It’s only\u00a0been a month since we welcomed 2016, but let’s face it, you’re probably already struggling to keep up with\u00a0your New Year’s resolutions – especially if it’s anything along the lines of ‘being fit’ or ‘eating healthy’.\u00a0Sugar’s\u00a0always been seen as the bad guy in one’s diet, but Hong Kong’s famous\u00a0sweet spot, The Dessert Kitchen, is going to reinvent\u00a0our local dessert scene through\u00a0their wholesome but mouthwatering\u00a0treats – and guess what? They just opened their first Manila branch to the public today, February 4.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n During their\u00a0VIP opening, we managed to do a very quick chat with their franchisor, Chef Thomas Jones Chan, who’s also the genius behind all the pretty desserts that have been making rounds on your Instagram feeds lately.<\/p>\n “We do a lot of dessert which is very modern and attractive to young people,” says Chef Jones – and attractive they are indeed.\u00a0Pretty, healthy, and delicious dessert might be\u00a0some kind of myth to\u00a0many of us, but we’re happily telling you that The Dessert Kitchen has pleasantly proved us wrong. So\u00a0if you’re wondering if the desserts captured taste as good as they look, well, they definitely do.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The\u00a0Booky Team also had the pleasure of tasting the award-winning Purple In Love<\/strong>: a shaved ice creation that puts grapes in the spotlight and makes use of other all-natural ingredients including rice balls, taro mochi ice cream, and seaweed balls.<\/p>\n Compared to the recently\u00a0trending bing su<\/em>,\u00a0Chef Jones points out that they instead make\u00a0use of loose ice,\u00a0making it closer to Japanese shaved ice than it is to its\u00a0Korean counterpart. He explains that this way, it’s easier for the syrup to be immersed up until the very center of the shaved ice without any bit of it melting – giving us\u00a0a much more flavorful result overall. “It took a lot of trial and error,” he says, and we can definitely testify that all that hard work has paid off.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n To give us a more exciting peek at\u00a0what’s in store for The\u00a0Dessert\u00a0Kitchen, he let us in on a little secret<\/strong> as well: Despite their wide\u00a0presence with branches all over the globe, they’re excitedly planning out the release of unique desserts that will be available\u00a0exclusively<\/strong> in Manila. These will likely feature loads of local fruit – which is amazing news for all you mango-obsessed diners out there.<\/p>\n And if Makati’s a bit of a stretch for you to travel to, they’re actually\u00a0opening up to 4 more branches around the Metro in the next 18 months, which we’ll be keeping our tabs on just for you. Just download the Booky app<\/a><\/strong> and follow us on Instagram @bookyapp<\/a> for new restaurant alerts! You’ll even get the full scoop on their menu and other updates, which you could access via Booky even without internet.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/scontent.cdninstagram.com\/t51.2885-15\/s640x640\/sh0.08\/e35\/918122_1681683025403355_1958700410_n.jpg\")
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