The Best Gelato in Cebu Part 2: Sheldon's Dessert Factory Artisan Gelato

Posted on 11 June 2016 at 21:51

This has been an overdue blog regarding the most searched Gelato shop I had ever done. The reasons are really tiring and I had been trying my very best so to get hold of this Gelato brand but it seems like it is just playing super hard to get for me. Let me share to you the amazing and tiring story of this Sheldon's Dessert Factory Artisan Gelato.

Search Attempt #1: SM Seaside

First story was right after I had a mouthful of the Gelatissimo's Berry Parlava and their Yogurt Mango flavors, I told myself I will check on other Gelato shops as well. So after checking on the Internet, I learned about Sheldon's Dessert Factory which Google suggested that SM Seaside in Cebu City is offering. So last Saturday, I dragged husband to come with me to SM Seaside and look for this Gelato brand. I was super excited to buy one since I had the Gelatissimo's two scoop servings all by myself so to avoid feeling guilty about it, I want to share with him the next Gelato that I had been craving.

At around four in the afternoon, hubby and I arrived at SM Seaside and started looking for the spot. The mall is a huge one and getting to other shops takes a lot of walking.

As per Google, it was located in the second floor of the Mall. We searched and walked and found nothing. Later on, we asked a security guard about it and said they don't have any Sheldon Dessert Factory available yet in this Mall. I got really frustrated about it and ended up going to the Department Store to buy some sneakers instead both for me and my husband. Then we also found juicing machine and bought one. It was still a good day for us but when we reached home, I consulted google again.

On the google search page, it does say that this is located in the second floor just right next to Burger King which we had passed by as well as Oppo and Lenovo shops. I really wonder why I was not able to locate it and even the security guards were not aware about it. Anyways, we will try to look for another time to go there but also I tried to search again if there's another mall which offers it. This time, I found out that Rustans Supermarkets are also offering them. I then went on and checked this.

Search Attempt #2: Rustans Supermarket in Ayala

After a few pages of searching, I bumped into this site called best of cebu.sunstar.com.ph, it seems like this is a site owned by the news company in Cebu, sunstar and it was posted just five month ago. It does say here that the Sheldon's Dessert Factory is available at all Rustan's Supermarkets. I was very excited knowing that there's a Rustans Supermarket in Ayala Center which is just a few walks away from our office.

So I dragged one of my colleagues, my seatmate specifically and we went to Rustan's Supermarket. Upon arriving there, I went into each corner trying to find a shop or stall which could be offering this Gelato desserts. I was a bit frustrated that there was none, as in zero.

I asked some random teller about it and they are not sure what I was talking about. I even broaden my statement and told that this is selling Gelato or ice cream if they don't understand what Gelato means and nope, I failed again, there was no Sheldon's Gelato in Rustan's Supemarket Ayala Center Cebu. It was the second failed try.

My colleague and I ended up buying our Rice Shawarma with Minced Beef. And on our way back to the office, we passed by some Bagels so we also bought Blueberry Bagels. Now my Gelato had turned into Shawarma and Bagels for dinner.

Since I am still eager to taste one, my search didn't stop there. I continue to find out where this Sheldon Dessert Factory is located.

Finally Found it!

Then on Tuesday, while scrolling through another social networking site, one of my college classmates who is my instagram friend had posted a photo of her Gelato! I got very excited seeing that the location is just in Cebu!

I immediately asked her about it and she told me she forgot about the name of the brand but it starts with "S" immediately, I responded, is this Sheldon? And guess what? She said yes! It is indeed Sheldon.

She then told me that the ice cream stand is always available in Merkado Sugbo in IT Park Cebu. Wow, all this time, I had been searching online about it and no one had ever posted it in the web! But then the bad news is that the Merkado Sugbo is only available every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Well, that is still good for me so I asked hubby to go with me on Thursday. I am actually writing this draft on Wednesday, a day before hubby and I are coming over to Merkado Sugbo.

Search Attempt #3: Sugbo Merkado

Finally after a week of chasing over for the second shop which is considered one of the best shops which offers Gelato. I did have mention earlier about going to Sm Seaside and Ayala Center as well looking for the Sheldon's Dessert Factory.

But this has been postponed for twice. First was on Thursday when hubby promised me we will be going but ended up going home since it was a bit rainy and we don't want to be wet as well upon reaching home. So I agree on it but on Friday, I already informed him that we should not miss this since it's already Saturday the next day and I have to blog about it which he understood so we went on Friday after shift at around ten in the evening.

I had been saying it as Merkado Sugbo but actually, it is called Sugbo Merkado instead. How did I missed that? But anyway, upon reaching IT Park Cebu, we are out of idea where those stalls are located. We have to roam first and check every street of the IT Park until we found that area which has a lot of lights and music. I learned later that it was a jamming night as their theme that Friday.

Sugbo Merkado is actually the first and biggest year-round weekly food market in Cebu and as a venue for the best of the best of Cebu. As per their Facebook page:

Beyond food, Sugbo Mercado welcomes merchants providing other lifestyle products like clothing, crafts, beauty and wellness to complete a curated collective of tenants in a master-planned bazaar space right in the BPO and lifestyle hub of Cebu, Cebu IT Park.

Sugbo Mercado would also be an alternative open-air events space catering to corporate or product launches and roadshows on top of regular in-house entertainment activities like food showdowns, bands, shows, and other promotions.

Learn more about Sugbo Merkado on their website: www.sugbomercado.com

Sheldon's Dessert Factory Artisan Gelato

The searching continues as my husband and I had a hard time looking for the stall of Sheldon's Dessert Factory. We started from the other end of the circle of stalls. We passed by lots of food stalls selling barbecues, some are selling nachos, then there were chicken and other meals offered. I guess we had already toured the entire area and we still haven't found it.

We asked one security guard about it and he referred us to another ice cream stall. Since we are not able to find it and hubby was already tired of walking around the area, we decided to go home. However, it was a bit rainy and so we stayed under an empty stall and while waiting for the rain to slow down, I got my eye to a bit lonely stall and it has Sheldon's Dessert Factory signage on it! Finally! We found it!

First Impression

I learned one thing that night: Do Not Expect, it will hurt you.

This was because I was expecting the stall to be as colorful and as lively just like how the Gelatissimo in Ayala Center Cebu looked like. But then I had to brush it off as I have to consider that this one here is just a makeshift shop while Gelatissimo is located inside a mall where they need to make it really attractive for the passers by to be attracted to their ambiance.

Anyway, as I have mentioned, the stall isn't that attractive as how I had envisioned it. And there were only a few available trays of frozen deserts inside their freezer. Unlike Gelatissimo's, their buckets of gelato are just like those of the regular icecreams and I had been praying that hopefully, the taste would be similar to Gelatissimo's.

Sheldon’s takes artisanal to heart by using only natural ingredients in daily micro batch processing to ensure freshness and full flavor.

Let's move forward.

Pricing

The stall offers two different types of serving, one is the traditional cone type and the other would be the one in a cup.

The pricing is actually the same, both of them costs Php 75 per serving.

But what's so good about having it in a cone actually is the fact that you can choose three flavors and they serve it in a rose design just like how the Gelato in Amorino is being served! Isn't it gorgeous?

However, their other franchised branches sells other servings like their Grilled Pita Gelato which sells their 100ml size cup for Php 80 and their 250ml cup for Php 130 but this is only available at the Mactan International Airport.

How was it?

I really had fun that night when hubby and I had both tasted the Sheldon's Dessert Factory Artisan Gelato together although it was a bit raining, we still had enjoyed our cones. I love the fact that there are options to get it through cones and cups and I love the fact that even though the Gelato was already a bit melting because it has been available there for quite some time, the guy who was attending the stall still served me the rose designed Gelato serving.

It was a fun experience seeing him scooped the Gelato in a spade and formed it into a rose in the cone. I love the fact that the price is very affordable and that the taste is good.

It is smooth and tasty. I can sense that the Gelato is not that frozen already since it melted right away after serving which made me think that this might not be a real one but I am not so sure as the setting was actually outdoor, very different when you are inside an air-conditioned area.

But overall, I am sure that hubby and I will get to try it again when inside the mall perhaps in the SM Seaside very soon since we are now aware where the said shop is located. We will never go wrong anymore when looking for it.

Which is Better?

Let me be honest on this review and I will have to give points for their comparison:

Serving wise:

I love the fact that serving it in the rose shape. In fact they are the first and the only shop in the Philippines to serve Gelato from their scooping stations in Gelato rosa style, that is, in a sculptural rose shape.

Which is why, I will give a point to Sheldon's for that.

Ambiance wise:

Well, I don't have to argue on this as the ambiance provided by Gelatissimo is indeed way way better but I guess I will have to check out the other branches of Sheldon's and let's talk about it again afterwards. For now, I will give one point to Gelatissimo.

Pricing wise:

Oh this is way way going to Sheldon's. Imagine the rose style serving was only for 75 pesos while the Gelatissimo's one scoop was for Php 120. I will have to go with Sheldon's pricing, so another point goes to Sheldon's.

Flavor wise:

This is the last one and I will say that Gelatissimo provided more flavor, more consistency with the smoothness and sweetness of their Gelato. I had tasted the Pistachio of both brands and I was more convinced that the Gelatissimo's Pistachio is much more yummier compared to Sheldon's.

But the two brands offer their best Gelatos and I am very lucky to have access to these kinds of frozen desserts. I will both recommend the two.

Check out my other blogs about Gelato:

>> The Best Gelato in Cebu : Gelatissimo <<

>> For the Love of Gelato <<

Hope you had a great time reading my blog.

Take care. Till next time!