Alabang Town Center, Muntinlupa

Alabang town center is one of my favorite creep-spots south of Manila. Living in Muntinlupa city before meant that you had to commute for two hours to get to the best malls. Not anymore. Alabang town center has got almost everything. For everyone. You've got a portion of the mall for the "loaded", and the other part for the "financially restricted". It's got a lot to offer from authentic pasta and sushi bars to siopao and siomai nooks. The thing that separates ATC from the other titanic malls in Muntinlupa is it's mall-rat friendly environment and atmosphere. You can ACTUALLY REST and enjoy the sweet green surroundings when you get tired of walking around. Unlike other malls where your knees and feet feel like they've been though the Afghan desert after seeing everything, ATC has got places where you can just relax and chill-out. A lot of the best spots in the mall are the open air portions that eliminates the feeling of being an "insect in a glass jar" feeling that other malls give you. ATC has got a the BEST coffee shop in all of the archipelago. It's located in a part of the mall that makes you feel as if you're in a gladiator arena, plus the coffee is magnifico. Shopping in ATC is great, prices are reasonable and the choices are numerous. The only downside is the somewhat poorly strategized locations of the different boutiques (You've got a shoe store right beside a beverage booth that's right across a public restroom). But that's just minor thangs and not noticable in the entire mall. But the one thing ATC can do without is the Rustan's department store inside. Rustan's does nothing but take advantage of price-ignorant people who can't tell authentic from bootleg (I saw a 7,000-peso pair of Nike-airs in Rustan's and found out that the same pair of sneakers cost 4,500 pesos at the Athletes Foot). Rustan's was the "rich-man's candystore" during the 80's, but now, not even the middle class shoppers feel any of the prestige left from shopping there. Rustan's has got to go. Besides that, it's all good. Although the mall could use some more cinemas (It currently has 5 movie houses). I'd reccomend it to anyone who'd want to shop for minor-stuff like clothes, cosmetics and portable electronics and would love a great coffee experience or just chill out afterwards.