Thursday, September 07, 2006

The New Charm of Virra Mall

For most of my "teen" years, Virra Mall was like a second home to me. However, it eventually lost its luster amidst fires, pesky pornography vendors, and life in general. And then it was finally gone, overhauled for a more modern market. Strangely enough, Virra Mall was one of the last places to benefit from the renovation. And when it finally opened, I was more drawn to the charm of The Promenade with its impressive cinema and Fully Booked bookstore.

I dropped by the place yesterday and I'm re-discovering its charm. The third floor it seems hasn't changed, although it has a new face-lift. It's still the place to be for a geek like me, what with all its eletronics, hobby shops, and arcade. It even has Filbars for comic and magazine enthusiasts, and fits the third floor much better compared to when it was on the ground floor during the mall's previous era. The second floor rekindles a new charm for me as it has one of my favorite bookstores in the country: A Different Bookstore. And below it is a new Goodwill Bookstore franchise. If there's one thing I'll miss, it's the exotic foods, from nachos to shawarma. True, there's a food court in the third floor, but food courts have this unsettling aura for me.

What surprised me was that while DEC is gone, there's a new Chinese convenience store in Virra Mall. What was even better was that they were distributing Fruits in Ice Cream, my favorite ice cream brand. And they were selling it by the gallon (I previously had to settle for pints if I wanted to take it home, and the Rustan's branch at Shangri-La Mall simply had too little flavors). The nearby chapel also underwent a renovation, and it now occupies the space where the fish pond used to be.

If there was anything that sullied the mood, it was the guy right outside the entrance trying to get my attention by whispering "Boss, DVD, DVD." Apparently, some things don't change.

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