Hot, Hot, Hot!
by Ellen Joy Anastacio
March  2003

With summer fast approaching and the weather getting warmer and warmer by the minute, what could be more appropriate than finding out what's hot in Manila other than the weather?

MALLS

Undisputedly, the most talked about mall right now are the new Greenbelt malls. With loads of new dining places, unique shops, a wonderful façade, lush green lawns and a fountain right smack in the middle of the esplanade, Greenbelt is the place to go. Modern and cozy at the same time, it has replaced Rockwell's Power Plant Mall as the "in" mall to be in.

Whether it's to sit on the grass with friends or family on a lazy Sunday morning, or to watch live bands perform near the fountain in front of Café Havana, Seattle's Best, Starbucks and Café Breton, people seem to have found an oasis in the busy Makati Central Business District.

Of course, needless to say, this doesn't mean that malls like Glorietta, Robinson's Galleria, Alabang Town Center, or the ubiquitous SM malls are suddenly drained of crowds. With the way we flock to malls at any given day, and not necessarily for shopping, mind you, none of the other malls have to worry about running out of business. 

With all the greens, Greenbelt definitely deserves its name. Take a look at the lagoon and fountains that give Greenbelt the edge over other malls in town.

TOYS

Beyblades, the high-tech spinning top is THE toy to have for little kids. It could be the expensive, original variety or the ripoffs found in Tutuban. All that matters for them is for their Beyblade to win the battle.

So 3, 2, 1…Let it rip! That's the signal to start the "battle," held in official "beystadiums." Of course, being Filipinos, even the lowly batya (basin) can substitute as a beystadium, rules or no rules! In fact, it's so hot that the Beyblades cartoon series is running on a local TV station!

TV SHOWS

Only a year ago, game shows were the hottest commodity in television, eclipsing even the ever-popular soap operas. But as the popularity of game shows waned, stations focused on saturating the prime time slots with soap operas, or telenovelas, or whatever new term they've coined for it, and it has succeeded in making the names Rosa Camila, Binibining Andromeda, Laura, Leandro Montemayor, Cecilia, Carlos Miguel, Patricia, Melody, etc, household names, and their trials and tribulations as common as their relative's or neighbor's problems. Will the fad end? Will viewers tire of soap operas anytime soon? We'll just have to wait and see!

TECHNOLOGY

Nowadays, Filipinos are not content with simple text messages or ring tones. The buzz is MMS, or Multimedia Messaging Service. Not everyone might be able to afford it, but everyone certainly knows about it and would love to have a phone with a camera and polyphonic ring tones!

It just goes to show that no matter what the economic climate is, Filipinos still, and will, cope with any situation with style and flair. So come on over and experience these things the way only Filipinos can.

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