Chillin’ in Greenbelt 5
Chili’s Grill and Bar, the fun, fresh, flavorful dining haven has taken over the world with its over 1,000 casual dining restaurants in the United States and in other parts of the world. Its famous lineup of hamburgers was first loved on Greenville Avenue in Dallas, Texas on March 13, 1975. Larry Lavine, Chili’s founder and creator, named his resto Chili’s since its signature bowl of chili became famous with its Big Mouth Burgers. Now, Chili’s Grill and Bar is in 24 other locations including Canada, Venezuela, Germany, Mexico, Puerto Rico, UK, Peru, El Salvador, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Guam. The Philippines, of course, has had its own taste of Chili’s flavors when it was first introduced to the Filipino diners in December 1996.
Urban food trippin’ would be a lot more fun, fresher and hellah flavorful as Chili’s conquers Greenbelt 5, its fourth branch in the country. Guests are definitely in for excellent services and mouth-watering dishes that always come with every Chili’s dining experience.
Flavorful
Chili’s takes pride in its delicious American southwestern comfort food such as its scrumptious starters Triple Play, Buffalo Wings and its Bottomless Tostada Chips. Mouth-watering staples such as their Mushroom Jack Fajita, Big Mouth Burgers, Flame Grilled Ribeye and Baby Back Ribs are guaranteed to satisfy your cravings with its large servings.
Diners can look forward to a new take on their old-time favorites. The best-selling Big Mouth Burgers are now available in their bite-sized version called the Burger Bites. You’re set to love these savory mini beef burgers topped with bacon, American cheese, sautéed onions and Ranch dressing that could give you this certain picnic-feel inside a resto. The crowd-favorite Buffalo Chicken Fajitas is a combination of their famous Fajitas and Buffalo Wings with crispy breaded chicken breast in Buffalo sauce, served with onions and bell peppers and topped with bleu cheese crumbles and crispy bacon. The Fire-Grilled Chicken and Shitake Mushroom are perfect for grilled-food lovers. It’s a meal of fire-grilled chicken breasts with marinated Shitake mushrooms served over zesty peppercorn sauce, with loaded mashed potatoes and fresh veggies.
The sweet treats are meant to complete your food trip. The sinful Molten Chocolate Cake will surely sink your teeth with its fair sweetness. Its fairer cousin, the White Chocolate Molten Cake, white chocolate cake with a warm white chocolate filling, raspberry sauce and white chocolate curls, topped with vanilla ice cream under a crunchy white shell, will make you forget your name as it melts nicely in your mouth. While the High and Mighty Pie is made up of Heath candy pieces in rich vanilla ice cream, piled high on a crushed Oreo cookie and drizzled with caramel and chocolate sauce.
Fun
“Greenbelt 5 and Chili’s are a perfect match,” says Laine de Jesus, Chili’s marketing head. “This mall is a hub of new and exciting activities. It is perfect for people who love dining as much as they love shopping. We try to give them exactly what they are looking for by giving them consistently good food and great service in a more modern and relaxing ambiance for that perfect chill-out dining experience.”
This latest 160-seater branch boasts of a bigger and more modern bar—a 25-feet long Margarita Bar with 40-inch plasma screen television sets. Chili’s bar serves an extensive alcoholic and non-alcoholic selection of drinks, including frozen, flavored and distinctive premium hand-shaken Margarita’s—which has been a Chili’s trademark. Its Presidente and Topshelf Margaritas gives a brand-new meaning to chillin’ and social drinkin’-way, way cooler than any other drinks in the metro. While techies and Internet enthusiasts will surely love the store’s free Wi-Fi Internet connection available here.
Fresh
Located at the 2nd Level of Greenbelt 5, the resto sports a new, contemporary image of Chili’s seen in their other locations around the world.
“Our restaurant’s improved layout reflects our direction towards achieving a fresher and a brighter ambiance. We have, however, retained signature and familiar elements as part of the global brand identity maintained by the Chili’s franchise for over 30 years now,” De Jesus explained.
It starts with a white and red façade with the Chili’s logo impressed upon brick walls flown in from the United States. The wooden green French doors serve as the entrance to the dining area festooned with stone-finished tables, granite countertops and comfortable chairs and booth seating.
The familiar Chili’s red color is made more upbeat and cheery with bright splashes of blue hues. Modish drop light fixtures, stainless steel railings and the signature giant red pepper hanging from the ceiling are just some of the features of the restaurant. The outdoor dining patio affords diners with a fantastic view of the Makati skyline and is a great place to hang out and enjoy the cool breeze.
Chili’s are also located in Northeast Greenhills, San Juan and Tomas Morato, Quezon City. If you wish to have your food delivered within Makati area, you may call 729-3022 up to 23.
By Marane Plaza
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=goodLife1_feb25_2009
SM City Annex: The mall that started it all

The new 92,832-sqm., six-level Annex at SM City North EDSA is located on the site of the old Annex building.
MANILA, Philippines – The recent opening of SM City North-EDSA’s Annex Building gave shoppers a first look at the exciting redevelopment and expansion of SM’s first supermall.
When SM City North-EDSA first opened in November 1985, the country was in the midst of a major political and economic crisis brought about by the death of Ninoy Aquino.
Despite conventional wisdom, SM founder and chairman Henry Sy Sr. pursued his dream of bringing the shopping mall concept he had observed during his visits to the US to the Philippines. And as they say, the rest is history.
As SM wraps up its 50th anniversary celebrations with 33 supermalls all over the Philippines, it returns to its roots with the redevelopment of the mall that started it all. The new Annex highlights the initial phase of the mall’s redevelopment, which began with the opening of The Block in 2006.
When completed, the new SM City North-EDSA will have a gross floor area of 425,000 square meters, making it the third largest mall in the world.
The new 92,832-sqm., six-level Annex is located on the site of the old Annex building. It has been designed to create an enjoyable and festive shopping and entertainment environment, while becoming an iconic symbol in Metro Manila’s rapidly changing and growing cityscape and community.
The exterior of the Annex consists of a simple block clad design in undulating perforated aluminum panels. In the context of the total redevelopment, the façade treatment is carried over to the Main Mall and The Block. The façade is interspersed by either glass or metal cubes with the undulations of the cladding panels creating a dynamic composition.
The eastern end of the Annex overlooking the park will consist of a monumental glass wall. This creates a grand shop front from which the atrium, its scenic lights, as well as various other retail outlets and restaurants can be seen from the park, thereby merging indoor and outdoor experiences and integrating these two components of the mall.
The choice of aqua suggests an affinity to the other SM malls — Megamall and SM Mall of Asia. In all, a dynamic composition is created to give the mall a distinct architectural identity with a balance of dynamism and elegance.
In the Annex interiors, tenants are arranged along the ribbon-like atrium with vertical circulation provided by escalators and lifts at the opposite ends of the so-called ribbon.
Interiors are clean and modern, and centered around a curvilinear atrium, which stretches its length. Daylight is provided through a series of circular glass cones set into the ceiling, giving the interior a light, airy feeling.
The new Annex’s tenant mix includes high-end retail and dining establishments, a Cyberzone, a games arcade, and bowling center.
Its lower ground floor includes leisure shops, while its upper ground floor consists of general services. Nourishment and indulgence shops are located on the second floor, while specialty shops and fashion finds complete the third floor. Cyberzone is the attraction of the fourth and fifth floors, while an upcoming call center will be placed on the sixth floor.
The Cyberzone at SM City North-EDSA is the largest tech center in all the SM malls, and a one-stop haven for tech-savvy shoppers. With over a hundred shops and tech services, it will include tenants offering hardware and software solutions, mobile communications, Internet, and gaming services.
With the opening of the new Annex as well as the upgrading of its popular main mall, SM City North-EDSA is all set to establish new benchmarks in the shopping world.
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=442046&publicationSubCategoryId=85
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