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Continued from the previous post. This is going to be a photo blog entry, though, since there are a truckload of pictures. Cubao is famous for its artist’s spot anyway.

After finishing our stuff at Quiapo, we headed straight for Cubao. I needed to replenish my organic bath products from HumanHeartNature. My sister, on the other hand, wanted to look for a popular ukay-ukay shop. We didn’t even know its name, but we found it.

Taking a break at a Chowking restaurant — Belle and Lei were already with us at this point — we pondered on what to do next. Do we go and watch the Japanese Film Festival at Edsa Shangri-La mall? Or do we head straight for Cubao Expo, famous for being the artist’s hangout? Alex was aghast to find out that Lei, Belle and I had never been to Cubao X.


“And you call yourselves Multimedia Artists??? Shame on you!”

The decision was unanimous, the two girls cannot graduate without having stepped foot on Cubao X. The only problem with going there during the day was that…well, most artists are vampires. They’re alive at night.

Anyhoo…

Ok, I’m inserting a story here. My sister called me over so we could go check out this nice fashion shop called Stoic. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, the saleslady seemed like she’d rather be somewhere else than there. While we were taking pictures (and notes) of the stuff we’d like to return for (um, we ran out of cash again), she rudely told Lei and Belle to not take photos because a guard might scold them. (“Wag kayo magkukuha ng pictures dyan, huhulihin kayo ng guard.”) Hallo? I was just taking photos of the establishments earlier and the guard, thinking he was included, posed! The guard knows his logic: You’re in an art district, you should be open to being photographed because you could either be featured in a magazine or blogged about. And if you’re (un)lucky, a section of your face might even end up in some wannabe Dadaist’s exhibit.

Hm. Definitely not going back, unless that lady is replaced by someone livelier. I also wish for someone who doesn’t scowl too much so I could take a pleasant photo of her, along with the store. (Then again, I suppose the stoic saleslady is part of the ambiance since that exactly is the store’s name.) We decided not to let that encounter ruin our day and continued our exploration.

We were supposed to go to Mogwai, as my sister recommended. Patrons usually enjoy a slew of indie films while dining there. Sadly, it was being renovated. It was a good thing that I was eyeing another restaurant: Halo Café, an organic shop, which also serves vegan and sugar-free cakes. I’ve actually used my shot of their interiors as this blog entry’s cover picture (*points up*).

They’re keen on animal rights issues, so you will find pamphlets that talk about animal cruelty. The menu, interiors and displayed artworks reflect this environment-friendly philosophy.

Of these four drinks, two stood out: The hot cup of mint-y chocolate (far left), which loves your nose but stings your eyes, and Gayuma (bottom), which tasted really weird. It’s made up of vanilla and rose extracts but tastes like banana and liquor. I was pretty sure it has liquor because I felt my muscles produce more lactic acid.