Last November 16, 2007 was the official date for the first opening of the SM Supercenter in Muntinlupa. This is by far the closest mall from where I live. Yay! With its size no larger than any SM City branches in the country (I think), who would have thought that four (4) cinemas and a Hypermarket could fit inside it. Convenient for us especially for the people who live along the southern portion of Muntinlupa and residents of San Pedro in the province of Laguna. Located at Tunasan, Muntinlupa, this super center is the first SM of it’s kind as it threatens supermarkets and malls in the area and in 1st district in Laguna.

The day of the opening, we decided to give it a visit, stroll and do buy some groceries for our store and for personal needs. As expected, traffic slowed to a crawl along the Laguna – Metro Manila border a few kilometers away to the mall’s location. Add to that, an on-going road construction on the other lane across Mercury Drugstore a few meters from the mall’s main parking entrance. Reaching the front, we fetched Dad who arrived early due to his renewal of his driver’s license from LTO (beside the mall) and headed to the back portion of the mall to park. Parking’s already full by then and from the looks of it, this is the smallest parking space (based from the SM malls I’ve visited) I’ve ever been. No space to park our vehicle, we decided to park outside just beside the mall as many customer’s have already done the same for their vehicles.

As we went inside the mall, a lot of people mostly bystanders, those visiting the mall and those only to watch the performing celebrity for that day crowd the hallways. Common for a newly opened mall where most stroll inside to look what’s new inside and to cool-off from the days heat. In my own estimate, walking from the mall’s entrance and to reach the back portion may took just 5-7 minutes on average… just for the single floor. The floor area of this SM Supercenter is just 52,000 square meters both the first and second level. I’m hoping that in the long run, maybe after 5 years they’ll expand and add a department store. That’ll be cool. The architectural design of SM Muntinlupa is the same with all SM malls in the country preferably the small ones. Inside, there is this section in the center of the mall where shows and exhibits are held and where people converge to relax and sit on benches. Overseeing the second level establishments from the first level. Partial sunlight makes it through the frosted glass ceiling providing natural light inside just to conserve energy for the day.

I never had the chance to roam the whole of SM Muntinlupa as we went there to buy some groceries. Along the way to the Hypermarket, I saw Silicon Valley, Octagon and CDR-King on the second level. I am thrilled to see that CDR-King is just a few kilometers away from our house. Not before when I need to go to Pavillion Mall in Binan several miles away just to purchase low cost blank CD’s. SM Muntinlupa also has Smart Wireless Center in which is convenient for us especially for my mom who do a lot of loading, for Smart Money and some related services.

Upon reaching Hypermarket, I had a clear view that this portion is the priority of SM Muntinlupa. In fact, more people are in the supermarket than the rest of the establishments located inside the mall. Imagine, 11 hectares worth of space dedicated just for the supermarket. It’s odd though that SM Hypermarket is located on the 2nd level just above the parking area. I like what I’m seeing inside the supermarket. Spacious entrance and the products are well organized. The only problem we encountered was that some products hasn’t been tagged with price tags. You need to point the item’s bar code onto this device’s laser to inquire about the cost. Most customers are not used to this device yet and some children started to play along with it. Resulted to a pile-up of customers, hampering the way of the incoming carts and buyers. Another frustration was the lack of seafoods on it’s wet market section.

I saw this box of Whiskas as I passed along the pet food section inside the Hypermarket. Priced at P88, I decided to get one and placed it on our cart. I thought it’s time to feed my 4 month old pet cat named “Shampoo” a new treat aside from what we give her after meal. The texture of the Whiskas I bought is like that of a dog food but much smaller. Tuna flavored mini-crackers which shaped like mini-fishy is a treat to my lovable “Shampoo”.

I’m planning of going back there to roam around and hopefully to watch a movie from one of its cinemas. Is it goodbye for Glorietta Cinemas? For now, maybe but not yet. Before, I like to travel from San Pedro to Ayala just to watch a movie. No kidding. Maybe I’m used to it since I went college in Makati back then. Being familiar with the mall brings much confidence and a sense of feeling that this is your 3rd home. Wahehehe. Who knows, sooner or later, SM Supercenter Muntinlupa will be my next favorite mall.

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