Its location at the heart of Manila makes Mandaluyong a strategic post for SM Megamall, St. Francis Square, Shangri-la Plaza, and Robinson’s Pioneer, the shopping, café and dining centers that give rationale to Mandaluyong’s title as “the shopping mall capital” of the country.
Transport hub
As the center of mall culture and a melting pot of people in Manila, Mandaluyong is also a transport hub. It lies along the main thoroughfare, EDSA, in which plies the taxis and buses going in and out of the neighboring Makati, Pasig, Manila capital, and Quezon City. Mandaluyong’s main terminal, Crossing, is where to hire vans or ride jeepneys to reach the pilgrimage site of Antipolo, the exotic cuisines of Montalban, the indigenous art culture of Angono, or the waterfalls and Aeta culture of Tanay.
Hotels and business centers
Mandaluyong’s cut of the Ortigas Center includes some of the country’s biggest companies like Asian Development Bank, UniLab, and San Miguel Corporation, the biggest food and beverage company in Southeast Asia. In Ortigas Center also lie the five-star hotel EDSA Shangri-la and the budget three-star hotels New Horizon Hotel, Lancaster Suites and The Legend Villas.
Sports and entertainment
Along EDSA is the Shaw Boulevard Station of the Metro Rail Transit, a shopping and dining hub itself for its adjoining Star Mall and EDSA Central, which cater the blue-collar clientele. Also along the same avenue are establishments like Yonex Badminton Court, the recently-constructed Liberty Park that holds nightly live performances, and Wack Wack Golf and Country Club, regarded as among the top golf courses in the world. Another recreational facility providing world-class entertainment is Club Mwah! whose transvestite musicals are often compared to those of Vegas.
