Eastwood

EASTWOOD CITY

Eastwood is an area of Quezon City that has been developed into a commercial and residential area. It was an early leader in the BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) or call centre industry and that is still its primary. It is an isolated city in that it is further from the main CBD of Makati than other new developed cities. It is clean, safe and reminds me of a movie set town because everything is so new and planned. It is not that huge at only 42 acres (17 hectares) and revolves around a main public space in the centre.

It is not really a place you go to visit, unless you happen to be working in the city. It does have many restaurants and bars that are very poplar on a Friday after work and weekends. If you were to walk around Eastwood, you would come across Westerners working in the area as well as local workers on a break or at the days end with a high disposable income or the well-off Filipino visiting to do some high end shopping.

This large mall always seems a hive of activity. It centers around a large open space that sometimes has kids shows, exhibitions or sales there. The prices are actually okay compared to some of the other areas that ex-pats visit. There is a large department store that takes up a few floors and many of the usual shops you would find in any mall around the world. There is an outdoor area that has a food court as well as some stalls selling gardening supplies and plants and fresh fruits and vegetables. They also have quite a large playground outside for the kids to play in.

SM AURA

With so many places of business in the area the workers have to eat somewhere, and there is something to cater for all tastes in Eastwood. From donut and coffee shops to take away food outlets to fine dining. Pizza, Seafood, finger food, burgers, Mexican, Italian or even Chinese cuisine - Eastwood has it all and the prices are decent as well if you look around.

Eastwood centres around one public area surrounded by restarants and bars. There is a large outdoor auditorium in the centre and a pedestrian outdoor mall where people can wander around and is a perfect setting for al fresco drinking. But if indoors is more your style there are bars and nightclubs as well. Eastwood is home to many movie cinemas, as well as a pool hall, a bowling alley and it even darts.