DINING | Precious Moments Makati Showroom and Restaurant

We were following a map from an old calling card a friend gave me a while back. And when we couldn't find the place, we asked around and learned that Precious Moments already moved to a new location sometime October 2012. After a bit of driving aimlessly, we called them up and eventually found the place. And then My Bibe and I were all smiles when we entered.

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A three-foot bride and groom Precious Moments figure that they rent out for weddings. The price, if I remember right, was Php 4,000 for a full day.

Precious Moments, which carries a line of Christian-themed, cutesy little figurines and dolls, is the brainchild of American artist Sam Butcher that started in 1978. The items are primarily sold in the U.S. although thanks to the internet, anyone can now order from anywhere in the world online. The dolls are made in the Philippines, while the figurines are produced elsewhere.

Its Makati showroom opened on July 2010. Owned and operated by aficcionados who are also involved in the manufacture of Precious Moments dolls, they are the sole distributor of all Precious Moments products in the Philippines. They also operate a restaurant serving mainly -- of all things -- Chinese food.

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The facade of the showroom and restaurant right along Sen. Gil Puyat  Avenue in Makati City.

The interiors and dining spaces
A bombardment of baby pink, yellow, blue, and white immediately greets you upon entering. There are also huge angel-clad figures at the door that instantly put a smile on your face, while on the walls are several paintings of Precious Moments characters.

The interiors obviously scream cute. Even the table setups scream cute! Understandably, however, it's just reflective of the brand's aesthetic. The walls used to be orange but thankfully they've redone it just in time for Valentine's, we were informed.

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Baby colors galore!

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A view of the restaurant from a different angle.

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While most of the tables seat only two to four, there's an inner dining section for bigger groups.

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Little angel by the stairs wishing you nothing but God's blessings.

The restaurant occupies the first floor although there's a lot of additional seating upstairs where the showroom resides. While dolls and figurines are everywhere, the walls don't have the same baby colors as the space downstairs.

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Views of the additional dining spaces in the second floor.

They also have what they call the "Pineapple Room" for meetings and small private functions. Why pineapple? Oh, you can see why:

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The Pineapple Room. Don't mind the mess, as the room served as a temporary storage when they showed me around.

The showroom
Their product display doesn't follow a uniform shelf design whatsoever, and instead we see dolls and figurines in an array of mismatched cabinets and shelves lining up the walls. I think this approach makes the place a bit more homey and feel a lot less like a store, easily putting customers at ease. I also think the integration of the additional dining space with the showroom adds to that feel. Precious Moments collectors must feel like they're in heaven here.

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Dolls. Not the Pussycat Dolls, though.

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10 precious moments_collage
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The randomness and want of any uniform display aesthetic is pretty much evident here. We see products on shelves, in cabinets, on the floor, stacked up -- displayed in any which way. Nonetheless, there's no denying they're cute.

The food
Sadly, this is where Precious Moments fails. First of all, I just can't see the connection between all these cute little things and Chinese food. It's just off in my opinion. I'm thinking cakes and pastries would be much more in tune with their brand.

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Dinner (clockwise from top left) chicken noodle soup, lomi, Szechuan prawns, and crab. Yes, this was what they served here in such a dainty place.

Okay, let's just forget about that disconnect for a moment and focus on the food on its own. Unfortunately, it's still a fail. It wasn't so bad, though; it just wasn't good. The chicken noodle soup hardly had any chicken or noodles and greatly lacked in flavor. The lomi wasn't any different either. The prawns weren't fresh, as it was hard to pry the shell off the meat, and the sauce was just way too starchy. The crab also had that same starchy sauce.

To be fair, I think they're slowly realizing the need to change their menu. For starters, they're now trying their hand at cupcakes and a few pastries. However, the cupcake was too dry.

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The cupcake looked really pretty but it was too dry.

I'm still hoping they'll be able to perfect their recipes soon, especially since I found the service and the prices fairly reasonable. They also offer catering services, by the way.

In hindsight
Overall, Precious Moments is nice place to visit if only for its dainty interiors and cute products. If you're a fan of their products or of such things in general, then you're sure to like the place. Maybe you can tolerate a cup of coffee here with something off the snack menu. Otherwise, just skip the food altogether and head for the showroom upstairs.

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Precious Moments is located along Sen. Gil Puyat (Buendia) Avenue in Makati City. It's very near the corner of South Superhighway and is on the right side of the road if you're headed for Taft Ave.

preciousmomentsmanila.com
facebook.com/preciousmomentsmanila
Tel. +632-887-5252 / +632-387-1092

Official Precious Moments site: www.preciousmoments.com

Comments

  1. I love this place and I love the food!!
    Best Regards
    Miss Margaret Cruzemark
    http://margaretcruzemark.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  2. This post shoes really beautiful stuff!!
    Best regards

    Best Dressed Poland

    ReplyDelete
  3. I don't know if that place is my cup of tea. Anyway, food looks delicious!

    http://www.lookwithattitude.net/

    ReplyDelete
  4. OMG this is such a magical cute place, would love to visit it! How's the food and drinks?! :D So glad I clicked on your comment that led me back to your blog, your posts' contents are info and image juicy so expect to be seeing some regular comments from me. If you fancy over-sized coats, then you've gotta check out my new textured over-sized Viktor & Rolf runway coat (got in on sale of course, phew! lol) accompanied with provoking color-block accessories. Tell me just how provoked you are! ;P

    xx The Provoker
    http://www.the-provoker.com/2013/03/around-color-block.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. cute place but lousy food. anyway, thanks. saw your post already :)

      Delete
  5. used to love those!!

    Jessica
    http://www.jumpintopuddles.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. i love these pics my dear!!

    www.borsadimarypoppins.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lovely pics! Lucy www.tpinkcarpet.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. such a cute place !!!
    http://www.melolimparfaite.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Absolutely awesome, my dear!

    Have a Lovely Week,

    Nicole

    www.nicoleta.me

    ReplyDelete
  10. wow such sweet decor, and the prawns and crab look so delicious ! im so hungry now !!!

    love from the NANA girls xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  11. i <3 the 8th picture. three grown men eating surrounded by previous moments collectibles. PRICELESS!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. haha! i didn't notice that until you pointed it out. priceless indeed!

      Delete
  12. Oooh, I love their interior! It's like one of those cute cafes in Seoul. But yes, I agree, Chinese food is a bit off for their theme. Methinks they should go in the direction of cafes and dessert restos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. but they should get their cupcakes and pastries right. they have a lot of work to do still.

      Delete
  13. it's a really cute place.

    http://mytigermx.blogspot.mx

    ReplyDelete
  14. OMG!!! *_* everything looks sooooo cute and pretty!!!
    Love these two dolls <3
    xoxo from Munich

    ReplyDelete
  15. omg it is super cuteee! i wanna visit too! <3

    Letters To Juliet

    ReplyDelete
  16. This is so cool!

    Xoxo

    G.

    http://georgefashiondreamworld.blogspot.it/

    ReplyDelete
  17. WOW!what a nice, different and cool place!! :D

    http://thegoldenpaillettes.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  18. I feel you sir on your review abt the food. Minsan talaga we cant hide the disappointmwnt esp when we expect too much.. i admire you for your brave words and opinion abt their dish.. hope I can be like that on my reviews.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. it's all about informing others to manage expectations i guess.

      Delete
  19. Wow, such a weird blog post...but I kind of love it! I would probably love to spend several hours in there with the dolls. But you're right, the cuisine combination just sounds strange.

    ReplyDelete
  20. this place is so nice. there is a hint of elegance to it. i love my food with wine. i normally order at http://www.ewine.ph

    ReplyDelete
  21. Need to add this on the list of catering in Makati because my cousin is looking for a caterer for her wedding next year and visit everyone of it. Thanks for this! :)

    ReplyDelete

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