The X in Cubao

It’s another weekend special  for me and my dear girlfriends. Right after our usual Saturday afternoon routine which I would gladly talk about someday soon, we decided to go to Cubao Expo Shopping Center! Yep, there’s an X in that place. Extraordinary, way beyond the mainstream and extremely creative and classical.

This Funky Side of Cubao!

Just somewhere in Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City lies a haven of  artistic stuff ranging from art galleries, antique shops, bookstores, vintage shops,  novelty stores and so much more. There includes Karma that sells vintage furniture which most of them cost more than 50 thousand bucks, classic stilletoes with such colorful and flashy designs and other stuff you’d need in a masquerade.  There is also a shop named Heritage that houses classic intricate woodworks.

Window shopping at Old's Kool - shop that sells vintage clothing for punkistas like me. They also got Lomo shirts and I found one cool shirt that costs 400 bucks. Didn't buy it though.

Making tambay with Janz and Karl outside "Heritage"

How I wish I own everything behind this glass..

The Reading Room which is not your usual reading room. I haven’t seen any books in there actually. Instead, the stall was full of hard-to-find accessories, jewelries, vintage clothing, bags and shoes, voodoo dolls, rag dolls, Twilight desk calendar though it costs 400 hundred bucks each, and other colorful  and funky stuff! Karla got herself a square beaded in blue and pink tones earrings. I got myself some wooded, native bracelets which cost 5 pesos each!

There were also lots of art galleries that showcase many of our local artists. We got inside the WhiteBox gallery/studio and again I was reprimanded on touching one of the acrylic paintings. Yeah, i know it’s a basic rule not to touch paintings.. I don’t know I just really want to feel the texture, that’s all.

And naturally, what I would always look for is some good spot to fill the hungry tummy. There are cafes and bars like The Black Soup Project Art Space which serve pastas and sandwiches and an art gallery at the same time and Mogwai Cafe, a cool bistro with which I would like to have a bottle of beer sometime and some calamares or chicken liver pasta. They also have a viewing room inside for the film lovers.  In front of them is a live band set which plays during the evening. I’m not sure if they play on weekdays but I’m pretty sure they play on weekends. Cubao X is also popular to be the place where Bellini’s is located. That famous Italian restaurant which was featured on one of Kyla’s music videos.

such a pleasurable walk

Cubao Beauties? Or is it somewhere else?

For us, we have chosen to chow at Green Halo. It’s a great new discovery  to find a cafe serving coffee, tea and hot choco in amazingly large mugs, pastas and sandwiches all in organic ingredients and an art gallery as well. What a lovable vegan delight!  They have Malunggay pesto which was really healthy and delicious and the intriguing Gayuma drink, a mixture of rum, vanilla and rose essences.

Inside the cozy Green Halo

I got myself a tomatoes and olives pasta, tuna pastel pasta for Karl, basil and mushroom pasta for Janz and malunggay pesto for Hana. YUMMY!!!!

"La Madre Universal" one of the art exhibits inside Green Halo

We also passed by a thrift shop selling old books which I wasn’t able to check thoroughly as we were already hurrying for home. But I found the bestseller Como Agua Para Chocolate by Laura Esquivel with an attractive and embossed book cover. Well the book  is in it’s original Spanish version, but I bought it anyway for keepsake.

Janz and Hana went home ahead of us so Karla and I are the only ones left dashing through the busy sidewalks of Araneta Center. We’re supposed to have some pedicures but we decided to have some coffee instead just like we often do, and talk about the loves we (once) have and trying to analyze it in  the most rational way, our future career plans which weren’t fully realized yet,  about poverty and what rich government leaders should do about these poor and jobless people and about our own overwhelming and exciting independent, self-sufficing lives.

By the way, Karla and I bought ourselves some Lotto tickets. Trying our luck, hoping, gambling. That’s life. But as always, you’ll never run out of reasons to smile.

stuffed!