Gillian Gail: A Sweet Escape

It was around September when I first heard of Gillian Gail. I bought my UP Powercard and it came with a Gillian Gail dessert buffet gift certificate. It was actually the gift certificate that pushed me into buying the point card. Me and my friend kept talking about it and how we want to try the dessert buffet, because I mean, who doesn't like sweets, amirite? We kept scheduling it on the weekend yet it never happened. It was until I saw the ad for one of their promos on Facebook when me and my friend finally decided to go to Gillian Gail, with our broken hearts and the desire to mend it with wonderful sweets.

As soon as I opened the door, I felt a different kind of atmosphere. Yeah, it was colder inside compared to the corridor outside but it was the design of the place that got to me. I don't know why but the colors made me feel like I was a character in Alice in Wonderland. I liked how it was dainty, and it made me smile as soon as I stepped in. We were greeted by a girl as we asked for a place to sit. The tables were full so we were given seats by this counter-type thingy. It was around 10 PM when we came in and apparently you pay only P150 if you arrive 9 PM onwards. We couldn't wait anymore so we started as soon as they gave us the green light.

Tried my hand at plating. A for Effort.

The buffet was filled with an array of desserts, from your usual brownies to panna cotta. I was screaming inside. If someone told me that Gillian Gail is heaven, I won't even argue. I quickly filled my plate with one from each that they have out. I wasn't able to take note what I got since I was too excited, but there were definitely stand-outs for me. I really loved their panna cotta. It looked so simple yet it had lots of flavor, I think I had three servings of it. The red velvet cupcakes were to die for as well. They even had truffles too. I kept on putting everything on my plate. Yes, I know what you're thinking. Wouldn't I get sick if I ate this amount of sweets? Gillian Gail beat you to that. They also have nachos to balance your palate, don't go easy on the cheese I tell you, you'll need it. If that's not enough for you, surprisingly they have siomai, siopao, kikiam and some balls for your unlimited consumption as well. I love siomai so much that I had 10 pieces before I called it quits.

Nachos. CHEESE.

During the course of our stay, someone approached us and asked us if we wanted coffee or tea, which is, yes, you guessed it, unlimited as well. And since they are already on promo, they offered it for only P30 pesos. I love coffee so much that I couldn't say no to the offer. I swear, I felt like the place was made for me. If only they had unlimited pizza as well, or unlimited chicken, I wouldn't be surprised if the place was made for me.

Mango Cheesecake

A few minutes later, we were greeted by a girl in a purple top, and I guessed she owned the place. She asked us how we were doing and if we wanted to try their cheesecake. They didn't have it in small servings anymore so they gave us the one in a jar which we shared. The packaging was just too cute, never would I expect a cheesecake to be in a jar, I have to give them props for that.

Relationship goals.

Apparently, the girl in the purple top is the owner of the place, and I couldn't help but do an ambush interview since I was really curious about the place and how they came up with the idea of a dessert buffet. So I asked her how they came up with the idea with a dessert buffet. She told me that it was actually hers, and her boyfriend, Denise Choi's love for buffet and love for desserts that started everything. They would go to buffet places and they would somehow end up disappointed when it came to the desserts. So they made a buffet focused only on desserts, making them "yummy and not too sweet". Usually restaurants have this conception of desserts being super sweet and full of sugar and they wanted to showcase that sweetness isn't what always makes the dessert, it's just one part of it.

I was also curious about her favorite dessert and what she would recommend that we try from their selection. It was the red velvet cupcake, which they used real cream cheese to top it, not just some imitation. They really wanted to showcase that desserts could be relatively inexpensive yet still serve them with good quality. According to her, her boyfriend loves her so much he decided to name the place after her, Gillian Gail.
So I asked her as well why she chose to add nachos and those Chinese dimsum in their buffet. Apparently they didn't start that way. Around the first weeks of their business, they had instances where people would get sick after eating too much sweets and desserts. So they added nachos to remove the "umay". And then came August with the celebration of Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, they decided to jump in with the celebration and add siomai and siopao and the others during the duration of the festival. It was a huge success that they had to keep it.

I had a wonderful time at Gillian Gail from the time I entered through the doors to my last scoop of Mango Cheesecake. The only thing I did wrong is to eat dinner before going there thinking I wouldn't need as much space for dessert. Boy, was I wrong! I shall come back for more, maybe take better photos of their buffet and this time come on a slightly empty stomach so I could finally have space for their unlimited icecream as well.

For dessert lovers, like me, you should definitely pay a visit to Gillian Gail. You wouldn't regret it. Trust me.


Gillian Gail Dessert Buffet
3/F Oracle Residences, Katipunan Avenue
Loyola Heights, Quezon City 1108