Chef Happy Ongpauco-Tiu’s Dear Happy Halo-Halo cools down Manila
MANILA, Philippines — Just in time for battling the extreme heat this summer, Dear Happy, the new dessert bar of celebrity chef Happy Ongpauco-Tiu, has finally reached Manila from Boracay.
Dear Happy had a pop-up store at the recent launch of “Rustan's Summer: A State of Mind” in Rustan’s Makati last week.
The store gave away free Halo-Halo to merrymakers. On top of usual ingredients like sago and gulaman, the Halo-Halo was capped with real purple yam ice cream and cotton candy spun on-the-spot.
Prior to the launch, Ongpauco-Tiu told Philstar.com in an interview that Dear Happy is her new “upscale Filipino dessert bar” she launched in Boracay.
“Imagine Sapin-Sapin in Mochi or instead of the usual Mais Con Hielo, it’s Maja Blanca con Hielo. I have Bingsu Buko Pandan, I mean, happy take on the Filipino dessert. I opened one in Boracay but I plan to expand it in Manila also,” Happy shared in an exclusive interview with Philstar.com.
Happy owns the Happy Concept Group, which also has under its helm the restaurants Pamana, Tsokolateria, Bento Box, I Love Backyard BBQ, The Orinal Hawaiian BBQ, World Topps, Happy Platters, catering and private dining, The Boutique Bed & Breakfast, and the upscale entertaining line Happy Home. — Photos, video by Deni Rose M. Afinidad-Bernardo; video editing by Martin Ramos
RELATED: How Happy Ongpauco-Tiu made it on her own outside of parents’ Barrio Fiesta
