The Podium mall expansion is bringing a lot of deliciousness into our lives. One of them is a bigger and more complete Sebastian’s experience. The branch, which has been open since December, will serve as the launching pad for new menu items, says Ian Carandang, super sorbetero and the man behind Sebastian’s.

 

There are seats and tables so you can enjoy your orders in the store but everything on the menu is also grab and go-ready, even the sundaes.

 

All your Sebastian favorites are there, of course: the ice cream, Divebars, Poppits, Chilly Burgers. But there are plenty of new items on the menu, too.

 

“The Fruitsicles are new—sorbet on a stick. You can suck it, lick it, bite it. It’s made with fruit, no dairy, a healthier option,” said Ian.

 

There are four masterpiece milkshakes: Birthday Cake, Snack Attack, Fudge Brownie and Peach Mango Pie.

 

If you love Sebastian’s Dipped Banana Splits but have no one to share with, you can go for the DBS Jr. (Unicorn Sundae, Speculoosity, Nutella Cookie Dough, The Elvis), which has all the elements of the Dipped Banana Split in a serving that’s good for one. The Bonsai Sundaes (Chocopocalypse, Peach Mango Pie Ala Mode, Fiesta Sorbetes, Peanut Butter Overload) are solo diner-friendly, too. They’re P185 each. “It’s two half-scoops with all the trimmings of a sundae, it’s a scaled-down sundae with cake at the bottom.”

 

We tried almost everything on Sebastian’s new menu. Here are our favorites:

Grilled Mozzarella

 

“I decided to use mozzarella as a canvas, creating flavored grilled cheese that’s super stretchy,” said Ian, who also introduced the super stretchy Instagram-worthy rainbow grilled cheese last year. Sebastian’s Grilled Mozzarella (super affordable at P140) comes in three flavors: Margherita (mozzarella with sun-dried tomato and basil), Garlic Bread (garlic and basil) and Ian’s (and Super’s) favorite Chili con Queso (mozzarella with jalapeño and spices), which was inspired by his trip to Dallas. “You can choose to have the Grilled Mozzarella cut in half so you can stretch it with your hands or just bite into it and stretch the cheese,” said Ian. Chili con Queso may be our fave but they’re all worth a try. Add cold brew iced tea (so good!) to your order for P25.

 

Nut Butter & Jam

“I love nuts,” said Ian. With Sebastian’s Nut Butter & Jam bar, he takes his love for nuts to another level—by using them to create different nut butters. “Every nut that I had I turned it into the butter,” he said. He picked the best ones to feature on the menu: almond, hazelnut, cashew, roasted peanut and mixed nuts (“almond, cashew, hazelnut, peanut and a little of Brazilian, walnut”). Our favorites are the almond and hazelnut—in fact, we started trying to convince Ian to sell us bottles. All the jams are made in-house too—strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, mixed berries and mango passion fruit. They’re sweet and bursting with flavor but not cloyingly so. The nut butters and jams are used for Sebastian’s take on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (prices range from P120 to P145). There are suggested combinations (Classic B—roasted peanuts and strawberry, New School—almond and raspberry, Hazel Blue—hazelnut and blueberry, Cashew Sunrise—cashew and mango-passion fruit, All in—mixed nuts and mixed berries) but you can choose your own, too.

 

Ian encourages customers to sample each of the nut butters and jams so they can make their choice. And if you’re not a fruit fan, you can choose to just have your favorite nut butter on your sandwich. Add P40 to get a serving of cold milk—it will go perfectly with your nut butter and jam sandwich.

 

‘Taho’ milkshakes

 

Sebastian’s has always celebrated Filipino flavors. Their sapin-sapin, champorado and mangga at bagoong ice cream continue to be popular. Ian first introduced the taho milkshake at Sebastian’s Vertis North branch. “It was going to be the weirdo flavor.” But it became such a big hit that even Ian was surprised. “I love it when the weird one becomes the mainstream one.”

 

Sebastian’s new line of taho milkshakes has four flavors—classic, honey, tablea and passion fruit. “It’s made with soy milk ice cream and silken tofu. It’s dairy-free and vegan-friendly,” said Ian.

 

We tried the classic and the passion fruit and both were really good. People love the taho milkshakes so much that they sell out.

 

Leche Flan Torte

 

Sebastian’s brings back a classic and we’re glad—their leche flan pie is one of our all-time favorites. “But this time it’s more like a fine cheesecake, everything is level, with a lovely glaze.” Leche Flan Torte comes in three flavors and each one has a unique crust: “The original has orange zest in the crust, mango sorbet’s crust has cashew in it and the milk chocolate version has a chocolate crust.” You can add French press coffee to your order for P45.

 

Valentine flavors

 

You can enjoy Sebastian’s Valentine flavors starting Feb. 1: Matinong Boyfriend (almond butter milk chocolate ice cream with blackberry ripple), Matinong Girlfriend (cheese ice cream with cheesy white chocolate covered potato chips, pretzels and multigrain chips), Closure (Chai ice cream made with black tea, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and peppercorns) and the one that never changes, year after year, Unresolved Issues (ampalaya sorbet with candied ampalaya).

 

Sebastian’s also has a Valentine’s promo—you get two free cold brew iced teas if you order two grilled mozzarella sandwiches.

 

Flavored whipped cream

 

Sebastian’s has four kinds of whipped cream—original, chocolate, ube and peanut butter. You will find it on top of milkshakes and sundaes but you can order it as an add-on on almost anything on the menu. Maybe the ube whipped cream on top of the original Leche Flan Torte?