Hi! My name is Vins. And I’m an addict.

Addicted to sweets! LOL.

It’s probably my only vice. I don’t do drugs. I’m not fond of alcohol. And I have never touched a cigarette in my life. But I am too weak to resist the call of a sugar rush. The dessert is the part of the meal I look forward to the most, so when we were invited to get a sneak peek into the The Dessert Museum, I was ecstatic.

Before our visit, I didn’t know what to expect. A million questions brewed in my head. A quick Google search revealed articles repeating the same things but are not painting a clear picture of what it really is. Is it a real, proper museum? Is it something like a trick art museum? A theme park? A fancy food place where you can sit down and eat like a cafe?

The day of the launch came, and I finally had these questions answered. Turns out that the Dessert Museum is a combination of everything I had in mind. LOL.

A Museum (Sort of)

It’s a museum in the sense that it provides sparse educational bits about the history of the desserts they feature via a guided tour. Upon entering the place, you’ll be given a digital wristband that you would be using inside. (I’ll explain what that is for later.) Once you have it, you’ll be waiting for the tour to begin.

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The tour is done by batches to avoid overcrowding. You see, inside are eight rooms, each featuring a particular dessert.

• Donuts
• Marshmallows
• Candy Canes
• Ice Cream
• Bubble Gum
• Gummy Bears
• Cotton Candy
• Cakes

Each room has its own guide, who will be sharing information about the featured item. You will be given time to enjoy the room before you move on to the next.

An Instagram-Worthy Playground

However, its museum-ish qualities take the backseat. As soon as you enter the first room, it becomes apparent that it is more like a playground-slash-photo-studio built for fun-loving, IG-dwelling kids, kids-at-heart, and millennials, who have a big appetite for taking quirky pictures. Every room is yummily decorated to double as a photo spot with its every nook and cranny Instagram-worthy. It’s actually very easy to not pay attention to what the guide is saying and go straight to the selfie spots.

The rooms are not created equal. Some are more fun than others. My personal favorite is the Cotton Candy Forest, which I think is the most picturesque of all rooms.

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For Yosh, it’s the room of ten thousand marshmallows. Fake marshmallow bits hang from the ceiling, creating a fluffy downpour. The combination of blue walls and white mallows make a heavenly background that are stunning both in photos and in real life. In one corner stand three fondue fountains: chocolate, strawberry, and… uhm… the brown one (peanut butter? caramel?). And you get to try them.

The Bubble Gum Room has a giant gumball machine that you could enter and be surrounded by swirling balls for a photo op. The Ice Cream Room features a giant cone that is carried by balloons a la Disney’s Up.

In a way, it looks and behaves like a trick art museum. The difference is, you’re surrounded by dessert-themed displays and installations.

Food Place

If you’re expecting a proper sit-down dessert place, this is not for you. There will be some desserts that you can actually eat, but they are served inside the room while you’re exploring. I already mentioned the fondue inside the Marshmallow Room; that’s one. You can also have a popsicle inside the Ice Cream Room, a strawberry/blueberry macaron in the Candy Cane Room, a cake ball in the Cake Room, and cotton candy in the, well, Cotton Candy Room.

Each time you take food, your wristband will be scanned.

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Don’t expect much about the food. If you’re looking forward to big servings, gastronomical wonders or culinary artistry, don’t. If you plan to visit, do so for the photo spots, visual delights, and a fun time with friends or family, not for the taste or the dining experience.

It’s more like a giant photo studio than a dining place. At the end of the day, despite its name, the Dessert Museum is, more than anything else, a feast for the eyes.

The Dessert Museum
S Maison Mall, Conrad Manila
Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City.

Entrance Fee: P799 for walk-in guests, P699 if you book online.
Food samples are included in the ticket price.

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