I'm so thankful that someone's concept of a hobby shop included most of my favorite things to play…read morewith, including pets! Unfortunately, this branch of Hobbes and Landes doesn't sell pets per se (there is another store along High Street that does), but they do have a lot of pet accessories that will suit your pet's happiness. They are pretty much one of the few stores that are sure to have a good collection of LEGOs, which brings me back to my childhood. Although they lack a few of the newer Technic models, the rest of the LEGOs have enough variety to satisfy any kid. I also browse through their collection of board games, since they also carry board games that are a bit different from the more famous Monopoly and Game of Life. I enjoy looking through expansions of Dominion and the Settlers of Catan, as a possible birthday gift for a board game newbie. Aside from all the hobby items, they also have a mini frozen yogurt stand inside the actual store, so you can watch your kids play with the LEGOs while the adults enjoy a few scoops. This is a definite stop-over for me during any walk along High Street.

One of the shops in Bonifacio High Street that I always visit even if I'm not going to buy anything…read moreis Hobbes & Landes. There's just so much to see inside! Almost half of the store is dedicated to Lego sets, which is seeing a bit of resurgence nowadays. They've got the coveted Simpsons model house as well as plenty of Star Wars themed ones. The other side of the store is where I usually hang around. This is where you'll see rows upon rows of board games for sale. They're more expensive than other board game places, but there always comes a point where they're the only store which has a particular game in stock so you're forced to buy it. If the weather is particularly hot or you're just waiting for your kid to finish looking around, you can go to the back of the store and have some frozen yogurt. Hobbes & Landes is definitely the best place for kids and the kids at heart.

Nobody was willing to help. Either staff were busy with their task or chatting with other staff…read more Noone offers to help you find things. The cashier was not nice.

We stopped by here to look for books for my classes, but I didn't find anything that would be…read moreuseful. What I drooled over were their stock of stationery and pens. Omg their selection of pens is pretty incredible. There were several aisles of different kinds and colors of pens, markers and pencils imaginable. I was so tempted to buy pens 'cause they were so inexpensive, but then I saw the line and I didn't want to wait. It's Christmas time so it's a super busy time in the mall. This bookstore also had lots of toys on the ground floor, and art and school supplies on the 2nd floor.

Neutral Grounds is the hobby shop for nerds and geeks. They sell a wide array of different hobby…read moregames. Their obvious target market are the people who really like to play card games or collect figurines. In fact, to my knowledge, they are the sole distributor of Wizards of the Coast. This basically means that anyone who's selling cards in the Philippines basically gets their stock from them. Neutral Grounds is a haven for a lot of nerds and geeks out there. It's also a nice place for like minded individuals to talk and discuss some of the trends in deck construction. If you have a peculiar hobby like trading cards or Warhammer 40k, then Neutral Grounds is your one stop shop for everything you could ever possibly want. From cards, to figurines, to rule books, dice and other accessories, Neutral Grounds has it all.

Very disappointed. Stale backed goods, so so coffee and high prices. There are a lot of great…read morecoffee shops out there but this isn't one I'll be back to.

I grew up reading books. Story books, comic books, history books which my dad happily supplied when…read moreI was a child. When I grew up, I was buying them myself and it didn't matter where. Local stores, garage sales, book fairs- I was always there. I never felt guilty for buying books; I could buy 20 at a time and feel no remorse. So imagine my happiness when Fully Booked finally opened its doors to the public. It felt like having access to something so grand and I knew there and then that finally, I could get the books I want anytime I please. Fully Booked always has the latest and the greatest literature around and it's been my constant source of supply ever since it opened. Tips: 1. Be ready to spend when you're here! 2. Check out the Tin Tin exhibition when you have time.

There is no bookstore in Metro Manila which for me rivals this particular Fully Booked. Sure there…read moreare other Fully Booked bookstores out there, but I don't any of them rival this one in terms of size, and even if they do, none of them can probably compare to the ambiance of this place. The fact that it's located in the south means that it doesn't draw as large of a crowd as the Fully Booked in BGC. It has around four floors if memory serves me right and each floor is full of the kind of books that can satisfy almost any person's needs. There are books on speculative fiction, different kinds of hobbies, history, and so much more. I love this place because they keep most of the book marks, posters, and other trinkets and baubles that they sell down stairs. Once you get to the second floor and beyond, it's all books from there. It's also very quiet. I actually have half the mind not to talk about this particular Fully Booked out of fear that more and more people might want to go here.

They're located at the ground floor and the shop is big and had lots of stuff that I couldn't find…read morein other bookstores like the Canson Mi-teintes for my oil pastel artwork. Service is very slow though, and it was quite hard to find staff to ask questions with. I approached a staff and asked if it was possible for them to cut the board I was about to purchase as it was too big - she said no and walked away, seemingly in a hurry. The lines at the cashier were long and it took time for me to get my stuff paid.

Come late May or early June, students usually flock to National Bookstore for their endless supply…read moreof notebooks, pencil cases, expandable envelopes, packs of paper, backpacks, and correction tape--all of them brand new. The sheer diversity of school supplies being sold here makes it such an ideal place to visit before the start of the school year, especially if you find yourself lacking materials for a project and you can only make one stop to find what you need. Even though National Bookstore's products may be less fancy than other stores, I still end up here because I can buy everything in one go. Desk organizers, post-it notes, folders, Moleskine journals, pens, highlighters, scissors, glue, and heck, even a portable safe! If it's writing or organizer-related, National Bookstore probably has it. Shangri-La's National Bookstore used to have a kids section where you could sit down on the carpet and do nothing but read. I know this because I once spent an entire afternoon there after my mom left me to do some errand and forgot to pick me up. I remember reading Shiloh to pass the time. It's gone now, though. Walking through their aisles earlier today, I definitely think that the bookstore looks smaller. It's clear that National Bookstore tends to prioritize their supplies these days instead of their books, so there's no reading area anymore and you're pretty much expected to buy a book and go. Still, for what it's worth, National Bookstore stays true to its name by providing a variety of materials in one space.

Small, school and office supplies stores such as Little Town are lifesavers. For when you have no…read moretime to head to a mall to go to those popular office supplies stores and bookstores, these stores will most likely have what you need to alleviate your Oh-noes-I-ran-out-of-bond-paper-while-printing type of emergencies. You might even get sidetracked by all the OMG CUTE THINGS they also have such as erasers disguised as food, sparkly stickers, hair accessories of all colors, and their marker sets in all these fancy types of ink. If you suffer from an addiction with cute stationery items/office supplies (and I'm sure they're part of a collection that's never to be touched, ever!), consider yourself warned.

Little Town is full of stuff that you're likely to need for your paperwork, be it for school,…read moreoffice or hobby purposes. While the selection is nowhere near that of large chain stores, it is surprisingly sufficient for most needs. Ribbons, cards and various writing implements abound in Little Town's shelves, among others. The "others" category is actually pretty well populated, and can keep fans of cute stationery accessories and other little knick-knacks happily poking around for many minutes. Serious fans of writing implements (in other words, pen collectors whose collections carry a daunting value) should be looking elsewhere. People who just want attractive little additions to their pencil cases, on the other hand, are more than likely to find worthy additions to their stuff in Little Town. The price of items here is pretty reasonable.

With board games making comeback, are you wondering where you can buy your own? First stop for most…read moretabletop gamers would be Neutral Grounds. Boardgames, Magic the Gathering and other LCGs (Living Card Games) are readily available, and they sell gaming accessories like dice, protective card sleeves, containers for small game pieces, and figurines (for games like Dungeons and Dragons). Some of the bigger branches (like the one in Centris Walk) have a gaming area too! Their staff are pretty familiar with most of the games they carry, so you can ask them about expansions and other editions of the game. If the game you want isn't available, you can leave your contact number with them, make a reservation, and they'll inform you when they get a copy. No down payment needed but if they message you be sure to confirm your reservation right away, or they might have to sell the game to a ready buyer!

Neutral Grounds has existed way before the tabletop gaming boom in recent times, so they could…read moreprobably have a big fat "Uh yeah, we were here first" sign hanging over their shops. Though I've always known them more as a place for Magic The Gathering cards and Warhammer models and their corresponding supplies: card boxes and sleeves, or paint sets and dice, I've seen them gain a little more steam with all the gaming places that have popped up all over the metro. I've noticed that the stuff they sell are a tad more expensive than you would in the gaming places, but not by much. And since Neutral Grounds is almost everywhere, getting a great game from them would probably be easier as well. This branch is particularly chock full of games that would probably be harder to come by in other branches, since it is in Virra Mall, Greenhills, and come now, how many people actually end up here, at the third floor of Virra Mall, Greenhills?

Alright, I admit it. I'm a nerd. Of course, by looking at my profile, you probably noticed that by…read morenow. Figures are my guilty pleasure. Nendoroids, DXFs (don't judge me. I think they're pretty good), Figma... ah, what I'd give for a good Figma. GreatToysOnline has a pretty good selection. And it's not just figures, either. Plush toys, gachapon, *some* shirts, copic pens... you name it, they can probably find it for you. Of course, you can always check out their website, reserve an item and pick it up at the store. As daunting as the Shoppesville branch looks, I find the Annapolis one a little less fear-inducing. Everything is tucked away behind glass shelves and even if it's less hands-on, the staff is always happy to check the catalogue and search the shelves for you. The climb up though might not be for you but hey, I've done crazier things for my hobbies.