I’m writing a short blog post about my experience during the recently concluded 38th Manila International Book Fair. This year’s event was bigger and better with all 2 floors of the SMX Convention Center fully occupied with publishers and merchants. Entrance was free if you were able to procure and print the tickets via National Bookstore‘s social media accounts, otherwise the fee to enter the event cost a reasonable 20 php.
As soon as you enter, you’ll be greeted by a lively and colorful display among crowds of fellow book lovers.
I wasn’t able to take too many photos since there’s a ton of books to watch out for and it was such a busy event. There’s literally thousands of titles and hundreds of stalls from various publishing houses. This is the must-go-to event of the year for all bibliophiles in Manila!
lol I think this was a local version of Fifty Shades of Grey.
I love this character’s design!
Some cute local children’s books.
We were glad to find that The Book Museum (which we visited in Marikina just recently and that I’ll be blogging about soon!) has their own space in the event with some rare sculptures and cool artifacts from their African collection. These were stuff not included in their museum’s display.
These masks remind me of similar ones found in videogames that I used to play lol.
There were also tons of school books and textbooks on all kinds of subject matter.
Of course National Bookstore had their own area and they were offering 20% off on their reading materials.
My friend and I found these cute hard bound fairy tale books at only 350 php each! Not bad!
Fully Booked had their own space as well, and this wall of little black books of Penguin Classics were quite popular especially among the collectors. I bought a copy of Mary Shelley‘s “Matilda” which was discounted at 20% off. Whee!
After an hour or so, we were getting hungry, so we went to S Maison nearby for a quick brunch. My friend recommended Harry’s which is an Australian “cafe on wheels” and boasts having Sydney’s best pie.
They also serve different kinds of Poutine which I hope to try next time!
Their iced tea was refreshing and not at all sweet. Yum!
A selection of chocolates and candy at the counter.
I tried their battered fish and chips which was Australian Pollock with a really exceptional white sauce & dip, while my friend had a hot dog with Monterey Jack cheese and topped with fries.
Goldcoast Dog – 190 php
Fish Market – 165 php
We went to MOA next for the Coffee Fest (blog post coming soon!) and randomly stopped by one of my favorite dessert stands, MochiCreme! It’s been ages since I’ve last had a mochi filled with ice cream, so we definitely had to try some today!
They look every bit as wonderful as ever! It was too bad though they didn’t have any Black Sesame which was my favorite flavor in the bunch.
The combination of the pastel colors looks so pretty!
We settled for the next best flavor, Strawberry. Yey!
Ahh, I wished I had bought 2 or 3 lol. This brand is the best and probably the only ice cream filled mochi in the Philippines. The price has increased a little compared to several years ago but that’s completely understandable. I’ll make sure to remember to drop by their stall whenever I’m in MOA.
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