Cubao is the last place I’d think I’d hang out in, and surprisingly enough, I had fun in Cubao yesterday.

The Cubao today is a far cry from the Cubao 5 years ago. New malls, better shops, great restaurants… yup, Cubao is shaping up well.

It really was just a day of hanging out: walking around the mall, enjoying great conversation at the coffe shop. What made it memorable was dinner.

My friend Yves and I decided on Italliani’s for dinner. It was already past 9 o’clock in the evening, and it was almost deserted. We sat at a table outside the restaurant, at the edge of its territory. Dressed so casually and sitting almost in the dark, we never thought we’d get notice, much less served.

But they noticed us, and damn, do they serve well. We were surprised at the cheeriness of the server to the point where Yves has to ask him if he was sick. Then the restaurant manager went to our table to ask if there’s anything else we’d like. The cheeriness of the waiter seemed to rubbed off on us, and we started chatting away with the manager, even invited her to sit with us.

So there we are, talking and laughing like old friends. Whenever a crew came to her, asking her to sign their time card, she’d introduce them to us, and stay to chat for a bit too. It’s like having dinner as one big happy family.

Italianni’s is not the most affordable restaurants around here, but with service like that, it’s all worth it.

P.S. Their Penne Arrabiata is superb!