The Michelin guide’s 5 must-try Filipino desserts: From “dirty ice cream” to caviar-topped ube

Exploring the “notorious sweet tooth” of the Philippines through the eyes of the world’s most prestigious culinary guide.

After including the Philippines in its lineup last October, the Michelin Guide has shared must-try desserts from “Manila and Environs & Cebu” restaurants.

On its April blog post, Michelin noted that unlike in other countries, dessert in the Philippines isn’t a final course but a “moment” that “can show up mid-afternoon as merienda,” if not “simply whenever the craving hits.⁣”

It also cited the Filipino term “himagas,” a means of cleansing the palate after taking in rich, savory flavors from the likes of bulalo, seafood, or pork. Panghimagas, then, is a trademark for a country “with a notorious sweet tooth.”

Michelin then named “five of the best Filipino desserts to try”—and the restaurants offering them.

Halo-halo

A spin on Japan’s kakigori (shaved ice topped with sweet mung beans, condensed milk, and syrup), halo-halo—mix-mix, or mixed ingredients—also includes the likes of saba, nata, gulaman, leche flan, ube halaya, and ice cream.

Michelin also mentioned halo-halo’s Zamboanga cousin, knickerbocker. Instead of using shaved ice and sweetened preserves, it has fresh fruits (mango, watermelon, or banana) mixed with heaps of iced cream.

Where to Go: Hapag, Cabel, Palm Grill (Diliman), Lampara, Manam at the Triangle, Sarsa, Esmeralda Kitchen, Lantaw (Compostela), Locavore (Taguig)

Leche flan

A byproduct of the Spanish occupation, leche flan is a mixture of egg yolks and carabao milk, steamed in llaneras—but not before putting caramel in first. During the American occupation, canned milk became the more accessible ingredient.

Michelin cites Hapag’s version, served midway in its 12-course tasting menu, and it comes with dark muscovado glaze, kalamansi finish, lemongrass granita, and a bed of pickled onion or scoby (fermented yeast and bacteria).

Where to Go: Inatô, Locavore (Taguig), Manam at the Triangle, Sarsa

Sorbetes

Unlike the original ice cream, sorbetes has a grainier texture because it uses carabao milk (instead of dairy milk) and cassava flour. Mamang Sorbetero would peddle it in hand-painted wooden carts with metal canisters. Flavors include queso, ube, and buko pandan, served in colorful cones and even monay. Because it’s a fixture in the streets, it was called “dirty ice cream,” though it’s always been safe to eat.

Michelin cited three restaurants’ respective ice creams: Offbeat’s is churned with lemongrass ice and flavored with “milk shards” and polvoron; Toyo Eatery’s has leche flan ice cream with asin tibuok; and Kása Palma’s has salted chestnut, corn madeleine, and purple yam with foie gras.

Where to Go: Inatô, Bolero, Manam at the Triangle, Locavore (Taguig)

Turon

Influenced by the Spanish and Chinese, turon is made of saba layered with strips of jackfruit before being wrapped in lumpia paper. It’s then coated in brown sugar and deep fried.

Michelin cited Cebu’s Lasa for its ube pastillas turon and Esmeralda Kitchen for its ube sweet corn turon sundae.

Where to Go: Manam at the Triangle, Sarsa, Locavore (Taguig), Lore

Ube

Michelin noted that now ube, or sweet purple yam, is celebrated for its deep color and unique flavor, as well as its mildly earthy and creamy qualities, likened to vanilla with a darker, nuttier finish. It also gave examples of ube’s versatility: it can be boiled and mashed into halaya or jam, eaten on its own with a spoon, folded into cakes and pastries, baked into bread, churned into ice cream, or rolled into pastillas.

Michelin cited Toyo Eatery’s way of serving Bohol’s ube kinampay as an interactive dessert. Diners crush balikutsa or muscovado candy with a mortar and pestle before adding them to the dessert and slowly stirring it over low heat with coconut milk. Kása Palma’s ube in three textures, meanwhile, elevates it as a silky purée, an airy espuma, and a delicate crisp—layered with sweet halaan clams and finished with Oscietra caviar and clam emulsion.

Where to Go: Toyo Eatery, Kása Palma

 

 

Michelin names the top 5 Filipino desserts to try in 2026. Discover how Manila’s best restaurants are elevating Halo-halo, Sorbetes, and Ube to fine-dining status.

 

 

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