The Ultimate Dessert Guide: Mega Fashion Hall Restaurants

The newest wing of SM Megamall, known as the Mega Fashion Hall, is now open, and it has been delighting foodies with a growing list of new food trends, food finds, and new branches of popular places of good eats. (Also read: The Ultimate Dessert Guide: Mega Fashion Hall Kiosks)

And for those who love anything sweet, SM’s Mega Fashion Hall also offers a solid list of desserts to try. From cold treats to cakes to even dessert buns, it’s a place guaranteed to keep you busy eating for days.

Loosen your belts as we give you this list of dine-in spots (in no particular ranking) that offer sweet indulgences and sugary finds in the mall’s new wing. With each place offering something different, you won’t have a hard time finding something to tickle that sweet tooth craving.

1. Lucca BakeryDessert Specialty: Sweet Rolls and Cakes

While Lucca Bakery offers quite a number of pastries to choose from, you definitely don’t want to miss their sweet rolls and cakes.

If you’re a chocoholic who likes fancy cakes, Lucca’s 5-Layer Chocolate Cake (₱95 per slice) will easily make you happy. Indulge on a huge slice of multi-layered dense yet moist chocolate cake. Reminiscent of the famous Devil’s Food Cake, their cake is frosted with thick dark chocolate icing between layers and also on top.

The layers are touched with caramel syrup that nicely gives the cake a light and sweet buttery-salty kick. Huge enough to share or for chocolate cake lovers, can happily be eaten alone.

Another classic, their 5-Layer Velvet Cake (₱110 per slice) is a huge, layered, and dense yet moist red cake, lightly flavored with cocoa – just like how good velvet cakes should be. It comes frosted with a creamy, sweet, and lightly tangy cream cheese icing.

Their Banana Caramel Cake (₱70) is also a recommended sweet ending. Yummy, dense and of course, moist, this banana cake has a light crunchy streusel-like crumbly topping, and comes drizzled with addicting caramel sauce.

Not into cakes? Their Sticky Buns (₱65 each) are also worth the indulgence. These sweet rolls are made sticky with a caramel glaze of butter and sugar. Their version uses cinnamon spice sparingly and is not overwhelmingly sweet. If you’re not a big fan of cinnamon, you can try their Banana Walnut Sticky Bun and Pecan Sticky Bun – both worth the Sticky Bun calories.

Not to miss too, are Lucca’s Nutella Snails (₱55). These sweet breads are addicting buttery rolls filled with luscious hazelnut flavored chocolate.

Their cakes and pastries are even better when paired with their hot or cold La Mill coffee, tea, or with one of their chocolate beverage concoctions.

2. St. Marc Cafe Dessert Specialty: Stuffed Croissants, Parfaits, Topped Puff Pastry, Shaved Ice

St. Marc Cafe of Japan has been popular among foodies thanks to their renowned Original ChocoCro (₱55), a croissant that’s sprinkled with chopped nuts and filled with milk chocolate.

They also offer different seasonal variants of their famed stuffed croissants: The Marble ChocoCro (filled with a melted marbling of white chocolate and matcha flavored chocolate), the Matcha Daifuku (a croissant stuffed with Matcha flavored chocolate, sweet red beans, and mochi), and Strawberry Daifuku (a sweet-tarty croissant stuffed with a mix of strawberry-flavored white chocolate, sweet red beans, and mochi).

Aside from their stuffed croissants, they also offer other signature Japanese-inspired desserts:

• Cone Desserts (₱150): Japanese flavored ice cream choices served on a cone.
• Parfait Desserts (₱250): Different ice cream-inspired creations each mixed and topped with sweet choices ranging from fruits, sweet beans, chiffon cake slices, sweet grains/cereals, and flavored syrups.
• Fuji Desserts (₱200 – ₱230): Puff danish pastry dessert creations piled with various choices of ice cream, syrups, sweet beans, and fruits.
• Wa Desserts (₱200 – ₱230): Short for wagashi, these are traditional Japanese sweets that are served in cone-shaped paper cups. In it, you’ll find sweet mixes ranging from rice cakes, red bean paste, jelly, cream, and ice cream.
• Ice Kacang/Shaved Ice Desserts (₱230): Reminiscent of our very own halo-halo, these desserts are made of flavored shaved ice topped with various choices like ice cream, sweet red beans, custard, fruits, and more.

3. Mochicream CafeDessert Specialty: Mochi and Pastries

Mochi, a Japanese pastry, has been a popular sweet treat in our local food scene. These sticky balls of rice cake stuffed with different flavored creams have been enjoyed by both kids and kids-at-heart.

Mochicream Cafe gives mochi fans a place where they can enjoy these chewy treats. Their offerings come in a wide array of different flavors to suit any mochi craving (₱75 – ₱100 each).

They also offer pastries! Choose from their Almond Dacquoise or Macha Dacquoise pastries. These are layered, meringue-like pastries, frosted with cream and a thin layer of mochi-like filling. These sweets are nicely dense, chewy, and filling with a slight flavorful crunch (₱70 each).

A non-Japanese treat from this cafe, but nevertheless worth the dessert calories, is their Frozen Brazo de Mercedes (₱295): a 4-layer goodness of crushed graham, ice cream, custard, and fluffy meringue.

While you’re at it, pair your sweets with their smoothies, hot/cold matcha tea, or hot/cold coffee.

4. Chelsea KitchenDessert Specialty: Cakes

Chelsea Kitchen offers a number of desserts.

If there’s anything you shouldn’t miss at Chelsea Kitchen, it’s their staple Cookie Dough Cheesecake (₱250/slice). Indulge on this New York-style cheesecake that’s delightfully velvety, dense, and loaded with chocolate chip cookies. A sinful combination of cheesecake and cookies, the pastry is perfectly creamy with a delicious mix of flavors that will easily make us relive a childhood favorite.

If you’re craving for something less sweet, Chelsea Kitchen’s Mango Tres Leches Cake (₱95/slice) is the perfect treat. It’s a creamy confection of sponge cake drenched in three kinds of milk, with a thin layer of sweet-lightly tart mango preserves that’s then finally topped with light whipped cream and delightful mango-juice filled pellets.

Not to miss too is their Donut Holes (₱195). This indulgent treat, reminiscent of beignets and buñuelos, are small round fried dough filled with Dulce de Leche that delightfully oozes out as you bite into the warm, sugary, doughy morsels. Pair it with the chocolate sauce that comes with it, and you’re set!

Since Chelsea Kitchen is under the Raintree Group of Restaurants (Museo Cafe, Simple Lang, Mr. Jones’, among others), they occasionally offer crossover desserts from their sister restaurants.

One of those crossover desserts is their Impossible Cake (₱195/slice). A decadent Mexican dessert that sinfully marries chocolate cake and leche flan, the Impossible Cake is nicely balanced with the bittersweet goodness of dark chocolate cake that’s lusciously drenched in the flan’s syrup and then topped with a velvety flan-custard. True to its name, this pastry is impossibly addicting.

I’m secretly hoping and keeping my fingers crossed that they also consider a crossover of a decadent Filipino-inspired dessert from one of their sister restaurants. Called Ube Leche Flan, it is a divine pastry made of a pie crust topped with creamy ube flavored mousse, topped with caramelly leche flan, and then finished with a light condensed milk drizzle. This dessert will surely make you look at ube and leche flan in a new delightful way.

Their desserts can perfectly be paired with a cup of their Illy Coffee, Yardstick Pour Over Coffee, or one of their Harney & Son Tea brews.

5. Cupcakes by SonjaDessert Specialty: Cupcakes

Sonja’s Cupcakes is famously known for starting the fancy cupcake trend in the country. From a variety of decadent flavors (chocolatey, nutty, fruity, tarty) to their “cutesy” presentation, this place has been the go-to destination for any cupcake-loving foodie.

Popular cupcake creations include their Red Velvet Vixen, Coco Loco (Coconut Cream Pie with Bananas), Vanilla Sunshine, Chocolate Overload, Banana Monkey Cream Pie, and S’mores Tart (₱55 – ₱100). Their long list of flavors that will suit any cupcake craving.

6. Bono Artisanal GelatoDessert Specialty: Gelato

Introducing us to the fine art of gelato-making, Bono Artisanal Gelato’s cold sweet treats make use of nothing but the finest ingredients churned under rigorous standards using their special gelato-making equipment.

Some of their flavors are only available seasonally. Their process and standards result in divinely smooth, refreshing, and creamy cold confections exploding with various flavors.

Their flavors range from comfort variants (including Vanilla, Dark Chocolate, Mocha, Strawberry), unique flavor combinations (including Speculoos Cookie Butter, Salted Caramel, Chili Tamarind, Cereal and Milk, Tiramisu), all the way to delicious ingenious flavour concoctions we wouldn’t have otherwise thought of including Taho, Butterbeer, Piña Colada (yes, gelato with liquor!), Movie Night (gelato with chocolate-dipped potato chips), and so much more. Prices range from ₱130 – ₱200.

7. Kool Kids Ice Cream and Co.Dessert Specialty: Ice Cream

Kool Kids Ice Cream looks like it came straight from a chemist’s lab. Their ice cream is made fresh using liquid nitrogen giving a smoky and entertaining presentation as customers watch and wait for their preferred ice cream fix.

Not to miss are their popular ice cream flavors: Nut 4 Nutella (hazelnut-flavored ice cream with chopped nuts), White Crookies (Cookies & Cream) and Camp K (ice cream with toasted marshmallows, chocolate sauce, and graham cracker crumbs).

8. PinkberryDessert Specialty: Frozen Yogurt

Who said that desserts should always be accompanied with the guilty feeling from consuming all that sugar and calories?

Pinkberry offers a “healthier” sweet option with their delightful frozen yogurt selections and flavors. Customize your fro-yo craving with an array of toppings ranging from fruits, sweetened grains, and candy bits. If you’re really into calorie counting, Pinkberry also has a calorie count index readily available.

9. Chez KarineDessert Specialty: French Macarons, Puddings

Chez Karine is a sweet spot where you get to indulge in a variety of French macaron (₱55 each) flavors. Whether it’s Dark Chocolate, Salted Caramel, Coffee, or Black Sesame macaron that you’ll try, you’re sure to get your macaron fix from this cute dessert shop.

When you visit, don’t forget to give Chez Karine’s specialty Macaron Ice Cream (₱70 each) a try. Pushing the possibilities further for macaron-loving foodies, they offer ice cream that’s sandwiched between macarons. These small decadent treats have been widely talked about among dessert lovers in the metro. Choose from their yummy flavors that include Dark Chocolate, Salted Caramel, and Black Sesame.

Their Royal Pudding (₱110 per jar) is another crowd favorite. The chilled creamy treat comes in various flavors and is bottled in pretty little glass jars. Some people have even been collecting the empty glass jars. Popular flavors include Muscovado, Horlicks, and Mango Panna Cotta.

They also offer hot and cold beverages (ranging from coffee, tea, and chocolate drinks) that will nicely pair with your pastry of choice.

10. TuanTuan Chinese BrasserieDessert Specialty: Hong Kong Inspired Desserts

The brasserie offers desserts usually not found locally. While TuanTuan offers addicting baked pork buns, they also offer a sweet variant perfect for dessert or snacks.

Try their Baked Pineapple Sweet Bun (₱128 for 3 pcs)! The freshly baked bun is stuffed with a sweet mixture made of pineapples and custard. The bun’s dough is delicately crumbly and buttery, with a divine chewy base. The sweet pastry is topped with a drizzle of pineapple flavored syrup.

Another sweet item you can try is their Fried Black and White Milk Bread (₱170). Made of Mantou bread pieces (similar to the fluffy dough used in siopao), these small chunks of sweetness are deep fried and sprinkled with crushed peanuts.

While it is faintly similar to Bicho-Bicho (local fried donuts), TuanTuan’s fried dough pieces are soft and fluffy on the inside. It is served with a whole container of Black & White condensed milk. Dipping and eating these yummy fried bread morsels coated with the sweetened milk brings comfort food snacking to a whole new light.

Other dine-in establishments:

Starbucks (5/F SM Mega Fashion Hall)
Selections from Starbucks’ various pastries have long been the go-to dessert choices for avid Starbucks fans. Aside from their main sweets ranging from sweet rolls, cookies, and cakes, they also carry seasonal sweet specialties that can tempt your sugary craving.

Cinnabon (G/F SM Mega Fashion Hall)
The aroma alone of freshly baked cinnamon rolls from Cinnabon is enough to lure anyone inside its store. For the chocoholic, their Chocobon Roll is a serious must-try.

Dolcelatte Cafe & Gourmet Bakeshop (5/F SM Mega Fashion Hall)
As of this writing, the branch of the Dolcelatte’s cafe is set to open in the new wing of Megamall in the next few days. Once operational, they will surely add to the guilty indulgences that will make dessert lovers happy. Don’t miss their Cheesecake and Valrhona Chocolate Crunch Cake.

Mega Food Hall (5/F SM Mega Fashion Hall)
A colorful and hip-looking fast food area that’s set to open soon, this new collective dining area promises foodies a wide array of food choices ranging from branches of favorite restaurants and new food joints. Something to look forward to are their seemingly new dessert spots that will certainly add to the growing list of sugar finds at the new wing.

What have you tried and are your favorites? What would you include in your bucket list?