Monster Desserts

This place is located inside the Tanforan Mall next to the Century movie theater. They have shaved ice drenched with condensed milk topped with fresh fruit (or cereal, or whatever they have on their menu). It brings me back to my UCLA days when I used to go to a place called Guppy Teahouse in Cerritos. They had ginormous shaved ice with tons of condensed milk, which you can order extra of in a plastic squirt bottle.
Anyhow, I came across Monster and nostalgia took over. I had to order one! I was with friends and we stood there for the longest time trying to figure out what to order. The menu was very confusing. Eventually, we just asked the cashier and we ordered the large with watermelon, kiwi, and mango (~$ 6). No strawberries since they didn’t have any that day. It was really good except that the ice melted really fast. A large was enough for 4 people. I was a happy camper!

Shaved fluffy ice + fresh watermelon + jack-​fruit + condensed milk = the happiest fat kid in the world!

I think this dessert place is refreshing in comparison to the abundance of the yogurts and cupcakes shops in every 5 mile radius! I like the fact one can order array of fruit with shaved ice and condensed milk and/​or different types of toppings… if one desires! My personal favorite is combination of mango and watermelon (when in season) with not so much ice and extra condensed milk, you know, for my sweet fix! The portion options are also great because it comes as a «teaser» or of course «monster» size but either one gets their moneys worth at this place!

My goodness, I wish there were more Monsters around besides in Tanforan Mall. Love me some shaved ice with condensed milk, avocado and mango! Hmmm writing this review is making me want to go get some right now.
Good place for snacks, DO IT. DO IT.

I always come here really excited to try something. Korean’s love shaved ice!!! with MOCHI! lots and lots of mochi and fruit!
But to serve it in a yogurt sized cup, its too hard to eat for its own good. I do commend how they pack that baby down with a lot of care and consideration to give you more, but its so hard to eat! my luscious toppings fall overboard.
i couldn’t decide what to order, and i had such a hard time reading the menu, and what or how to order, i just picked cookies and cream, and strawberry. The cookies were ok, as in not stale, but the marshmallows were. I wish they had more pictures other than the large people sized ones on the wall. Both times when i was there it wasn’t busy, so i wasn’t able to look at how other people ordered so i was really just thrown into the blue when i was at this place.
Maybe i ordered the wrong flavors, b/​c it looks like a whole mess of folks like the mango, strawberry, and even avocado… ok guys, don’t be like me. Please don’t get cookies and cream, its just weird. total lack in judgment on my behalf.
ok ok, maybe i’ll give it one more try, mango/​strawberry it is. otherwise, i’m going across the way and getting myself some sugar cane juice from the Vietnamese place next time.

Shaved ice is one of my FAVORITE desserts ever! The best ones I’ve ever had was in Taiwan and in SoCal. Since then, I have been trying to find a place around the Bay Area that has good shaved ice. The ones at the Asian dessert places are just a big disappointment. Then yesterday, I don’t know exactly what i was searching for, but Monster Desserts somehow appeared in my search result. With good ratings and very deliciously appealing pictures, I decided to go try it after work…
I LOVE IT! They have so many combinations and toppings to choose from, but I just got my usual toppings for a first timer — half mango and half strawberry teaser (
) As you can see, they are NOT skimp with their toppings, the fruit was ripe and sweet, and the teaser is more than enough for two people. The shaved ice itself is nice and «fluffy» and with the condensed milk and what I can only assume is sweet water, I can probably just eat the ice all by itself. The only thing I would change next time is to go lighter on the condensed milk ontop of the toppings.
I’ll definitely be back here! (a plus that it’s in a mall so I can both shop and get dessert!) I’m soooooo happy that I’ve found a good alternative to satisfy my forever craving for Taiwan’s red bean shaved ice.

I first had Monster desserts at Pistahan or Fiesta Filipina a couple of years ago. I was SO happy when I found it at Tanforan! :) Mmm its like super versions of halo-​halo! Staff were some teens who were quite rude, and one of whom was eating at the counter… how gross!
But yah I had one with strawberries and kiwi, which was great. My mom got some sort of chocolate concoction with brownies, oreos and caramel… very delish… I want some now!

This place is DELICIOUS! Who would have thought, shaved ice with fresh fruit and some condensed milk would be so tasty. The portions are gigantic here, they have small, which in most places is considered a large and monster size of course, which is exactly that.
The staff was very friendly and suggested I get the half mango and half strawberry since I had never been before. It was very good, and the mango was super sweet and yummy.
I am just so sad that this place is far away. Definitely coming again if I am in the area.

I really don’t know what to make of this place. Shave ice with condensed milk, some other stuff, and mango. The teaser is gigantic… its a teaser only for a giant golden retriever with a huge tongue.
A hearty serving of mango topping was nice, but the shave ice was coarse. I guess I’m used to the ultra-​fine shave ice in Hawaii. It was just ehhh okay for me, nothing like the mango dessert at Dessert Republic that I just love.
With all the great Unilocal reviews I’m perplexed. I just don’t get it.

This has been in my bookmark list for the pass 6 months probably. Finally had the chance to try it this week! Located in the Tanforan mall, which is for some reason, not so popular since it was practically empty, I think I will be coming here more often since one, Monster Dessert is here, and two, FOREVER 21 is here and hardly anyone was there! No lining up!
This place has probably the most confusing menu, at least to my friend and I. We were literally standing there staring at the menu for the longest time trying to figure out how to order and what to order. We waited until another customer order just to see how she ordered before we embarrassed ourself by ordering wrong.
They have soo many options to choose from that it gave me a headache. Everything looked so good but we decided to go with the teaser size of strawberry mixer. You get creamed shaved ice with strawberry and your choice of another fruit. We chose mango.
For $ 4.50, you get a lot! Even though it may sound expensive since you’re paying $ 4.50 for ice and fruits and you’re really paying for the fruit, I think it’s worth it. The teaser size is definitely enough for two. It was huge and the fruits almost toppled over the cup. Fruits were fresh and sweet. Mango was so good! The creamed ice… mmmmm I love sweetened condensed milk!!! OMG so good. I can’t wait to try more…
(F.Y.I: If you like sweetened condensed milk, toast a French style bread, the one the use for a Vietnamese sandwich, and have a bowl of sweetened condensed milk on the side and dip pieces of the bread into it. It is GOOOD. Also, as a beverage, crack an egg yolk into a glass cup, add sweetened condensed milk, and club soda, mix it with a spoon. That shit is fucken BOMB!

So after hearing about monster’s halo-​halo type of dessert I finally gave in and tried the bad boy, and man was I not disappointed. If you like halo-​halo but don’t like all those beans and gelatin (like me) then you’ll love this place. They have two sizes small (which they call the teaser) and a large (which is called Monster) but anyways I ordered the small and it definitely was not small. It was freaking huge, I shared it with my sister and it filled us up. We tried the mango and it was delicious.
The service here was cool too. The girl that took my order was super helpful and polite however the girl that made and handed me my order was kind of rude. Didn’t say thing just left it on the pick-​up counter. But whatevs that didn’t ruin the glory of my dessert.
Oh as a side note I noticed they had a «happy hour» which was either watermelon, or cantaloupe teaser for only $ 3 from 4pm-​7pm. I’ll probably come back and try those.
Overall it’s a cool place that I’ll continue to go to.

Incredibly delicious!
The Strawberry Ice was yummy, they scooped in chopped strawberries and drizzled condensed milk on top. Since I was short on time, I got it To Go. They put a lid on it for me and placed it in a bag so I wouldn’t spill it.
The service was great and the dessert was amazing. Will definitely pass the word along for this Monster Dessert place.
(Location: 2^nd Floor Food Court Area, between the Burger King and the Century Theater)

I was really excited to find Monster Desserts in The Shops at Tanforan. In Malaysia, I grew up with iceballs, which are essentially packed balls of shaved ice soaked with different flavourings of your choice.
Monster Desserts offers an upmarket version with various fruit combinations available and condensed milk as well. I had to have the way the menu works explained to me and opted for a teaser portion of mango and banana. For a British appetite, a teaser portion is big enough as a dessert — I had already eaten at the excellent Saigon Cuisine opposite Monster Desserts.
Ice was shaved into a tub followed by flavourings and the ice compacted by knocking it down on the counter. The fruit was piled on top and finally condensed milk was added. The mango was excellent but I found the banana to be too gooey. It was great that they were generous with the portions but the height of the dessert made it hard to eat inititally without knocking some of the fruit off — perhaps a little less ice would have made this easier.
The disappointment was that once the fruit was gone, the compacted ice was relatively flavourless. It either needs more flavouring added to the ice but maybe an even better solution would be to layer the fruit, condensed milk and ice which would give the dessert a more even distribution of each component with every mouthful. The condensed milk was a bit lost with the fruit when it was added on top.
This inconsistency of experience means that I can only give it 3 stars. For the price, I would prefer some fro-​yo (not available at Tanforan) or Cold Stone Creamery (which is available).

I agree with the relaxed attitude on being sanitary while handling food on LiLyD’s review (I was actually with her when we witnessed that) but I must admit that I LOVED the mango dessert. I am already an addict of condensed milk so I knew I’d like monster desserts. The mango was actually ripe and sweet and for the small (or «teaser» as they call it) size, you really get a lot and they don’t skimp on fruit either. I went back a couple days later before heading back to Santa Cruz and tried the avocado dessert… oh so good. Reminds me of when I used to (scratch that — i still do it!) eat avocados mashed with a little milk, sweetened with condensed milk or sugar as a kid.
i’m getting a shaved ice machine pronto!

3.5 stars
My mango shaved ice was good BUT not THAT good. Its definitely very refreshing and fulfilling especially since they pile up a lot of mangos on top of the ice! but i guess I’m not a big fan of condensed milk and i dont really like the fact theres crème in the ice too. Monster Desserts is definitely worth a try at least once.

Christine T forwarded me the Unilocal Reviews to Monster Desserts several months ago and since then I’ve always been intrigued. Well, I was actually in the area yesterday and was craving something sweet and since my db and I were on 380 I thought «Let’s try Monster Desserts.»
So we did.
I was a little apprehensive at first, since it was 3P on a Saturday and db and I looked around at the surrounding tables… Well, we didn’t see anyone eating a Monster dessert?!? No one was inside the shop either. I was the only customer. But, that didn’t phase me. I wanted to see what the hype was about.
My first reaction was sticker shock «$ 4.25?!?» for a teaser size. Second reaction was «Well, thank god db was with me cuz I would never spend that much on dessert for myself.» Looking at the sizes, teaser size was more than generous for one person. Monster dessert should consider adding a smaller size (and not a kid’s size) at a reasonable price not to scare off people like me. I probably wouldn’t have bought it if db wasnt with me.
Suffice to say, I asked for their most popular dessert. The friendly gal at the counter mentioned the mango-​strawberry and that’s what I ordered. She also mentioned you can mix fruits for the same price. Well, thought it was delicious, but I couldn’t help but wonder if I can re-​create this at home with my ice shaver. :)

I have known the existence of monster dessert since it arrived in tanforan but never actually went there to try it. I live close by and I go to tanforan quite often but monster dessert never really sparked any interest to me. I thought it’s just a regular ice cream place. Boy, was I wrong!
They serve finely shaved ice flavored with sweet condensed milk with fruit toppings laced with more sweet condensed milk. I tried the mango ice and it was HEAVENLY! I Love mango and I love sweet condensed milk, so the combination of the two plus ice was really satisfying.
I felt like I just found out a good point of a boy who I shunned before because he wasn’t attractive, and now I have a crush on him.
Yes, I can have a crush on a dessert…
I wish I still had my Tom and Jerry ice shaver…

Avocado Ice…
…is not Vanilla Ice’s surfer-​dude brother… nor is it Kermit the Frog’s street-​cred moniker… it’s actually something you can buy… and eat… uh-​huh, yep.
Shave ice — the real kind that gets pulverized in a machine — is a Hawaiian treat. Only howlies say ‘shaved ice’ with a ‘d’, brudda. But this is not quite shave ice and in fact, this chain is based in the Philippines. But the concept is pretty darn similar.
Instead of using the high-​sugar, rainbow-​brite syrups, they ladle on chunks of fresh fruits and yes, even vegetables, and then squeeze condensed milk all over it. It looks to be a time-​consuming layering process, so it was probably a good thing I was the only one ordering at the time.
I’m not sure what drew me to avocado other than the descriptor they used on the overhead menu — «Healthy!». The others were «Fresh!» or «Tasty!» or even «Exotic!» — which signaled to me that more calories were involved. But since the server had a hair-​trigger hand to squeeze the condensed milk in every nook and cranny of the ice and avocado chunks… well, there goes the ‘healthy’ concept.
But it was surprisingly good. Actually it’s well worth trying… the mix of the fresh avocado and milk over ice had quite a yum factor. I may even try the corn flavor next time. But they also have the more societally acceptable flavors like strawberry and even roasted bananas.
Is it worth a trip to Tanforan? Well, maybe if you think of it on the way from the airport. A good-​sized cup is $ 4.25…on par with gelato servings. It does feel like it has the makings of a new Quickly, the tapioca-​pearl drink chain. Now if Ed Jew could just hand the owners some money under the table…
DESSERT — 4 stars… surprisingly tasty given the odd ingredients… and the only place I know that serves the Hawaiian-​style ‘shave ice’ consistency
AMBIANCE — 2 stars… alas, its downfall could be its non-​descript mall location… I could easily see an outlet opening in J-​Town, even the Castro.
SERVICE — 4 stars… very patient in assembling the concoction… must be quite a wait when it gets busy
TOTAL — 4 stars… unique, fresh-​tasting taste treat… not sure if the calorie count is marginally lower than ice cream given the condensed milk factor

Highly recommended.
Pro — The shaved ice was very good and I wasn’t expecting much on the fruits but they were very sweet. The portions were huge. $ 4.25 for teaser and $ 4.75 for a giant one. I can’t explain, it’s something you definitely have to try. I loved it. Too bad it’s a bit far, I’m planning to go once a month. Forget pearl tea, shaved ice!
Con — Not really a con, but the place is inside a mall. So you would need to park at the giant parking lot, walk through some stores and the mall to get to the food court.

Update:
I have gone here a few times now and the fruits and toppings have been incredibly fresh. My friends love the place as well and it is a definite Summer or year round treat. Where else can you get such a extreme load of fresh strawberries or watermelons on your shaved ice? I’ve checked and checked, there’s no syrup or glaze on the fruits. Must be the condensed milk but, trust me, I have witnessed them slice a watermelon open and place it on my Monster Desserts.
I have never been to Tanforan Mall before and what have I been missing? The newly remodeled Tanforan Mall and Monster Desserts. Located in a very spacious and large food court, Monster Desserts is filled with options of fresh and healthy ice treats. I posted several photos of my visit to back up my review. For 4.25, you get a bed of shaved ice and tons of fruit of your choice. I had chosen the delightful watermelon and it was a lot indeed! The shaved ice’s texture is not even close to snow cone types but a softer and more relaxing texture to it. Condensed milk is added and then its topped off with the fruit of your choice. Come here on a nice warm day or a cold winter day like I did. The fruit is extremely fresh and the staff are very nice as well.