unique alternatives to the usual retail shops on other areas.

SM The Podium

Mall hours:

A sample of the performances happening at the Podium that you might be lucky enough to catch. Here’s Jonathan Badon on a Valentine performance:

Where are you spending your 2010 New Year’s Eve? If you don’t have an idea yet, here’s something worth trying:

The Eastwood City – QC New Year Countdown to 2010 features performances by Kyla, Kris Lawrence, Juan Pablo Dream, The Dawn, Freestyle and Arnel Pineda, with what else but a Grand Fireworks Display!

Cesca Litton and Andrei Felix are hosting. The poster says you should come with an attire of New Year Chic but anything will do.

You can make dining reservations at the Eastwood Mall Veranda for the best view. Call the concierge at 709-9888 or 709-0888 or 0918-8-EWCITY.

Eastwood City
E. Rodriguez, Jr. Avenue (C5), Bagumbayan
Libis, Quezon City
1110 Philippines

Phone Number
687-1499 / 709-1893 / 0918-8-EWCITY

Eastwood City official website

Here was last year’s 2009 Countdown Fireworks display. It should be bigger and better this year.

Fireworks at Eastwood Mall

We went to Eastwood the other day to watch some MMFF entries and have dinner. The old Eastwood was still the same, retaining some of it’s old charm of warm lights, low ceilings, mod shops and a pretty young crowd.

The old Eastwood Walk

We were pointed to the New Eastwood Mall for Ang Panday. We headed there and paid P185 for the cinema. I’ve written a separate review about that (Eastwood Mall Cinema review – click here) since for this post I want to focus on the Mall and Fireworks display. The walk toward sthe mall is quite nice, you’ll pass through the Eastwood City plaza and there’s a tiangge currently happening here.

Tiangge and lights at Eastwood Stage

It’s quite small (think Podium) and the shops and restaurants will set you back a few bucks (there’s no Jollibee here, though there is a Mcdonald’s at the top floor). But one nice thing about the Eastwood mall is that you can bring pets in, and walking around you’ll see some cute pugs.

Mall walk - think walking along Podium

If you go out the veranda at the 2nd and 3rd floors of the Eastwood mall, across you’ll see a giant interactive billboard and the colored lights display of the building across. It’s quite nice and worthy of a few photos.

Veranda with some pretty lights

Looking down, you’ll also notice there’s an open area where people can sit and lounge around some trees and fountains underneath the stars.

Fountains and a bridge below the veranda

At 8pm until the 3rd of January, there’s a fireworks show at this open space. It’s quite nice and a bit better than those of other malls – I personally think the Eastwood mall building colors and architecture complements the fireworks display. It’s good for about 5-7 minutes, and you’ll find yourself vocally expressing your delight. You’ll develop a slight neck strain though from looking up – the fireworks are directly above the open area.

Lots of people waiting for the firworks underneath the giant billboard

The very nice fireworks display above the mall building

Parking will set you around P50 for a three-hour stay – it actually depends where you park. I really don’t recommend parking at the metal parking lot (with the polka-dotted floors), it makes me queasy and nervous.

The rest is up to you -  for a movie and lunch date, I recommend preparing at least P500 per person.

A stroll at the Eastwood mall for the fireworks and the cute pets alone is definitely worth it. If you’re out for dinner, I recommend Cyma at the Eastwood Mall for some greek cuisine.

There’s a 2010 Eastwood City New Year countdown this December 31 and it’s free! Check it out:

The Eastwood City – QC New Year Countdown to 2010!
with performances by Kyla, Kris Lawrence, Juan Pablo Dream, The Dawn, Freestyle and Arnel Pineda
PLUS Grand Fireworks Display!

Hosted by Cesca Litton and Andrei Felix
Attire: New Year Chic
Dining Reservations at the Eastwood Mall Veranda are welcome. Please call the concierge at 709-9888 or 709-0888 or 0918-8-EWCITY.

Eastwood City
E. Rodriguez, Jr. Avenue (C5), Bagumbayan
Libis, Quezon City
1110 Philippines

Phone Number
687-1499 / 709-1893 / 0918-8-EWCITY

Eastwood City official website

Here was last year’s 2009 Countdown Fireworks display. It should be bigger and better this year.