tarte tatin

Check out the logo made with Magnum popsicle sticks, cute!

When Pammy asked me to go with her to a lunch with Magnum, I thought another new flavor was going to be launched, so when I forgot my camera, I figured it was OK.

But when I got to the curtain-draped door of the Magnum Manila restaurant at SM Aura’s Sky Park, I knew I was going to regret that I had forgotten my camera (so please excuse the iPhone only photos). 

As it turned out, Magnum was not launching a new flavor, they were launching a freaking restaurant, a shrine to all things Magnum.

Ladies and gents, welcome to Magnum Manila, a full-service restaurant with Magnum-inspired savory dishes, plated desserts, and a make-your-own-Magnum bar.

I do not exaggerate when I say everything on the menu is to-die-for, from Chef Him Uy De Baron’s carefully selected “comfort food” menu designed to complement the Magnum experience, to pastry chef genius Miko Aspiras’ decadent plated Magnum desserts.

What we tried:

Cajun Chicken Poppers (no photo, went straight to my mouth and mah belly right away). Verdict: GOOOOOD.

Asian Steak Salad. Verdict: GOOOOOD. (Eat this if you’re feeling guilty that you’re about to stuff your face with dessert).

Truffled Mushroom Soup. Verdict: GOOOOOD (I’m gonna stop putting verdicts now, because everything is GOOO-OOO-O-OOOD).

Braised Wagyu Beef Cheek.

DESSERTS:

Rainbow Dream, P250. White chocolate covered vanilla Magnum bar covered in dreamy rainbow cake crumble on a moist slice of cream cheese rainbow cake. This has got to be my favorite plated dessert (I’m a cream cheese sponge cake girl). This bright and happy dessert also makes a fantastic birthday dessert if you’re celebrating someone’s birthday at Magnum Manila.

Pink Friday, P290. Strawberry marbled cheesecake on a bed of speculoos tea cookies and strawberry Nerds, topped with a pink chocolate dusted vanilla Magnum and strawberry coulis. Chef Miko Aspiras is a genius. I never thought of mixing tangy sour-sweet crunchy Nerds with cake or ice cream, but it really works; it adds balance to the sweetness of the desserts (Nerds are also part of the Magnum bar toppings list).

Cookie Dough Skillet, P250. P250!!!!!! Warm chocolate cookie dough topped with two vanilla Magnum bars, dark chocolate, and chopped pecans. CRAZY GOOOOOD.

The menu, savory:

I’ve heard good things about the carbonara, I’m ordering that next time.

The menu isn’t final, and as you can see, the prices haven’t been published yet when we ate there, but we were told the prices would be as affordable as the plated desserts. They’re adding Bacon Fries to the menu, too (potatoes fried in bacon fat, aka the best love team in the world).

“We wanted the food to be something you would crave; we wanted to keep it as simple as possible but still using premium ingredients, because that is what the Magnum brand is all about,” said Chef Him.

The menu, other plated desserts:

Death by Chocolate, P250.

Red Velvet, P290.

Magnum Apple Pie, P290. Heard great things about the apple pie, too.

Crown Jewel. Three Magnum bars covered in milk, dark, and white Belgian chocolate shoveled into a bowl of fresh mangoes, strawberries, kiwis, marshmallows, and two Belgian waffles, all laced with dark chocolate sauce.

Magnum Fondue for two, P350. Vanilla and chocolate Magnum bars with a choice of milk, dark, or white Belgian chocolate fondue (how will you choose????), served with fresh strawberries, bananas, kiwi, lady finger, butter cake, brownie pieces, and brownie brittle. Top off your creations with gold nuggets and pistachios.

The make-your-own Magnum bar:

My make-your-own-Magnum bar: the Super Crunch, vanilla bar dipped in milk chocolate, topped with potato chips, pretzels and crunchy chocolate balls with a Magnum gold (white chocolate) drizzle. DROOL. The best part? This baby is only P100. Magnum’s brand manager Brian Chanyungco says that there are over 250,000 combinations to make out of the (seasonal) toppings and dips.

If the toppings are too overwhelming, Magnum Manila has tried and tested combinations for you to choose from.

Magnum Manila opened yesterday to crazy long queues. I don’t blame them, I would’ve fallen in line to make my own Magnum, too, if I wasn’t working yesterday.

Magnum Manila is located at SM Aura Sky Park. Make sure to tag @magnum_ph on Twitter and Instagram when you tweet/Instagram your Magnum masterpiece.