Quina Baterna

The Dessert Museum

I love the idea of going to places just to take nice photos. When I travel, part of the adventure is finding unusual angles to common tourist sites and finding the right light to really bring about the colors of a place. Unlike a lot of people who think the whole taking pictures for instagram is a joke, I love the idea of being able to exercise my creativity and construct photos that I may or may not share. This is why I was quite happy that someone finally made a version of the Museum of Ice Cream and designed a space designed for taking photos! There is so much magic in creating something like spaces built for taking photos from the right interactive backdrops, subtle floor markings for optimal photo taking, color coordinating, lighting, and so on.

When I saw the initial promos for the Dessert Museum, we knew we had to check it out ourselves. With a 16,000 ft property in S Maison of Conrad Manila, it had 8 dessert themed rooms from donuts, ice cream, gum balls, gummy bears and cake pops. It was interactive in several ways: the food, the room design, the mini-activities and the crew. With a walk-in rate at Php799 and an online published rate at Php699, it’s highly encouraged to book online!

Just so people know it’s actually not all easy to get nice photos in all the rooms without people. You’re about 20 in the room at a time so be aware of others, avoid blocking each other’s photos and take turns in closed sections! . . . #travel #adventure #outdoors #travelgram #igtravel #travelphotography #travels #outdoors #adventure #landscape #landscapephotography #asia #portrait #portraitphotography #travelblogger #outdoorphotography #dessertmuseum #art #blue #artmuseum #museum

A post shared by Quina Baterna (@quinabaterna) on Feb 10, 2018 at 5:42am PST

 

It takes about 2 hours to go in and out all the rooms. To be honest, some rooms were definitely better than others. For example, in the first room with the donuts where there wasn’t really anything interactive, 15-20 minutes was a long time compared to the bubble gum room where you could get a bubble around you and enter the gum ball machine.

This room felt like you stepped into the Simpson’s world HAHA 🍩 . . . #travel #adventure #outdoors #travelgram #igtravel #travelphotography #travels #outdoors #adventure #landscape #landscapephotography #asia #portrait #portraitphotography #travelblogger #outdoorphotography #dessertmuseum #art #blue #artmuseum #museum

A post shared by Quina Baterna (@quinabaterna) on Feb 10, 2018 at 5:44am PST

 

To be fair, most of the 5-6 desserts served were quite good. I personally enjoyed the Naughty or Nice Macaroons. However, I did find that it 2 hours of non-stop sweets isn’t for everyone. While they don’t allow water, they do sell some at the venue for a more expensive price. If you’re not into too much sweets, you’re not required to eat in every room. Towards the end, I said no to the gummy bears and cotton candy already (and many of us did).

Some Suggestions To Better Your Dessert Museum Experience

1. Book Online – It’s php100 pesos cheaper to book online than walk in. It can also help you estimate the best time to go there as you’ll know more or less how many slots are taken already.
2. Go on the weekdays – I suggest you go on the weekdays so less people are likely to be in your shots. While the first few weeks were almost instantly full on weekends, weekdays are a different story. Understandably, this is only for people with flexible hours or within close enough distance that they can sneak out of work earlier.
3. Go on the earlier batches –  I suggest going earlier in the day, mainly due to the fact that you have more options for the food in certain rooms (such as a ice cream room with multiple flavors) as they may run out towards the end of the day.
4. Wear something comfortable – Some interactive things are better when you’re dressed for the part. It’s hard to enter the windy gum ball machine with your skirt in danger of flipping around!
5. Manage your color pallette – Wear something that can easily blend in with the wild colors. My suggestion is to wear something white or black, so that you can have contrast with the walls no matter what the color!
6. Be the first when you move rooms – Because movements between rooms are timed per group, being first in the group allows for you to pick from the available dessert options and have less people in your shots if you’re quick enough.
7. Bring a friend – While the staff are able to take photos, remember that their real priority is to make sure everyone is attended to and monitor possible damages or disruptions. Having a friend there to hold you bags, take your photos or even share the other options of dessert that you couldn’t get is a good way to make sure you can make shots.
8. Bring a tripod – If you don’t have friends or partners who are into these things, you can always bring a tripod and use the remote to get good shots!

So yes, if you’re planning to go to the Dessert Museum and pay to take nice photos, make sure you’re ready for it!