A couple of weeks ago, J and I were on our way home but we were still a bit hungry and didn’t really feel like going home yet since it was still early, only 6 pm!
Since we had no plans, we decided to just check out Circuit Makati, the new Ayala development on the site of the old Santa Ana Race Track, which was on our route home. I have passed by the Santa Ana racetrack area since it was still a racetrack and have been seeing the progress of the construction on it, but have never really checked it out yet. I know it’s been open for a few months already, but I felt like there was nothing there yet. Anyway, this was my chance to finally see it.
CIRCUIT MAKATI
Parking was free, thankfully. I’m sure once it’s fully opened, parking won’t be free anymore, so if you’re curious to see it, now ‘s the chance! About half of the establishments are already open, mostly restaurants. Some shops are still closed.
It has an open design, which seems to be the “IN” thing in malls now. It reminded me of the Ayala Serin Mall in Tagaytay. A lot of the space is open air – this is great if you are a nature lover; I think you’d be able to bring your pets, like in Serendra. It also saves the mall on air-conditioning costs. On the other hand, it can get hot, humid, and muggy, and on that night, it was drizzling, too. 
However, I appreciate the abundance of plants and little pocket gardens and oasis-like ponds. Pretty. 
Here’s the view from the third floor:
Circuit Makati is 3-floors high, with 2 long buildings with balcony walkways facing each other. The 2 buildings are connected by several bridges. The little balconies with the orange umbrellas by the water remind me of the ones in The Venetian in Macau. I’m sure it will become a prime spot once Circuit Makati is fully opened.
There’s a Grab Taxi stand out front, and I saw signs for a free shuttle service to Makati. Somewhere, I can’t figure if it’s on the side or behind the mall, there’s a kart racing place, and beside it, there’s another area like a big, big tennis court where many kids were doing sports things. Haha, I can’t tell what sport it was and I was too lazy to walk there to check.
I am actually looking forward to going back there to hang out at CBTL or Starbucks. Why not? Parking is free, and even on a Saturday, there weren’t too many people there. Sometimes you just want to hang out at a place where it’s not too crowded, almost secluded, ‘ya know? Appreciate it while it’s still not filled with people. To me, the picture below looks very inviting, because I’m really just an introvert, truly. 
However, security still seemed to be a bit lax, maybe because Circuit Makati is still new? I saw a group of more than 10 pre-teen to teenage kids hanging out near one of the pocket gardens, with no visible adult companion around to keep them well-behaved. I don’t think a group like this would get past security at other malls. Anyway, it seems safe enough, but best to still be alert and keep to the main areas and avoid the darker areas where a lot of shops are still closed.
Here’s the open parking area out front:
WINGSTOP
We ended up at Wingstop because we just wanted a place to sit, talk and munch without the rituals of a full meal.
While ordering our 11-pc Batter-Fried Wings, the cashier told us that we had 3 FREE WINGS! Turns out they had a promo where you get free wings. I didn’t even know about this promo!
So, the promo is, you get FREE WINGS, based on your order:
- 5 wings – 1 wing free
- 7 wings – 2 wings free
- 11 wings – 3 wings free
The free wings must be the same type (classic or batter-fried), and can only be one flavor. If you complete all the flavors on the card, you get a P1,000 GC! Promo period is from May 23 – August 31, 2016.
Too bad they don’t deliver. 
They do have order pick-up, so next time I can just drive over and pick up my wings, or hang out there first, read a book. Gotta take advantage of the free parking while you can!
The 11-pc Batter-Fried Wings is P395, but because of the promo, we were actually getting 14 pcs! That’s P28/pc. It’s a mix of the drumette, and the wingette + tip.
We got the Lemon Pepper, Louisiana Rub, Honey Garlic and Teriyaki this time. Then after that, I also had some Wingstop again and tried the Garlic Parmesan and Mild Buffalo.
To me, the dry rubs (Lemon Pepper, Louisiana Rub and Garlic Parmesan) are the best flavors I have tried from Wingstop, Garlic Parmesan being the one I liked best, and will probably be the ones I will keep on ordering. I didn’t really like the Teriyaki – the molasses and some kind of lime flavor was too strong. I expected the Teriyaki to taste like sweet ginger soy syrup, so the molasses flavor threw me off. As for the Honey Garlic, I expected it to taste like honey and fried garlic, and was disappointed by the addition of the soy sauce component. It was milder, but still similar to the Teriyaki. The Mild Buffalo was just a mild hot sauce coated chicken, no ranch or blue cheese dressing included (must be bought separately). I was expecting a buttery, garlicky, sweet and hot sauced chicken wing.
Flavor-wise, I think I like the flavor profile of Frankie’s Wings much better. This is not to say that Wingstop’s chicken is not good. The chicken wings were crispy and juicy. Unfortunately, I just did not like the sauces I tried, and it’s a personal preference. Who knows, you might turn out to like them! Fortunately for me, there are more flavors for me to try. The promo is a big incentive for me to go back and try the other flavors.
The restaurant is clean, everything is still new. Air-conditioning is cold, always a plus. They have a sink where customers can wash their hands, but they also provide plastic gloves. The sink was fun, you push the front of the sink with your knee to turn on the faucet. 
