From the Holiday Inn Manila Galleria where we were staying, we walked a few blocks to Megamall for dinner. Traversing the early evening sidewalks with yuppies donning headsets and earphones on, we excitedly wended our way to Chelsea Kitchen. While I really have no idea what food they serve, my good dining experience with the Raintree group of restaurants like Kabila and Simplé Lang, were enough to whet my appetite.

CHELSEA KITCHEN AT MEGAMALL

Chelsea Kitchen is located at the ground floor of the relatively new Building D of Megamall. It sits right by the entrance and isn’t bound by any walls but rather by shelves and what-nots acting as a barrier for seats and tables set in a somewhat al fresco style. But since it is within the confines of the mall, it has air-conditioning! Lol.

I haven’t been eating out on fancy restaurants for a while now. Heck I’ve actually haven’t been planning any travels at all due to financial constraints (which is so not me at all). So when an opportunity knocks to check out a food place that actually serves restaurant-quality dishes at carinderia prices, I am out of the house faster than you can spell carinderia.

I chanced upon an Anime convention a month ago while strolling about in Megamall. It was Ozine Fest 2010, an annual event organized by Otakuzine Anime Magazine.

This was Otakuzine’s fifth year in celebrating Ozine Fest, the first one being held during 2005 at Robinson’s Galleria. Ozine Fest draws Anime fans from all over the metro into a three day event featuring computer game tournaments, art contests, JPop and KPop dance competitions, band performances, swap meets, artist signing, and of course the much anticipated solo and group Cosplay contests.

I recently tried out a new Singaporean restaurant at Megamall’s second floor named after a famous street in Singapore, the Orchard Road.

What enticed me to check it out were their interiors, which really looked nice, and their prices, which are quite reasonable. The resto opened early this year and is owned by Singaporean TV celebrity Vivien Tan-Vaca and her Filipino husband, Dudo Vaca.

Their décor looks like a mix of Asian and western themes. Modern wooden booths line up the front part of the restaurant while traditional wooden chairs occupy the back part. Dividing these are colorful glass blocks on wood dividers. The restaurant can seat a maximum of 250 persons.