Mango Mango Dessert - Ala Moana Center — Restaurant in Honolulu

Congratulations to Ms. Tina Wang (owner of Tanaka Ramen & Izakaya - Hawai'i) on opening her second franchise location of this Hong Kong-inspired dessert shop at the Ala Moana Center.

As regulars to the Ala Moana Center, we've been eyeing the opening of this mango-centric dessert shop on the 3rd floor of Ala Moana Center's Ewa Wing in the former location of famed chocolatier Pierre Marcolini. Luckily, I completed an appointment with my ophthalmologist and had planned to put in more walking steps to meander through the mall when we discovered the staff of Mango Mango Dessert setting up for their Grand Opening this morning.

Mango Mango Dessert opened promptly at 11 am, and by the time we strode up to their storefront, a line had formed. We noticed how efficient and organized the service was during their busy opening because while standing in line, someone offered us a menu to take a gander at. After we decided, my husband suggested that I find seating on the outdoor patio even though the COVID mask mandate has been relaxed. While sitting on the deck, I could feel the humidity of the morning and the sun's heat above the outdoor umbrellas and noticed my husband signaling me to come into the shop to dine. Ahhh! This was a much better seating option because the air-conditioning was cool and comfortable even with their front doors left open to allow the line of customers in to either pick up their takeout orders or choose dine-in.

My husband mentioned that when he got to the cashier, she told him that dine-in customers could order through their server at their table instead of through her, which is why my husband signaled me to come in to sit. Upon finding a table, a server came by to take our order for the Mango Mango Combo A for $23.75. The Mango Mango Combo A consisted of a bowl of Special Mango Juice, sago, pomelo, and mango ice cream, a bowl of fresh-cut mangoes and black rice in coconut milk, and three stuffed mango mochi. While waiting for our order, a young family seated next to us mentioned the generous Grand Opening BOGO Special for beverages. We then waved down our server and ordered two drinks (Watermelon Smoothie $7.50 & Mango-Strawberry Smoothie).

We noticed that all of our desserts tasted of natural fruit. The mango desserts were not sickeningly sweet and tasted of fresh mangoes. Also, the smoothies didn't rely on added sugar or sweetener. My husband's refreshing watermelon smoothie had three fresh watermelon balls with seeds atop, which gave his smoothie more texture. The mango-strawberry smoothie was topped with diced mango and strawberry. We remarked that our bodies felt more enlivened by eating and drinking these servings of fruits.

This Grand Opening was one of the few shop openings that we've experienced that was so well-organized and efficient. Their food products were flavorful, and the fresh quality was refreshing. The service was excellent as well as...

I normally don't write reviews, but I was left with such an uncomfortable and awful experience that I needed to share this. I just hope that the establishment is able to make sure their workers don't leave people with the experience I had.

This last Thursday, I visited this location with my friend. We had some questions on what was in certain drinks and when we asked one of the workers, she gave off a sort of attitude, like scoffing and laughing at us not knowing what was exactly in the Golden Kiwi or Moonlight Pineapple, which is not easy to know from just the names alone.

When I ordered my drink with her, I didn't feel comfortable with how she was looking at me and while I waited for my drink, I never heard my name get called. My friend got her drink soon after ordering before me. We both waited and chatted inside the store. Another party had come in, ordered, and they received their first item not too long after as well. So I stood up to look to see if my order was finished, only to find my drink left on the counter, on top of some papers/magazines. I had to get up and ask for my drink, which another girl working that day came running back in the store for, who got my straw and drink for me. The first girl kept staring at me with what felt like judging eyes, while I received my drink from her.

I couldn't stay in the store because of such an uncomfortable experience and I hope that no one else has to deal with that sort of treatment anywhere. The second girl was nice and quiet, but the first girl left me with such a bad impression.

Other than that, I enjoyed the Moonlight Pineapple drink that I got with lychee, however I wish they separated the lychee itself a bit more since I was left with a giant chunk at the bottom of my drink.

I would like to speak to the management about this...

This is a personal take on the food served here. I know my opinion won’t be shared by everyone but I was shockingly surprised by the three items I tasted, and not in a good way. 😓😥 I REGULARLY order ube and taro drinks everywhere … the ube and taro taste are very subtle and distinct. So naturally I ordered the Ube Frappuccino…when I got my drink it came out tasting like slightly flavored cold thick water . 😳🫣 And this repeated with the second drink I ordered to replace that drink I gave back. The server was very kind and recommended the mango count smoothie…which tasted like mildly flavored chilled mango puree. I gave this drink to my family member to finish…it was that bad. And the third dish I tasted was a mango, jelly, and red bean bowl of sorts. This was the worst in my opinion. I was not expecting the bean to taste like it came from a Goya can! I was expecting it to taste like the one in mochi desserts. But I guess I don’t get this style of dessert making apparently 🥲😅…most of my family loved it though. Props for friendly service, knowledgeable staff, and a clean and cute...