Bounce Trampoline Park in SM Southmall

If you're a parent and it's summer, then you're probably always looking for activities that your kids can do. Whether it's enrolling them in various classes or workshops, planning vacations, or just trying to get them out of the house to lessen their screen time lol! ;p

I've been wanting to bring them to a trampoline park but the ones that initially opened are located quite far from us (there's Jumpyard in Pasig and Trampoline Park in Mandaluyong). So when Bounce Philippines finally opened in SM Southmall, now was our chance!

Giant Ball Pit in SM BF!

We were in SM City BF a few days ago and on our way to the grocery, the boys spotted this huge ball pit in the ground floor of the main atrium. Of course what could I do but let them jump in!

Unli Korean BBQ at SamgyeopMasarap (SM BF)

SamgyeopMasarap is the latest restaurant to open in SM City BF. If you love Korean food and also buffets, then this is a good place to try.

Ice Skating at SM City BF

I remember ice skating when I was a kid all the way in SM Megamall. I probably only got to do it 5 times in my whole life, and I even remember an incident when my older cousin fell and had to get stiches on her eyebrow! So yeah, that was probably the last time I ever went skating.

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to see a pop-up skating rink at SM City BF a few weeks ago. The rink is small, only 100sqm, and is located at the Main Atrium where Uniqlo is.

KIDS’ CITY at SM Supermarket and Savemore

Last July 29, my children and I attended the launch of Kids’ City held at SM Southmall. It’s the biggest kiddie party ever from SM Supermarket and Savemore Market where moms can enjoy the program, shop for special deals and get a chance to win prizes the whole day. There’s also lots of special kiddie activities and the best part is, admission is FREE!

IKEA Raskog Cart look-alike

I've been meaning to buy this IKEA Raskog Trolley for the longest time. It comes in a variety of colors like white, black, turquoise, beige, and rust.

LEGO Brick-Amazing Sale (plus our loot!)

It was just by chance that I found out about this Lego sale last Friday night in one of the mommy groups in FB. I told hubby about it and was surprised when he said he was game to go, considering the venue was at SM MEGAMALL! I think he was also excited to check out the toys so he was willing to drive all the way to the north haha! ;p

So off we went bright and early yesterday morning. We didn't even tell the kids about it since we wanted it to be a surprise. When we got there and they saw all the Legos, they couldn't believe their eyes!

Shopping at MINISO Philippines

MINISO is a Japanese fast fashion designer brand that advocates a fashionable and relaxed lifestyle. Headquartered in Tokyo, it has opened more than 1,400 stores worldwide and dedicates itself to providing customers with quality, creative and low-priced products. Miniso opened their first store in the Philippines just last June and since then has quickly expanded to more branches around the metro.

To be honest, I wasn't familiar with this brand as first. But when I was invited to their launch at SM Southmall last December 15, I got really excited to check it out.

Winter Woodland Christmas at SM Aura

I swear, the Christmas display at SM Aura this year is seriously one of the nicest I've ever seen! I literally gasped when we walked by since it was so pretty!

Ever After High Christmas at SM BF

We love checking out the Christmas displays at the malls during the holidays. I just love seeing the different themes and decors every year, which provide such a great backdrop for some family pics!

Last year, SM BF did an Adventure Time display and the year before was How To Train Your Dragon. This year, the Ever After High characters take center stage in an Epic Winter display.

Scenes from our Christmas break 2015

Here's some of the places we went to during the Christmas vacation. Can't believe the holidays are over already and it's now 2016!

Anyway, I really like how there's a nice Christmas display every year at SM Mall of Asia. It was so hard to take photos of the kids a few years ago (check out our funny pics HERE), but now they were surprisingly well-behaved!

Adventure Time Candy Kingdom Christmas at SM BF

So glad we caught this Christmas display at the Main Atrium of SM City BF before it ended (I believe today is the last day). Last year's display was "How To Train Your Dragon" and this year it's Adventure Time! Check out all our cute pics :)

Kuya J Restaurant (SM BF)

I'm not such a fan of Filipino food, but I have to say that Kuya J Restaurant has changed my mind. Somehow, whenever we're in SM BF and can't decide where to eat, we always end up here! :)

Alqueria in SM Megamall

I have a group of friends and we're all housewives so we make it a point to go out every month just to unwind. :) Last month, we agreed to head north in SM Megamall as per request of one of our friends (since we've always stayed in the south so far). I probably go to Megamall only once a year so I'm not familiar at all with the restaurants in the area. Our friend wanted to eat Spanish food so we ended up at Alqueria.

I read online that this resto was formerly known as Boqueria and is part of the SumoSam group of restaurants owned by Marvin Agustin, Ricky Laudico, and Raymund Magdaluyo. Alqueria also brought in partners Liz Uy, Mylene Dizon, Agot Isidro, and Charo Santos.

Anyway, I love the location of this place since it's on the 3rd floor of Mega Fashion Hall, near H&M!

Crate & Barrel (SM Aura)

I got a chance to finally check out American retail brand and home furnishing store Crate & Barrel earlier this month at their latest branch in SM Aura. The one in SM Megamall has been open since November last year.

SM Aura branch

NIU by Vikings at SM Aura

Finally got a chance to check out NIU a few weeks ago with some friends. We were originally supposed to eat at Vikings in SM BF but decided to see what the difference was.

nicely decorated interiors (love those white chairs)

very European feel

rooms for larger groups or private functions (named after European countries)

With regards to food, there were definitely more choices. There were also stuff that I didn't see in other Vikings restaurants, like caviar, foie gras, sake, gelato (in short, mga sosy food lol). Anyway, I'll just let all the pics do the talking. :)

cold cuts

appetizers including caviar and a wider selection of cheese

Niu definitely has more MEAT to choose from!

And I love how they plate the food from the grilling station and bring it to your table.

Of course, the best part according to the boys was the drinks. Everything was already included in the cost like wine, sake, and imported beer. Cheers!

There were the usual fruits, cakes, and pastries for dessert, but there was also yogurt and gelato instead of ice cream. But we were so full na from all the food that I could only manage one scoop of chocolate gelato hehe. ;p

The price of the buffet was definitely much more expensive. We ate during dinner so we ended up paying around P1500 per person. But honestly, I don't think I'll eat here na again unless someone will treat me hehe. Kasi parang hindi naman sulit sakin coz I didn't get to eat that much. I think pwede na sa regular Vikings where you'll spend half the price and still get to eat good food. :)

NIU by Vikings
6th Flr. SM Aura Premier
478-3888, 847-3888, 0917-586-6888, 0919-999-6888
Website: niu.ph
Facebook: www.facebook.com/niubyvikings

Gaspi's in SM BF

We've practically tried all the restaurants in SM BF already, so we decided to eat here in Gaspi's for the first time one afternoon when we were craving for Spanish food.

First of all, I totally love the interiors especially those brick walls and that glass archway...

Here's their menu:

This is their free bread which was served at the start of the meal. The bread was soft and there was a lot of butter given as well.

For our appetizers, we got Croquetas and Calamares. Both were just ok for me, nothing special.

Croquetas
Chicken croquettes in bechamel sauce
P260

Calamares Fritos
P210

For our main dish, we got the Salpicado and Paella. If I remember correctly, the Salpicado came with rice but since we ordered paella already, we decided to get onion rings instead. However, the onion rings were not crunchy at all and also a bit cold. The salpicao was ok but for the price, the serving was definitely small.

Salpicado with Onion Rings
P450

closer look at the Salpicado

The best thing about our meal was the paella, but even that was just average tasting for us...

Paella de Arroz ala Cubana
P350

Overall, I'm sorry to say that the food was disappointing for us. I don't know if we ordered the wrong things but we definitely have tasted better elsewhere. And for the price we paid (about P1500) sana we ate na lang in Vikings or something hehe. ;p