Penny Pinching at the Podium

Podium

Originally uploaded by gratitude.

At Podium, after one quick survey of the area, I thought we were in for some serious spending if we were to have lunch or coffee there, a far cry from the affordable malls in Cebu. The expensive shops were intimidating at a glance and it didn't help that the people milling on a weekday were mostly high-salaried professionals working in nearby offices.

As we were already there, we decided to have our lunch before proceeding to the office. I was expecting to spend big bucks in that snotty part of the metro. We were at Podium and that was my natural instinct. Off we went to have Japanese food at Kitaro where we had our individual bento. I had chicken teriyaki while Jerry had beef teriyaki. We didn't get sodas and just had water. Total amount spent P220. Not baaad!

Next stop was Figaro for coffee. On our way, we passed by Mary Grace' stall for a pack of lemon squares. It cost us P80. Then going down one level, we stopped at Figaro for brewed coffee. P110 for 2 cups.

Time seemed to slow down as we didn't feel the need to hurry. We sat there, munched on the best-tasting lemon squares I've ever had, sipped our coffee and ogled the people going down the escalator that was a few meters from where we were sitting.

The thought that Podium was for the snotty mall rat or the pretentious shopper soon faded... I came to realize that not everything came with an expensive price tag in this first-class shopping mall. In fact, we were pleasantly surprised to have enjoyed a filling Japanese meal, generous cuts of pastry dessert and aromatic cups of brewed coffee, all for P410. Not bad at all...

Parking fee is a completely different story though.




My chicken teriyaki on the right and Jerry's beef teriyaki on the left


The best tasting lemon squares I've ever had...


Figaro brewed coffee...