Making New Memories: The Magnolia Flavor House at Robinsons Magnolia

For the young kids of the 80s and the 90s, the Magnolia Ice Cream House in Quezon City was a place full of fond memories, as weekends were spent here with the family enjoying desserts. Likewise, it was also a place for teenagers to hang out, or for couples to go on a date over a banana split. Many were sad to see it go, however, when it closed down more than a decade ago, and when the whole factory itself closed down  (and relocated) later on.

Many were delighted with the news that the iconic ice cream shop would make a comeback in 2012, this time named the Magnolia Flavor House, at the new Robinsons Magnolia Mall, built at the site of the old Magnolia Ice Cream factory. The young kids of the 80s and 90s, who are now old enough to become parents, as well as the teenagers and the dating couples back then, would surely return to reminisce as well as to make new memories over their Peach Melba or Banana Split, their iconic desserts.

The Magnolia Flavor House standalone store at the garden of the new Robinsons Magnolia Mall

True enough, as we entered the place, I noticed a lot of forty-something couples there. There were also some children there, who were most probably brought along by their parents who did have fond memories at the old ice cream house. Of course, there were also people like my family and I who simply wanted to try out a different place for desserts. 

A look inside the shop

As we sat down at our table, we were immediately given menus. While the place specializes in desserts, they also added more stuff to their menu such as burgers, pizzas, pasta, sandwiches, and some others to keep the people interested (they didn't really offer these things back in the day). What many people came here for was, of course, their desserts, and their dessert selection certainly wasn't disappointing. 

The store was filled with forty and fifty-somethings who were probably reminiscing about the old days

The whole did feel inviting, with large glass windows surrounding the whole place, and with paint and furnishings that were mostly blue, yellow, and white. They also had this cool-looking "waiting area" where people could wait for an available table, that had a really comfy-looking pod chair as well as some stools that added an overall "modern" feel to the place. 

The dessert menu

They added more stuff to their menu

I ordered their famous banana split (P240), while my brother had a Peach Melba (P240). My parents decided to share a Mango Royale (P240). My mom also decided to order some snacks too; we had their  Nachos Overload (P185) and some of their Potato Wedges (I forgot how much it cost). 

When my banana split was laid out in front of me, I was a bit unsure of whether I would be able to finish everything--we did have a nice lunch at the Shangri-la Plaza Mall food court just a few hours prior. As the Nachos Overload and the Potato Wedges got to our table, I became more overwhelmed. Their servings were HUGE! I looked over to the other tables and noticed how huge their burgers and pizza were. I think this isn't necessarily a bad thing, though--I've read numerous blog posts complaining about the small serving sizes in some other restaurants. You can always take the food home if you can't finish everything.

Their famous banana split

At first glance, their banana split just seems like any other banana split. If you look closely, however, you will notice that the bananas are actually coated with chocolate, so there's actually more chocolate on their banana split, with the chocolate-coated bananas, the chocolate ice cream, and the chocolate syrup on top. This is really great for all chocolate lovers out there. One can never have too much chocolate!

Peach Melba, another one of their "iconic" desserts

Mango Royale--scoops of Mango Ice Cream topped with cream, cherries, nuts,  and caramel (?) syrup, all sitting on top of crushed grahams. 

Nachos OVERLOAD. Emphasis on OVERLOAD.

Who says we couldn't finish the nachos?

I will most probably be back again to try out their other desserts--they all seem so good! Despite the presence of so many other ice cream shops in the country (particularly, the foreign ones like Swensen's), there's still something about the classics like Magnolia that just brings back the fondest memories, whether at the old ice cream house (which I never really got to try), or those weekends or birthday celebrations at home with the gallons of ice cream shared with everyone. I'm happy to see that Magnolia is able to stand their ground against the competition, and they're expanding too--I heard they'll be opening a second shop at SM North Edsa soon!

The Magnolia Flavor House is located at the garden area of the Robinsons Magnolia Mall, located at Aurora Boulevard corner Dona Hemady Street in New Manila, Quezon City)

Just...Wow: The Robinsons Magnolia Mall in Quezon City

Although it opened to the public sometime in mid-2012, I was only able to check out the new Robinsons Magnolia mall (located at the corner of Aurora Boulevard and Hemady Street near New Manila in Quezon City) just earlier today. Since it opened, I've been wanting to check the place out as it is much talked-about online (through blog posts I've read) as well as on posts by my contacts on my social networking accounts. These positive reviews really got me curious, and my curiosity was finally satisfied earlier today. 

We had just entered the parking lot and I couldn't help but be impressed already. The basement parking area is spacious and well-lit, and finding a vacant parking space wasn't really much of a problem. It was very orderly and it was pretty easy to navigate. The ramp leading to the parking area was quite wide, too.

We entered the mall via the Food Court entrance and my first reaction: wow. The whole place looked clean, airy, and spacious, and that goes for the whole mall, too. It didn't really look like your typical mall food court--the Robinsons Magnolia food court was very orderly and didn't look cluttered at all. I think the white paint as well as the shiny, white floor tiles helped in giving the place a sense of spaciousness. 

The food court

As we made our way up the escalator to the ground floor, we were once again impressed by what we saw. At that point, I came to the conclusion that Robinsons Magnolia was not your typical Robinsons Mall. Robinsons Malls usually cater to the middle-to-low end market, since they compete with SM whose malls also cater to the same market. I noticed, however, that Robinsons Magnolia attracted the same type of crowd you'd usually see in upscale malls like Shangri-la Plaza in Mandaluyong or Power Plant Mall in Makati. 

All. That. Space. 

The mall wasn't really very crowded, even on a Saturday

The mall has a pretty good mix of stores, from local brands like Oxygen, Bench, and Penshoppe, to foreign brands like Cotton On, Muji, Gap, Fred Perry, and Mango, among others. There are also other vacant spaces and other stores that are still about to open. It's pretty clear that Robinsons Malls really aims to attract the upper market, judging by the brands they carry. 

Ford Mustang cars on display at the mall's atrium

A closer look at the car

There also a number of pretty good restaurants here, from casual fastfood places to the more upscale ones. There are just so many to choose from! Aside from the ones right inside the mall, you might also want to check out the Al Fresco area (facing the garden) for more restaurants that might interest you. Some of the dining places I saw at the mall (both inside and at the Al Fresco area) include Jamba Juice, Krispy Kreme, UCC Park Cafe, Claw Daddy's, Pepper Lunch, Yabu, and SumoSam. I was also happy to see that my favorite Filipino restaurant, Mesa, will also be opening a branch here soon. For a snack, you might want to visit the Magnolia Flavor House at the garden, which I'll be blogging about next.

For those who don't know, the mall is called Robinsons Magnolia because it is located at the site of the old Magnolia Ice Cream Factory. The factory was a frequent host to students on an educational field trip, as well as a place for friends and dating couples to hang out, because of the Magnolia Ice Cream Parlor at the site. The factory closed down and was transferred somewhere else about a decade ago (I think), and the land was purchased by Robinsons, which they transformed into a mall and condominium (the Magnolia Residences, which is still under construction). 

Another view of the atrium area. I really like the floor design, as well as the chandeliers.  Very classy.

The al fresco dining area

The garden, with a view of the Magnolia Residences which is still under construction

The cinema area

How soon is "soon"?

The mall is well lit and airy, which helps in giving it an overall sense of spaciousness

I was definitely very impressed with this mall. If you're the type of person who would prefer malls that are less crowded, then this mall is a good alternative to other not-so-crowded upscale malls like Shangri-la Plaza. There is a good selection of stores and restaurants that would appeal to anyone, and I would say that this place is really very promising. As of the moment, however, there are still some vacant retail spaces, and there are still some stores and restaurants that haven't opened yet. But still--kudos to Robinsons Malls! I will definitely be back.

(Robinsons Magnolia is located at Aurora Boulevard corner Dona Hemady Street in Quezon City. The mall is open from 10am-9pm from Sundays to Thursdays, and at 10am-10pm every Friday and Saturday. For more information, please visit http://www.robinsonsmalls.com/malls_magnolia.php)

Learn How to Prepare Healthy Meals for Your Kids with Chef Santos from Shangri-la Maldives!

Attention all moms (and dads!)! Do you want to learn how to prepare delicious and healthy meals for your little ones? Well, something's definitely cooking at the Bright and Cheerful Preschool in Mandaluyong City this Saturday, February 16 at 9am! 

Chef Santos from Shangri-la Maldives will be flying all the way to Manila to share his knowledge on how to make mealtime more meaningful and enjoyable for your kids by showing you how to prepare meals quick and easy. Your little ones are most welcome at the event, too--there are also lots of fun activities for your kids that they'll surely enjoy! And guess what? Admission is FREE!

Head on over to the Bright and Cheerful Preschool with your family for an interesting weekend experience! See you all there!

(Bright and Cheerful Preschool is located at 15 Ideal Street, Barangay Addition Hills, Mandaluyong City. For more information regarding this event, please contact Germaine Tuazon at 09178582932. You may also visit the website at http://brightandcheerfulschool.com/preschool/ or like them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bright-and-Cheerful-Preschool/184260021610298)

Should We Expect the All-New Toyota Corolla by 2014?

A quick Google Image search with the keywords "2014 Toyota Corolla Altis" will give you several image results of a car similar to the one above. Could this be the all-new Toyota Corolla (called the Toyota Corolla Altis in parts of Asia)? The current version of the ever-popular car was launched maybe four or five years ago--it's definitely due for a replacement already, given the fact that other Toyota models such as the RAV4 and the Camry already have all-new models (The RAV4 was just officially launched in the Philippines very recently). The Toyota Vios is also due for replacement sometime this year. As of now, there is still no official word from Toyota, and we can only speculate on whether this really is what the all-new Corolla would look like. But, based on the Google search results, it looks as if this render isn't that too far off from the real thing.