GMovies App: Convenience at Your Fingertips

I had the GMovies app for several months now.  But I only use it to view movie schedules on various cinemas.  It was just yesterday when I fully utilize its feature, that is buying movie tickets using my mobile phone, a real convenience at your fingertips.

GMovies is powered by Globe.  Even if it is under Ayala Group of companies, you will see movie schedules on various cinemas around the metro and even key cities around the Philippines like Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Pampanga and many others.  But unfortunately, at this time, you can only buy tickets on cinemas managed by the Ayala Malls Group.  But I don't think one has to worry about it since Ayala Malls has been continually expanding all over the Philippines.  They have Marquee Mall in Pampanga, Harbour Point in Subic, Ayala Center in Cebu, Abreeza Mall in Davao and Centrio Mall in Cagayan de Oro.

The GMovies app enables user to browse movie schedules currently on showing with a brief synopsis and even movie rating from rotten tomatoes.  Users can also view nearest cinema on their current location.

Yesterday, we decided to watch Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy.  Knowing its Metro Manila Film Festival season (meaning long queues in buying tickets and possibility of seats to be sold out fast), we decided to purchase tickets online.  Our choice of cinema was Glorietta as it is the nearest to my place.  I used to have a Sure Seats account, where you can reserve tickets and just pay upon arrival on the cinema (managed by Ayala malls) but I already forgot my credentials there so I tried buying tickets using GMovies app.  Here's what I did.

1. Select the movie of your choice. Click the Showtimes button. The list of nearby cinemas will be shown.

2. Select your preferred cinema.  I picked Glorietta 4.  Various schedules will be shown with corresponding price.  In case of our preferred movie, it is available in Cinema 3 and 4 in Glorietta.

3. Select your prefered schedule.  The available seats will be shown on your chosen schedule.  Select your preferred seat/s then click Buy button.

4.  Once you click Buy, you will proceed with the payment options.  Currently, there are 3 options available as shown below.  I read that Gcash payment will be available soon.  You may double check your prefered schedule and seat as indicated in the upper right portion of your app. 

5.  In our case, we chose the credit card payment option.  For credit card purchases, you will be charged an additional 20 pesos per ticket.  This is the same amount charged by sure seats for reservation.  Input your email address on the pop up screen then you will be directed to Peso Pay payment facility.

6.  At the Peso Pay payment facility, you will be asked to choose between Visa or Master Card payment.  Once you have chosen any of these, you will then input your credit card details.

7.   You are done!  A payment confirmation will be shown on your screen once done.  Since this is my first transaction using this app, I just screen grabbed the payment confirmation.  I checked my email and there was no email yet, but a got it on a later time.

When I received the email, there were some instructions there on how to claim the tickets.    Specifically for credit card transactions, one must print the email confirmation and bring the card card used for the payment.  But since I don't have printer at home, I'm hopeful that presenting the email from my mobile will suffice.

Upon arriving at Glorietta, since I am familiar with Sure Seats transaction, we fall in line at the Sure Seats counter.  The lady asked me to log in my credentials at Sure Seats website but I told her I made transactions using GMovies so she told me to just go directly in the cinema to get our tickets.  Wow, what a convenience, I thought.

At the cinema, the lady at the entrance was asking for the print out but I told her I don't have it and asked where can I print it.  She told me I can have the email confirmation printed at the Sure Seats counter, I told her that it was them who told me to just go directly at the cinema.  I also said if she can just copy the barcode details instead.  She asked her colleague and she said to her to just copy the barcode while telling me to have it printed next time.  Well, that was not quite a convenience at that time.

It was just now that I learned through the GMovies app via My Tickets tab that indeed I no longer need the printed email.  

The lady at the Sure Seats counter was correct but unfortunately, the lady at the cinema entrance may not be familiar with it or maybe because I didn't tell her that I purchased tickets through GMovies.

This is really very convenient, a true convenience at your fingertips.  You can purchase your tickets anytime, anywhere.  I hope payment through ATM via online banking will be available soon.  Besides, BPI, another Ayala Group, have an online banking facility.  I prefer debiting my cash rather than paying through credit card.

Weekend Sale at Glorietta and Greenbelt

It's payday weekend! And yes, it is also weekend sale to most merchants of Glorietta and Greenbelt malls.  Yesterday was also the first day of the Annual Greenbelt Sale which will last until July 14.  The month of July also marks the end of season by most of the imported brands like Mango, Topshop, Zara, etc.  Glorietta 5 also opened its new store, Uniqlo, yesterday so they offer discounts on all of their items which will run until tomorrow only.

I was able to grab great sale finds from the stores above.  I'm glad that Bershka and Stradivarius are now on sale.  I really want to try their clothes if its worth it.  The most discount I got was from Topshop, a jeans that is at 80% off!

So if you're looking for a bargain and great sale finds, this is the right time. Head over to Glorietta and Greenbelt and check out your favorite brands.  I think most are on sale, whether local or international brands.

Watami Japanese Casual Restaurant: A Review

I seldom post a review on every restaurant I've been to. But lately, I find myself blogging about the delicious foods I've tasted to some nice restaurants I've eaten. Like this new Japanese Restaurant in the New Glorietta Mall, Watami Japanese Casual Restaurant. I think this is their second branch in the Philippines. The first one was in SM Mall of Asia.

When I heard about it last year, I wanted to try it out. Not because I am fond of Japanese foods but because of I wanted to try this restaurant brought to us by The Bistro Group here in the Philippines.  This is their first Japanese Restaurant.  I haven't tried all of the restaurants from Bistro Group but I know it will be worth it. Besides, I'd like to get myself their new Bistro Group Premier Card.

Finally, my sisters and I tried it out last week. We had an occasion to celebrate and it was my treat. So it is me who suggested this place. My other sister has already tried eating here and she told me that the foods are ok and the prices are quite cheap.

While we're still undecided on what to order, our server, Jopet, suggested that we have an appetizer first. He suggested the Watami Salad. My other sister, on the other hand, told us to order Green Soy Bean. She has the same soy bean cooked at her home by herself. The soy beans can be bought in S & R. And so, we ordered both appetizers.

Unfortunately, when the salad came, we all tasted it immediately that I wasn't able to take picture of it. Anyway, I never tasted such delicious japanese salad! Well, I only know of kani salad in japanese foods. The Watami Salad have chicken strips, shrimps, tuna mayonnaise as dressing, corn, some fruits, nori sheets, tomtoes and crunchy greens. The serving size was big enough good to be shared, although they also serve half size of this for single serve or for couples.  Cost is Php 350.

Green Soy Bean - Php 95

Another appetizer was the Green Soy Bean. At first glance, it may seem like Baguio Beans only a bit bigger. But be wary. The outer part is not edible. Since my sister cooks this at her home, she said that this bean is boiled until cooked. Then salt is sprinkled and tossed to make it tasty. The way to eat this is either peel off the outer greens or suck it to pop the bean out. It's better to suck it as you also get to taste its saltyness. The bean tastes like peanut only a bit softer but still crunchy. This is also a great healthy snack but may not be suitable to those with high uric.

Self Grilled Short Ribs - Php 295

Next on our menu was the Self Grilled Short Ribs.  In the menu, the meat looks big.  Well maybe because that was still raw.  It shrunk when cooked.  My sister opted for a medium rare meat.  I wonder how it was termed "self grilled" when it was not us who grilled it.  There's no grilling stove in our table.  Maybe in some, but I'm not really sure.  Anyway, the meat was tender and flavorful.  The bite size cut of the meat makes you want to eat more and more of this.  So this serving size is good for only 2 pax.

Pepper Beef Rice - Php 190

I ordered for the Pepper Beef Rice.  This is I think the cheapest main dish I saw from their menu.  It's not because of the price why I chose this, its because of the presence of the corn that invites me to try it.  The Pepper Beef Rice was served in a stone pot.  It has beef slices, rice and corn.  In my taste buds, it doesn't seem too "peppery" but my sister said it has too much pepper on it.  Well I guess my tolerance with pepper meals is quite high.  It is quite difficult to eat this meal thoroughly since it is served in a stone pot, the rice gets too hot and some burned so you have to mix it from time to time.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed my meal.

Assorted Salmon Sushi and Sashimi - Php 295

We also had Assorted Salmon Sushi and Sashimi.  Not a fan of raw foods and sashimi so sorry, I don't have anything to say about this :)  This dish contains 5 slices of Sashimi and 4 Sushi with 2 variants.  I like sushi but I wasn't able to try this.  My sisters and brother in law liked this so I guess it was a good dish too.

Stir Fried Udon with Seafood - Php 295

Lastly, my 2 sisters ordered for Stir Fried Udon with Seafood.  The serving size is quite small but is enough for single consumption.  The dish was flavorful.  The noodles was cooked just right.  Assorted seafoods were in this dish and a few meat/pork were included.

We also ordered for Assorted Tempura (Php 295) for take out for my father.  It contains 3 pieces of Tempura, eggplants, mushroom, fish and bell peppers.  I was able to taste it when I arrived home.  It was just so so, same tempura taste.  It doesn't seem delicious already as it already became soggy when I got home.  Maybe it was flavorful and enjoyable to eat when it was served hot.

The Bistro Group Premiere Card

Overall, the taste of all the dishes we ordered were flavorful.  I would love to go back here and try their other dishes from the menu.  And oh, by the way, I availed the Bistro Premier Card.  We were able to get 20% off from the total bill and they gave the Watami Salad for free.  For 5 adults and 1 kid, our total bill went only Php 1,800.  Not bad.

my sisters and nephew

By the way, I learned that it was National Siblings Day.  It's very timely that I had this sumptuous dinner with my sisters.  Only missing is my brother.  Well, my nephew (the boy on the right side), represents my brother although he was my sister's son.

Midnight Madness at the Glorietta

The opening of new Glorietta was just perfect for Glorietta's Midnight Madness.  Meaning there will be more stores to choose from.  The New Glorietta opened last November 5 with some stores and restaurants from Glorietta 5 and Park Square added to this new section.  Weeks after, Glorietta held its Midnight Madness which is still ongoing until today.  The Midnight Madness started last November 14 and it will end today.

There were lots of great finds in this midnight madness.  As what I have previously blogged about Toms Shoes, I also get to check out great finds in Kamiseta, Bayo, Toys 'R' Us, Lacoste, Cinderella, The Ramp Crossings, Terranova, and many others.  All items in Kamiseta are on sale from 50% to 70% off.  There are even blouses and jeans that are priced for only Php 200!  Bayo also provides good sale finds with 30% to 50% off on some of their items.  There are a few items which are priced at Php 250 only.  Toys 'R' Us have 10% on all of their items.  There's also a free gift wrapping service when you reached Php 300 worth of items.  This is a great place to shop for kids' toys as Christmas Gifts.  My favorite store, The Ramp Crossings, also have good finds.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to buy any.  But again, the brands The Ramp, Possibility, Faith Hope and Love have bargain clothes for as low as Php 300.  All of the items (or should I say shoes) from Lacoste are on sale, even their new arrivals.  Discounts ranges from 10% to 60% off.  My other favorite store, Mango, didn't participate in the sale.  I guess it is because they held their own sale season.  Same with Zara.

Another attraction to bargain hunters on this sale is their mini bazaar located at the activity center.  Just like in any other bazaars, you will find items for as low as Php 50.  There's even an Ukay Ukay at the stage area.  

This season's midnight madness were not as jammed pack as their previous years' sale.  The only time I saw a lot of people was last Friday.  Yesterday, at 10pm, there seem to be a very few shoppers already.

You still have a few hours left to do your shopping at Glorietta's Midnight Madness.  In case you are far from Makati, Alabang Town Center is also having their sale as well as the Trinoma Mall.  So whether you're in the north or in the south, you can enjoy Ayala Malls' sale.  In case you are an SM loyal shopper, SM Makati is also having their payday sale which also ends today.