ONE can never have enough of a good thing, especially when it comes to ice cream. Ice cream has always been my go-to treat for anything—good grades, successful projects, new shoes….
In my mind, ice cream just makes everything better. And now Magnum has found a new way for me to indulge in this not-so-guilty indulgence of mine.
With the opening of Magnum Manila kiosk at the Mall of Asia (MOA) in Pasay City, ice-cream lovers like me not only get the chance to indulge in the Belgian ice-cream experience, but we can also create the experience by making our own ice-cream bar from a selection of 18 toppings the outlet has to offer.
From the classic chocolate nuggets and crispy flakes to the more unusual spicy bits of chilli, there are toppings to indulge different tastes and palates. (My favorite is the patillas de leche, which goes really well with the quezo de bola bits.)
It starts with a naked bar
Customers can choose between plain vanilla or chocolate bars which act as blank canvases for their creations. The bars are then dipped in one of three choices—milk chocolate, dark chocolate or vanilla.
After the bar is coated, it is sprinkled with their choice of toppings before drizzled with more of the decadent dip. The result is a party-in-your-mouth ice-cream experience.
THE kiosk, which opened last December, is the second pop-up pleasure store mounted by Magnum in the country. The first one, at SM Aura, was so successful, it was extended for six months.
The Magnum Pleasure Store is a global concept that allows Magnum lovers to indulge in the Belgian chocolate ice-cream experience for a limited time (usually a year) before it moves on to a different venue (usually another country). While the SM Aura store featured the make-your-own Magnum bar and restaurant, Magnum Manila is a more compact edition, retaining only the bar and a few tables and chairs. “Every pleasure store has common elements, like the bar, the 18 toppings, the chocolate drop lights, etc.,” says Andrea Huang, brand manager of Magnum. “But with every store, you’re supposed to collaborate with local artists. Plus you can include local flavors among the toppings, which is why we have the pastillas, the mangoes and the quezo de bola.”
The bars are also more portable and easier to bring around malls. Magnum loyalists, as well as new converts will enjoy concocting the most delicious ice cream bars at the new kiosk, which will be operating for the next 12 months. “We still don’t know if we will be able to extend,” Huang says. “We were able to extend the one at SM Aura Premier for a few months because it was so successful. We’ll see what happens with this.”
Magnum Manila is at the second floor, main wing of the MOA. (If you’re lost, just follow the line that’s snaking across the corridor in front of Uniqlo.)