Ayala Malls and Philippine Amusement and Entertainment Corp. (PAEC), the biggest creator and operator of indoor attractions in the country, recently made their partnership official.
With this partnership, PAEC brings its different indoor attractions and installations to various Ayala Malls across the country.
The attractions, spread across September and October, include Dream Lab at the Ayala Circuit Makati, Museum of Emotions in Ayala Center Cebu, and Multiverse at the Glorietta, Ayala Center Makati.
Dedicated to people who want to have an in-depth understanding of the famous foods of the country, PAEC’s Food Wanderer x Lakbay Museo also opened at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay.
From the previous 1,000 square meters, the Ayala Malls was able to give the Philippine wonderland a good space of 3,000 square meters now.
The all-Filipino creation Food Wanderer x Lakbay Museo, which is a partnership of two big brands of educational and tourism art installations in the country, highlights the country’s various regional dishes and tourist attractions through highly immersive art installations.
Inside is an array of nearly a thousand food art collections depicting Philippine regional dishes, selections of grains and beans, native fabrics, features of iconic destinations in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao with a twist, and hundreds of Instagrammable installations.
Guests can experience being part of the 2D art paintings created by local Filipino artists, capture photos for social media feeds, dare to taste the exotic, get lost in a mushroom world, turn back time and play the classic Filipino games, get creative in PINTAroom, join the fun in the community dance, and learn the festival dances.
They can also cook their own native delicacies in the KULINARYA room, enjoy authentic Filipino street foods, and make their own slime inside Slime o’holic as add-on experiences.
This has been PAEC’s advocacy to help promote Philippine tourism and education through its unique attraction concepts.
“This exhibition carves out a special niche to complement government efforts to deepen the brand of our nation as a globally recognized destination proud of its rich heritage and culture — something that can be experienced through its food and the hospitality of its people,” Vice President Sara Duterte said in her message.
“Through art installation, we are giving our people an inviting platform to develop keener appreciation of our local delicacies and their origins, promote regional exchange and understanding, and remember our linkage to the past,” Duterte also said of the project that nurtures our own sense of pride in food and heritage, and strengthens our identity as Filipinos.
Award-winning businessman Lawrence Li Tan, president and chief executive officer of PAEC, has been the brains behind these massive indoor attractions that both entertain and educate.
“We want to promote a lifestyle, education, and business museum. We learn and we expect more things inside the museum,” Li Tan said.
“We want to give people a chance to educate themselves on many fronts, from local cuisine to business smarts. Our interactive installations will make learning not only more enjoyable, but also applicable to real-life situations,” Li Tan added.
Li Tan has worked with a tight group of individuals — most of them from marginalized sectors of society — that were as talented as they were efficient. It only took all of 16 days to install and construct Food Wanderer.
Congressman Jude Acidre, Philippine tourism and education advocate of Tingog Sinirangan, mentioned that a couple of weeks ago, a post went viral saying that the Philippines is not a small country.
“And rightly so. We can consider ourselves big by the richness of the heritage and the culture that we all share as a people and as a nation,” Acidre said, which in fact can be the Filipinos’ source not only of pride but also of economic opportunities.
For her part, Senator Imee Marcos congratulated all those who are part of the enterprise, stressing that those who help the creative industries of the Philippines deserve all the support they can muster.
To be part of the art, guests can go to the 2/F, Filipino Village of the Ayala Malls Manila Bay.
It is open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets are available online and at the site.
