Half A Million At Stake in Avida's South Park District Mural Competition

The headline must have gotten your attention, because YES it is true that there's a Php 500,000 cash prize that is up for grabs at the Avida South Park District Mural Competition. If you're an art aficionado 18 years and up or a person that's full of creativitiy and have the ability to put it into a huge canvas such as South Park District, then this is the competition for you. You also need to form a minimum of 9 members to help you with it. The theme this year is "Part City, Part Nature, Pure South". It's quite fitting to see that immortalized on ground as Avida always had that mix of urban + nature element that everyone dreams of having. And if you see that in South Park District's landscape, it'll certainly be a sight to behold!

According to Ms. Tess Tatco the Avida Land Marketing Head "We want South Park District to be a destination and become a venue to showcase how talented Filipinos are. The winning mural will be displayed at a highly visible area in the space and we hope visitors would all appreciate it by visiting the property. They could see it in Alabang, Muntinlupa first hand."

For those who don't know, South Park District sits in a 6.6 hectare property that is properly planned within the vicinity of Avida Towers Altura, Central Park, South Park Center Mall and the busy South Park Corporate Center. It's got several Reginald Yuson art installations already, but your murals could be the best addition to it. You may submit digital copies of it first via spdmural@gmail.com before November 3, 2023. You may read the fine print here!

Hope this gets you the drive to make it all happen! Good luck!

Dining Down South at AKROTIRI Modern Eurasian Cuisine

Alabang is so far from my place that I'd feel overly burdened to go there if it's not worth it. Work for most of the time made me travel there - and before I do go home, I'd plan ahead and make sure I discover something different, something that would impress my friends, my workmates, my family and my own taste buds. That's not hard to do mind you, but I guess there's an underlying notion of it being "worth it" before I do actually enjoy it this time because I traveled far for it. This is one of them, it's called AKROTIRI which serves modern Eurasian cuisine.

Set at the sprawling Filinvest business district at Commercenter in Alabang, this place is known for a small mall (by Philippine standards) and the neighboring food establishments. I have frequented this place in the past as I was staying in nearby hotels, so do expect people from neighboring towns, tourists and expats as well. 

Akrotori is a cozy little place that could sit 50-60 people. It's got fancy - proper seating, a huge bar and a small function room upstairs for private parties. It's perfect for small events and you can even fit a stage inside since it's got pretty high ceilings. They didn't shortchange in design because the whole place wreaks of a modern bistro - added with a look of an English pub you would often see in that region. Ahh I can still remember the few drinks I had there, I was in tipsy heaven!

The Food

The food is exquisite, albeit being a little pricey, you would see their servings are actually large. They use the freshest ingredients - and quality wise, it's worth it! I would never hesitate to take a few family members here to enjoy the food. It's fusion so I think it's easy to adapt with flavors that are used in the west, a hodgepodge of taste and cooking techniques that are familiar in Europe - all here in Manila.   

The Grilled Squid stuffed with Feta Foam and Black Ink Risotto was a good starter. It's slightly fishy because of obvious reasons, soft and the risotto was comforting. Make sure you have this while it's hot.