“You’re in black again.”
This the most common sentence I’ve heard describing my sense of style. I don’t like wearing much colors–it’s just easier and more convenient to grab some black pants and a black top and manage to look effortlessly stylish without all the hard work of trying to decide which shade goes with what.
I guess it also doesn’t help that I grew up in an era where My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy were all the rage, where my angst-ridden teenage self wrote poetry and songs about thorned roses (don’t laugh at me). And then there’s the fact that I’ve always had a resting bitch face.
Although I’d like to think I grew out of that phase a long time ago, I still like dressing in dark colors and frowning.
When I heard that a colorful Dessert Museum was about to open in Manila and I was assigned to cover it, dread seeped into the crevices of my blackened soul. It was supposed to be experiential, they said. Take some fun photos. Pretend to be one of those glamorous influencers. Look happy.
Smiling? Fun photos? The idea sounded like a travesty to me. But instead of acting like a fraud and pretending to be the influencer I definitely am not, I decided to come as I am and experience the entire place as my plain old gloomy self. Rami Malek was able to have a good time at LA’s Museum of Ice Cream. Why couldn’t I? (Minus the existential crisis, of course)
So I brought NoliSoli.ph editorial assistant and friend Oliver Emocling, fiercest in-house model and Carl Jan Cruz muse. Despite our frightening demeanors, the good people of The Dessert Museum welcomed us with warm greetings and all the sweet treats anyone could ever dream of eating all in one place–one kind for every room.
They’ve got a marshmallow room, a cake pops room, an ice cream room, a candy cane room–you get the picture. And yes, for every place, they’ll be handing you the featured dessert. Talk about a sweet lover’s dream come true.
I despise bright colors, but I do love desserts, especially when served in large portions.
Did The Dessert Museum manage to shine some light into our dark hearts? Yes, it did. Our faces may not look it, but our souls (and most importantly, bellies) came out of the place happier than ever.
Those are real marshmallows you see there. Real. Marshmallows.
Oliver loves free ice cream so much, he died a bit in the ice cream room.
Not Eleven from Stranger Things.
Wake me up. (Wake me up inside.)
By Denise Fernandez
Photography by Grace de Luna
Featuring Oliver Emocling
The Dessert Museum is located at S Maison, Coral Way, Conrad Hotel Manila, Mall of Asia Complex. Slots for the opening weekend are fully booked, but you can purchase tickets for other dates right here.