Checking out the new mall

Jon and I had some free time this week and we paid a visit to the newest mall in the metro. The Gateway Mall.

When I hear of Gateway Mall even way before its doors were finally opened early this year (or was it late last year?), it would always make special mention of its cinemas. And i would always always feel excited about the thought of the comfy Lazyboy seat, unlimited popcorn and bottomless soda in hand. Now that's the life!

I got hold of the mall's url some time last month and i discovered that the Cineplex 10 (the Lazyboy cinema) is not yet open. But i figured that the long drive will still be worth it.

We got to Araneta Center around lunch time and finding the new mall was easy. It was located just beside the Araneta Coliseum. Underground parking was a breeze - although i think the area was a little small in the long run considering the amount of people who will be checking out the mall - and the cinemas of course. Especially the Lazyboy cinema. =)

We went straight to the cinemas. IMHO, the lobby had a similar look and feel with that of the Greenbelt3 theatre and Rockwell Power Plant cinemas. Nothing fancy here 'cept for the skylight 360 degree mural. Couches were scattered for people waiting for their screening times. The ticket booths (centralized ticketing system here) had several big flat screen tv's above which showed screening times, seating, and some movie previews. The snack bars were limited though. I was craving for other than the usual popcorn-soda-hotdogs-chips but didn't find anything to my liking. But maybe, it was only because we still haven't had lunch yet. Food court was just one level below, but i got lazy already, so, popcorn-soda-hotdogs-chips it is! - for the meantime. We agreed on having late lunch after.

We watched the movie, Sahara which starred the ruggedly handsome Matthew McConaughey and the very sexy Penelope Cruz. The movie was entertaining but in my husband's words, impossible. But i'm not to talk about the movie...

The seats inside the cinema were comfy enough, but i still say nothing beats the seats at Greenbelt3 cinemas where i can pull up the armrest and snuggle close to my hubby. :D The Dolby Digital Sound in the cinema lived up to expectation. Crisp sound and had the right amount of volume. It was perfect for my ears.

On our way to finding where we could eat our lunch, we saw the floating garden below us, and it was a great view. More on that later.

We finally found a resto where our taste buds agreed on that day. Burgoo.

When we were already seated, it dawned on me that on our very first visit to Rockwell PowerPlant Mall about 2 years ago, we did the exact same things! We watched a movie first, then we also ate at Burgoo. Haha! I even tried to kid him, that in line with tradition, i should also buy something for myself, which i also did that day (but of course, i don't remember if i really did buy or not - haha :p)...

Anyway, we had seafood linguine, grilled pork chop, and lemon peppered chicken with corn salsa and coleslaw sidings. Needless to say, we were really full after.

The Oasis - the air-conditioned garden inside the mall which opened up to the sky was just right outside Burgoo. We went in and it was indeed, beautiful. Nagpakajologs na kame and we had pictures everywhere... =D

We browsed the shops afterwards (some are yet to open) and discovered that the new mall was a little bit complicated. There were still nooks and places to explore - maybe on the next visit...perhaps when Cineplex 10 finally opens... =)