Earlier today, we visited The Garage – it’s a newly opened Food Park and VR Zone at the City of Dreams. It just opened last October 14, 2018!
It is located at the Upper Ground floor of City of Dreams, near DreamPlay. It used to be part of the parking area, but they decided to convert it to an area that will be more accessible to everybody, at a more family and barkada-friendly price point. And you all know how much I love that PARKING IS FREE!!!
THE GARAGE
The Garage is an air-conditioned space with modern industrial interiors designed by award-winning Paris-based Malherbe Design in collaboration with Westar Architectural Interior Design. Graffiti artwork are by Kookoo Ramos and Deejae Paeste.
I love the simple, backyard feel, but at the same time, I appreciate the bright lighting and the cool airconditioning! 🙂
There are different seating areas scattered around the 2,714 sqm space. I like that there’s something for everbody, even in the seating! They have bistro type seating, they have bar stools, they have picnic tables, they have sofas. Seating capacity is 563.
THE FOOD
The Garage will have 10 food and beverage outlets. These have been carefully curated by the COD F&B team. I really like this mix – there are rice meals for the rice lovers, there’s ramen, there’s pizza, they have Mexican street food, they will have hotdogs and ice cream, and they have drinks – the healthy kind, the alcoholic kind, and the caffeine kind 😀 You can bring your whole family here or hang out here with all your friends, and everyone will be able to find something they like.
- El Chupacabra
- Farmacy – opening soon
- Hokkaido Ramen Santouka
- Katsu Sora
- Little Flour (Wildflour’s younger sister) – opening soon
- Pink’s Hotdog – opening soon
- Pizza Grigliata
- Chocol8
- Juiced
- The Roaster
Here are some of the menus so you can get an idea of the price range:
We tried some of the dishes from the different outlets. All of them are above average but the pizzas from Pizza Grigliata are really scrumptious! They’re the ones I like best and will go back for next time. The broth from Hokkaido Ramen Santouka’s ramen was also quite good and I drank every drop!
VIRTUAL REALITY ZONE – woohoo MARIO KART!
The Garage’s VR Zone was produced by Japan’s Bandai Namco Amusement. Anybody who’s into even a little bit of gaming will have heard of them 🙂
They have three VR games available: Mario Kart, Ski Rodeo, and Hospital Horror.
Mario Kart Arcade GP VR
This is a racing game, and for me, the most fun one out of the three. You play either as Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach or Yoshi, and you raise your hands to catch or throw hammers, balloons or bananas. It’s actually quite immersive!
I played this. I wore these things on my hands. Sorry about the blurry photos, it was difficult to take pics while wearing all this 😀
They also gave me this eye/face mask thing, I’m assuming for hygiene purposes, and it’s worn under the VR goggles.
I wasn’t able to get a video of me playing, but here’s a video of my friends Bettina and Iris:
Ski Rodeo
This is a downhill skiing simulator. Make sure to wear flat shoes if you plan to play this so you don’t accidentally lose your balance and trip. They did have crocs for me to change into since I was wearing wedge sandals.
Hospital Escape Terror
I wasn’t able to play this game because the others were scared! An earlier group of 4 were able to play but I couldn’t find a game companion for my round 
Anyway, those who were able to play told me that the four of them were basically restrained in a wheelchair, moving through a horror hospital, and that they should try to avoid getting killed. The objective is for all four to escape the hospital alive. If one of the participant dies, all participants will be executed. It’s not for the faint of heart. In any case, the staff are all trained in first aid, and medics are on duty at all times.
VR ZONE PRICES
The prices are a bit steep for 2-5 minutes of game time, but it’s fun! Try it at least once 🙂
Tip: Play before eating, try not to play on a full stomach 😀
SUMMARY
This is a great place to hang out with the family – there is a good selection of food & beverage available and there’s something for everybody. Those who want to play VR can do so, while the others can continue to enjoy their meal, or talk… It’s also a good landing zone / meeting place just in case you want to separate for a while and do your own thing – some might want to gamble in the casino, the younger ones might want to go to DreamPlay, and some might want to stay and enjoy the VR Zone.
I am really happy that City of Dreams opened a more casual place for people who just want to chill. Often when we get the notion to visit the casino, it’s usually after dinner. So we’re in that state where we don’t want to eat a full meal but just maybe want a light snack at midnight that’s not too heavy on the pocket. So now there’s a place in CoD for that! I was kind of sad when they did away with the midnight buffet at the Hyatt because that’s where we used to end up 
The Garage opens at 10 AM and closes at 2AM. I see myself heading here if I find myself in the area but don’t feel like going home yet, maybe while waiting for traffic to subside, or coming here early to wait before picking someone up from the airport, but most likely, it’s coming in for a night cap after seeing a movie nearby. Parking is free and easy – that’s really a big selling point for me. FYI, they also have FREE WIFI! 🙂
#TheGarageatCOD #VRZoneCOD #GamesGastroGalore #VRZone
