Sugar Cup Brings Decadent Sweets to 3.3 Mall

Believe it or not, Central Park’s X-Flower doesn’t have the market cornered when it comes to ostentatiously dainty desserts. No, a few months after that overwhelmingly froufrou sweet shop opened near Chaoyang Park, Sanlitun’s 3.3 Mall has welcomed Sugar Cup, a mousse and cake outlet that pretty much follows suit in both its ambiance and wares. 

The decor at this shop (which also has locations in Tokyo, New York, Prague, and elsewhere according to a sign on their wall) isn’t quite as garish as its rival to the east, but Sugar Cup is no slouch in that regard. White stucco painted walls, gold-trim furniture and a sparer use of flowers make it look like X-Flower’s sleeker cousin.

The desserts on offer, however, don’t apply such restraint in terms of colorful presentation, sugary flavors, and premium price points. To get a sense of what the spot was all about, we dove right in with the brightest-colored, gaudiest-looking dessert on offer, a purple mousse that looked like a stunted unicorn’s horn. Priced at RMB 100 a pop (which is mid-range at this shop), it came in a portion that was about 50 percent larger than the palm-sized mousse we tried at X-Factor. Its crisp exterior gave way to a buttery and feather fluffy interior, with a jelly center and Rice Krispie-sprinkled base. The varied textures were laudable, and the initial cotton-candyesque flavor of the exterior was pretty unique, but overall this one was as excessively sweet as its appearance suggests, meaning two or even three customers would need to split it. 

Cherry mousse, a mousse in the shape of blueberries, and cakes in chocolate cups and with fruit layers were also on hand. The exorbitant prices, stratospheric sugar content, and glitzy digs left me pining for more wholesome dessert destinations like Big Bear, the Danish Gertz bakery around the corner, or There Will Be Bread further west on Xingfucun. But clearly I’m not the target demographic at Sugar Cup, and as I saw the influencer patrons nibble at and snap photo after photo of their elegant sweets, it was clear they were achieving what they’d set out for.

Sugar Cup
Daily, 10.30am-10pm. 3.3 Mall, Sanlitun, Chaoyang District (186 1162 8288)
朝阳区三里屯路3·3大厦北侧底商

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Photos courtesy of Sugar Cup