Whenever I drop by the highly luxurious Greenbelt 5 in Makati City, I realize that my strolling itinerary would never be complete without checking out this ultra, highly-sophisticated modern department store called ADORA.

ADORA is a one of a kind high-class department store in the metropolis that carries expensive, modern, stylish and posh fashion brands around the world, such as Dior Homme, Givenchy, Dolce and Gabanna, Tyler, Florentino, Veja, and Puma among others. Surely, the palace-like interior of the store reflects the costs of its products and commodities. Prices in ADORA are of thousands, ranging from P1200, being the cheapest for the garment, and above.

Aside from carrying expensive and highly-established clothing brands around the globe, ADORA could also be a one-stop shop for the high-class boys, since in addition, it also carries various brands of shoes, luggage, linens, vanity tools, candles, perfumes, and a wide range of fashion eyewear such as CK, Prada, Ray-Ban, and Burberry among others.

So if you think that fashion must also be an investment – that is, one in which you will pass down to your kids, then ADORA will be the perfect place for the modern Pinoys who are seeking for a high-class and lavish lifestyle.

For our PGG readers out there, we all know that fashion does not need to be expensive and painful in the pocket, but would you even consider buying yourself an expensive and high class apparel? Share your views.

Tim is a 19-year-old Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management student, who considers himself as a modern Pinoy, and a great appreciator of male fashion. Tim hopes to share his experiences, and help the timid guys to get out of their old comfort zones in order to experience the zest that comes within a modern Pinoy.

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Fitness First is perhaps the most popular gym in the metro. Reason? They have so many branches, mostly in malls, making them the most accessible gym in the Philippines.

First Impressions: Nice and plenty equipment

The first thing that will catch your attention upon entering Fitness First (especially in their new branches) are their numerous, big, high-quality TechnoGym fitness equipment. If you ever had the chance to be toured by their staff inside the gym, you will see a lot of equipment which are obviously imported.

Having numerous equipment is a big advantage for its members because you wouldn’t have to wait for one person to finish exercising before you are able to use the equipment. You can use it anytime you want.

Aside from having lots of equipment, you will notice too that unlike other gyms, you do not need to bring your own padlock because their lockers are already equipped with its own lock.

One thing about their facilities though that makes me wonder is why they are serving softdrinks as part of their free privileges. I mean, most people are there to lose weight and eat healthy so why the need for it?

People and Trainers

Depending on the branch, you’ll see that the population working out at Fitness First are 60% male and around 40% female. You will also see some high-profile people and celebrities working out there (just like in Gold’s Gym) which means that it’s a high-class gym. Based on the kind of people who work out, it appears to me that Fitness First is more of a “tone the muscles” gym instead of a body building gym like Gold’s.

The club prides itself in their 1:1 trainer-trainee ratio. However, I found out that getting a personal trainer is not cheap. I don’t mean to generalize but I have also been told that if you are a guy, and you are a beginner, you might be a little overwhelmed by their trainers since they usually push people to the limit. This may seem like a good thing for intermediate to expert gym-goers but for beginners, it may be a bad thing. Anyway, I’m not referring to all trainers but only some. It’s up to you to check them out.

Rates

These are the rates for Fitness First regular branches.

1 year home membership (workout at 1 branch only): 2,500 Pesos per month
1 year passport membership (workout at any of Fitness First regular branches): 2,600 Pesos per month

4 months home membership (workout at 1 branch only): 2,800 Pesos per month
4 months passport membership (workout at any of Fitness First regular branches): 2,900 Pesos per month

Note that actual rates may vary. They accept credit cards for monthly installments or cash if you wish to pay in full. They also have an admin fee and it varies from branch to branch.

In case you were wondering, Fitness First also has two premium branches with higher membership costs. These branches are called Fitness First Platinum (one of which is located in Trinoma and the other in RCBC Plaza). These branches are exclusive because they have added facilities and privileges. I think they cost above 3,500 per month the last time I checked. Could anyone confirm?

Related posts in Gym Guide:
Part 1: Gold’s Gym
Part 3: Slimmers World

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Last weekend, I got the chance to visit Gold’s Gym in Waltermart North Edsa. It has been quite a while since I visited one of their branches and this time I was stunned.

First Impressions: A Boxing Gym?

When I entered Gold’s Gym in Waltermart, my attention was caught by their boxing ring. Surprising isn’t it? It’s not common to see one in a fitness gym and if I remember it correctly, they never had a boxing ring the last time I checked one of their branches a few years ago. According to their staff, it’s a new feature of their gym after Elorde boxing gym was bought by Gold’s. Now, almost all Gold’s gym branches have a boxing ring so if you think you have the Manny Pacquiao in you, go ahead and check out any of Gold’s gym branches.

Equipment and People

I was toured by one of their personnel inside the gym. It’s not that big (compared to their other branches) but I was impressed by their equipment especially their complete line of weights, cardio equipment and if I may say it again – their boxing ring. I must admit that I really wanted to try to get into the ring (at least to have a feel what it’s like to be a boxer) but too bad, there was a boxing match the time I visited so maybe next time.

Their pieces of equipment are of superb and excellent quality. However, I think that they need to add more since there were only a few and I’m not sure if they are enough for all the gym-goers in that branch during peak hours. I would also like to add that you need to bring your own padlock for the lockers.

With their equipment suited for bodybuilding, I can say that Gold’s Gym is highly recommendable for those who want to get big muscles (just take a look at the logo of Gold’s Gym). I think that bodybuilders are their target market and is probably the main reason why there were only a few women working out when I visited.

Rates and Payment

Their staff was kind enough to explain to me their rates as follows:

UNLIMITED WORK-OUTS:

FEE: P25,200 – (good for 1 year: P2,100 per month)

FIXED NUMBER OF WORK OUTS – 144 visits per year (around 3 times per week):

FEE: P16,500 (good for the entire year: P 1,375 per month)

Note that actual rates may vary and this does not include the boxing facility. They accept credit cards for monthly installments or cash if you wish to pay in full.

If you will notice from the above rates, you will save more on a fixed number of sessions rather than unlimited. While this may give you less freedom to work-out whenever you feel like, I still think that it is more economical since the ideal number of times to exercise is 3-4 times a week, so it is definitely worth it!

But if you believe that you are a gym rat, I bet that the unlimited one is the right thing for you!

Related posts in Gym Guide:
Part 2: Fitness First
Part 3: Slimmers World
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Talk about men’s fitness at the PGG Forums

Image credit: Wikipedia

Last May, I featured here in Pinoy Guy Guide about Hooters being now present in the Philippines. Again, for those who are unaware yet, Hooters is a US-based restaurant serving burgers, steaks, chicken wings and many more. Their target market are male customers because they feature girls in sexy outfits serving you food. So going back, I went their with my officemates for team building and here is what I think about the famous restaurant in terms of food and the place itself.

First of all, Hooters is located at the back of SM Mall of Asia where there are lots of good dining places and bars to enjoy especially on a Friday night. So being at the back of Mall of Asia means that Hooters is near Manila Bay itself and the atmosphere is very relaxing.

FOOD

The food is good. If you have ever been to T.G.I. Fridays or other similar restaurants, they taste almost alike. However, it’s a bit pricey. A plate of chicken wings could cost you around 500-700 bucks. Same is true with their other menu. They tend to reach a price within that range so it is recommendable to bring the rest of your peers with you to share. Nevertheless, the taste of their food is savory so it’s worth the cost.

GIRLS

Maybe the reason I didn’t pay much attention to the food was because of the girls! Haha! Contrary to the comments in blogs last May, I personally found many of the Hooters girls pretty – and sexy too! One of my friends who has already been in Hooters USA even mentioned that he prefers the Hooters Philippines’ local girls because they are slimmer than their US counterparts and yes, they even dance!

What was unforgettable and terribly hilarious experience we had there was when we told the Hooters girls that one of our friends is celebrating his birthday (which is not true by the way). Right there and then, the Hooters girls pulled our shy friend at the center of the Hooters restaurant and invited him to dance. Mind you, they didn’t just dance on the floor, they danced on top of chairs! So our guy friend was forced to do that even if it wasn’t really his birthday and you can just imagine the laugh trip we had! They danced to the rhythm of YMCA and Chuchu train with everyone else in the restaurant watching.

Overall it was a great experience being there. The Hooters girls are amazingly friendly to the customers and they love taking photos with everyone. Try to go there sometime if you haven’t. If you’ve already been there, share your experience here

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Popular US-based restaurant Hooters is now open near SM Mall of Asia. In case you have no idea, Hooters is a restaurant that targets male customers. Their main attraction aside from food are their beautiful and sexy waitresses. Their menu includes hamburgers, chicken wings, sandwiches and a whole lot more.

And as the Hooters Manila management points out, the girls of Hooters are for your eyes only.

I think I’ll invite my friends to visit Hooters Manila one of these days. I have yet to see what Filipina Hooters girls look like. If you have been there already, I’d be happy to hear your review!

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Last Saturday, I went out with my long lost friends (whom I haven’t met for two years now) to Star City Manila. We were actually there to have our reunion and get together after all it has been a while since we went out. So we were there at Star City’s Snow World and I must say it’s one of the most memorable get-togethers ever!

Fees
With temperatures way below freezing (minus 15 degrees Celsius), the 160 Peso entrance fee is worth it. There was real snow falling (though it looks more of a snow storm to me than what we actually see on TV).

Bring a jacket!
They say that you don’t need to bring a jacket because they will provide you with one but we were all wrong. It was so cold that we could barely stand it. If ever you bring your friends or family to the place try to bring an extra jacket, a pair of gloves plus a face mask to cover your nose.

Attractions
So what will you see inside? Aside from falling snow there were ice sculptures plus slides. It was absolutely fun. But by the time we went out of the place we were all shaking, my hands and feet were both numb. Hahaha! Overall it was really one of a kind experience which you could only see in countries which have winter. I recommend you guys to go there too and enjoy!

Already been there or have a question in mind? Feel free to ask or share by posting a comment.

*Image source: Blogwerx.net

Image Source: Chris-Pix

Here is the official list of ticket prices in Peso, courtesy of TicketNet

I’m a huge fan of this band and if I have much money to spare on that day I’ll go see the concert!

The TriNoma – the newest Ayala mall in QC has been generating tremendous amount of buzz since its soft-opening last May. After my first time visiting it 3 weeks ago, I could definitely say that it is truly a “must-see” after all its very unique compared to other malls in the country.

Now take a look from the inside below. We have a very nice park (yep, that’s inside the mall) with matching fountains where you could go out with your girl, spend romantic moments together. These are what women ask from a guy – a romantic, memorable place where she could cherish every second with you.

Now here is a photo from TriNoma’s Activity Center. Though the mall is still in it’s soft-opening stage, there are already several places to go to. The activity center has the most shops around. It is basically the center of the mall where you could find restaurants, shops and cinemas.

The succeeding photos are teaser in-depth photos of what is more to see of the mall. Thanks to my best buddy, he was very kind enough to share to me these amazing photos for Pinoy Guy Guide.

Trinoma’s side stores

An Adidas store inside the Mall

Still a few months away from the Grand Opening this December, the Trinoma already proves to be another worthwhile addition among the places in Manila to take your date.

Now remember SM City Annex? Take a look at it now. The encircled red area is where it used to be. Now it has fallen to rubbles.

SM City North Edsa indeed demolished the SM City Annex in a matter of 2 months. That is because they are preparing for a head-to-head battle with the newest mall – the TriNoma, which is an Ayala mall sitting just beside SM North Edsa and is just a few months away from being completed.

It is indeed a very tough competition for the SM’s first and most profitable supermall. They are in extreme “Panic” mode now that they demolished SM Annex and they are now building a new Annex. They are not satisfied with mere renovation… SM, being on Red Alert threat from Trinoma, demolished the entire annex to build a better annex which is rumored to feature the second “IMAX” theater of the country.

Meanwhile just across the street, TriNoma (which stands for Triangle North Mall) is about to open their flagship department store, Landmark come May 2007

As you could see from the above photo (sorry it’s not that clear), the TriNoma, which is also a huge mall made a very wise decision. They connected their main building to MRT (a strategy that SM North missed out).

On the other hand, SM, being the number one mall in the country just cannot let anyone stand their way. They are always ready to face competition. As such they removed their parking area and phased-out the Supersale club. As a result? A new building called “The Block”

The Block is one of their answers to TriNoma’s challenge. It is very high-class and contains signature brands that only rich kids could buy. The new building contains rare shops that you couldn’t find in any ordinary SM Supermall. Here is what “The Block” looks from the inside

Astounding right? Well what about their main building?

The main building is undergoing major renovations. As SM would like to call it, the entire supermall is undergoing “Redevelopment”. Though I don’t think they would demolish the main building, what they are doing is that they are renovating the entire structure inside in order to come up with something similar to “The Block”. A few months from now and the main building would also turn into something like this:

As the day passes by The TriNoma is starting to look better and better. I hear that the inside of the Trinoma would contain state-of-the art architecture, hanging gardens and the like. They have prepared so much in challenging SM. They have even opened new roads leading to their mall. Anyway this is the side view of the Trinoma

I couldn’t take a front photo of the mall since it is still under construction. It’s front is on the side of Agham Road near Mindanao Avenue.

On May 2007 TriNoma will have a soft opening of their department store and supermarket named Landmark. The grand opening will be December 2007 – just in time for Christmas! I couldn’t wait what these two malls would look like after the constructions are over.

The fight between Ayala’s Trinoma and Sy’s SM is just about to start. It is indeed a Battle of the Malls. No matter who turns out to be number one in this very stiff competition, at the end of the day it is still us, the consumers who win. Because now we have a choice! A choice where we could get the best value out of our hard-earned money.

So let the battle begin…