Marcelo’s Microcreamery hosted an intimate launch and tasting experience in Makati on March 18, 2026, where founders and guests gathered to explore its reimagined Filipino-inspired ice cream lineup, featuring inventive flavors like Inutak, Ube Macapuno Champorado, Latik-Latik, Mangga’t Suman, Bilo-Bilo, Chocolate Champorado, and Pistachio Kunafa.
The event highlighted the brand’s creative direction in transforming traditional Filipino desserts into modern frozen interpretations, blending nostalgia with experimentation in a curated tasting session attended by media and guests.
Inside the intimate Makati space, the atmosphere felt less like a typical product launch and more like a quiet celebration of Filipino culinary memory. Each scoop served carried a sense of familiarity yet arrived in a form that felt intentionally reimagined—cooler, smoother, and unexpectedly playful. The tasting experience unfolded like a guided journey through local heritage desserts, reframed through the lens of contemporary micro-creamery craftsmanship.
The Inutak flavor opened the lineup with a soft, almost delicate profile. Known traditionally as a sticky rice cake, its ice cream version delivered a light creaminess with subtle rice sweetness that evoked childhood meriendas and provincial celebrations. The transformation felt respectful to its roots, maintaining its identity while softening its texture into something more reflective and airy.
Ube Macapuno Champorado followed with a richer and more indulgent presence. Deep purple ube notes intertwined with the familiar warmth of champorado, layered with creamy macapuno strands that added texture and depth. The combination created a dessert that leaned into comfort while still pushing into inventive territory, balancing sweetness with a grounding, rice-based familiarity.
Latik-Latik emerged as one of the most memorable creations of the tasting. Drawing inspiration from coconut-based Filipino desserts and traditional latik toppings, the flavor carried a toasted coconut richness that lingered with every spoonful. Its profile felt elevated yet nostalgic, capturing the essence of suman pairings and provincial kakanin experiences in a smooth, frozen form that stood out immediately among the lineup.
Mangga’t Suman offered a brighter contrast. The mango base brought a natural fruitiness that was sharpened by subtle hints of sticky rice undertones, creating a layered sweetness that felt refreshing rather than heavy. It echoed summer afternoons and traditional Filipino street-side desserts, translated into a chilled format that retained its cultural familiarity.
Bilo-Bilo delivered a softer, more comforting profile, reminiscent of warm ginataang halo-halo components. The ice cream version retained the essence of coconut milk and chewy textures, reinterpreted into a creamy blend that felt soothing and familiar. It leaned heavily into nostalgia. designed for those who associate the dessert with home-cooked comfort and shared family moments.
Chocolate Champorado stood as a grounded classic within the experimental selection. Rich cacao notes formed the base, balanced with a slight rice porridge undertone that distinguished it from standard chocolate ice cream. Its depth made it one of the more universally appealing flavors, bridging tradition and mainstream dessert preference without losing its cultural identity.
Pistachio Kunafa introduced a global twist to the Filipino-forward menu. Inspired by Middle Eastern dessert trends, it combined nutty pistachio richness with the crisp sweetness of kunafa, offering a contrasting texture profile that added modern flair to the otherwise heritage-driven lineup. It functioned as a reminder that Marcelo’s Microcreamery is not limited to nostalgia but also open to cross-cultural experimentation.
Among the tasting selections, Latik-Latik emerged as a standout, followed closely by Mangga’t Suman and Chocolate Champorado for their balance of familiarity and innovation. Each flavor reflected a clear intention: to preserve Filipino dessert identity while presenting it through a new sensory lens.
Marcelo’s Microcreamery ultimately positioned itself not just as an ice cream brand, but as a reinterpretation of Filipino dessert culture. By reshaping familiar kakanin and comfort dishes into frozen form, the launch experience demonstrated how tradition can evolve without losing its emotional core, offering scoops that felt both inventive and deeply rooted in memory. (with reports from Lau Balocos)
