Last Saturday, after having lunch at Osaka Ohsho in SM Megamall Fashion Hall, we followed Berylle of itsberyllicious.com to Made in Candy. She was invited to learn about the store and experience the art of candy-making hands-on. Since we were with her, we were welcomed by Darlene from the marketing team to also join in the fun at The Candy Kitchen. 🙂 Yay!
Visiting Made in Candy in the Philippines was like me being transported back to Takashimaya (Ngee Ann City) in Singapore. 😛 Almost once a month in the years I worked in SG, I’d go to the ground floor of this mall along Orchard Road to discover new tasty treats. Each visit won’t feel complete without witnessing how Made in Candy candymen / chefs make candies. It’s always an awesome sight! After the live show, they would give away free samples of the candies with such cute colors and designs. Every piece of candy turns out to be different and unique. See how they work their magic to titillate your senses through a curio-invoking performance here:
With that cool presentation, I thought it would be quite unlikely for passersby, especially kids, not to gawk in front of the counter or at least take a quick look. How they toss and roll candy from large thick rolls into tiny bite-sized bits and manage to perfectly make the patterned designs and words is utterly amazing.
Our Turn to Experience Making Candy in Made in Candy’s Kitchen
It’s good to begin with an end in mind, right? Right! So that’s we did foremost. 🙂 One of the candymen drew this image of grapes on a short bond paper and posted it on the wall, to guide us and keep us inspired to finish the design for the candy:
The second step was to mix sugar and water to form the sugar solution, which was stirred until the sugar dissolved. We waited about 15-20 minutes for the mixture to reach a full boil. A candy thermometer was used to ensure a perfect set. The taste of the candy would not be improved by overcooking.
Meanwhile, we put on double gloves so we wouldn’t burn when we touch and work on the candy dough later. I thought that wearing gloves also serves to prevent us from making fingerprints or hand marks on the dough.
BerylleSumi of thepurpledoll.net
When the mixture reached the right temperature, the candyman poured the warm melted sugar into a hot table and made it into a “candy dough.” He stirred in the extract and put food coloring: white for the background of the candy design, violet for the grapes and the candy outline, and brown for the stem of the grapes.
Note: I was also wearing gloves so from this point onwards, I could not anymore hold the camera and take pictures to capture the succeeding procedure. Whaha. 對不起! *^_^*
Moving on, the fourth step was to “shape” the candy dough by rolling it repeatedly, pulling, stretching and cutting them, twirling, and finally putting them together into the proper formation. This part looked easy when I was only an observer. Now that I experienced it myself, I must say that it’s also challenging, especially when you don’t want it to be mediocre work.
The dough felt hot (even with our gloves on), a bit sticky and heavy. We rolled it again and again until it became as thin as a human’s finger. The candyman chopped the 4-kg candy dough into smaller pieces with a VERY sharp knife VERY quickly like a real expert. In my mind, I was praying for him not to cut himself. After chopping everything, he used a strainer to sort out the candy dust which almost looked like powder.
Here’s the result…
OMG! We could not believe our eyes when we saw the grape image on the candies. When asked how many pieces of candies were made out of the 4-kg candy dough, the answer was uncertain. Counting the pieces one by one will take a lot of time. To package the candies, they weigh them on a weighing scale and then seal the jar or the bag accordingly.
Example
There were some deformities which were products of us probably not being too careful (or adept) in placing the doughs of candy together. 🙁
As much as possible, wastes should be kept to a minimum. Some of the deformed candies and ends of the candy dough were reheated and remodeled into other shapes, which eventually became lollipops:
Me and Stacy of tsinoyfoodies.com
Review of Made in Candy Philippines (SM Megamall, Mandaluyong)
Ambiance: ★★★★★
Made In Candy’s open kitchen resembles a miniature candy factory. The candymen’s showmanship is not only a way of entertainment or a way of catching attention, but it’s also a form of assurance that the candies sold are mostly freshly made. The store’s ambiance was pretty lively and creatively designed. The assorted candies displayed for sale double up as upbeat, eye-catching decorations for the walls. I loved the vibrant colors all around. 🙂
Service: ★★★★★
Upon entering the shop, we were approached with warm greetings by the attending staff. She was friendly and kind to be offering free samples of different flavors of candies for tasting to everyone. All our questions about candy-making and inquiries on the products were answered well.
Food: ★★★★★
The candies didn’t really taste super fantastic although it’s different from other artificially-flavored candies. Their best-selling design/flavor is the mixed berry, then watermelon, lychee, and strawberry.
The 5/5 rating I gave is for the uniqueness and ingenuity of the product line as a whole. Made in Candy is not only a retail store when you can buy candies in jars or pouches. It also accepts custom-made orders. For instance, you can request to have your company’s logo, initials, and any drawing to be incorporated into the candy design. The customized candies are great for gifts, giveaways, or souvenir items for birthday parties, weddings, and corporate events.
Price for Value: ★★★★☆
Prices of candies are as follows:
I normally would not pay so much for a regular packet of sweets that don’t taste phenomenal. However, given that the design, packaging, and overall presentation of these candies from Made in Candy are just so good, I thought the prices are fair and the items have good value.
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Other branches of Made in Candy in the Philippines:
Powerplant Rockwell – 2/F Power Plant Mall, Amorsolo Drive, Rockwell Center, Makati
Alabang Town Center- New Wing, Alabang Town Center
Glorietta 4- 3rd Level, Glorietta 4, Makati
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