Bretman Rock’s Favorite Mango Dessert Is So Simple

Bretman Rock has never been one to shy away from bold choices, whether it’s in beauty, fashion or the food and drinks he swears by. Known for his unapologetic personality and vibrant energy, Rock has tens of millions of followers across social media platforms where he went from creating makeup tutorials to showcasing his humble and enviable life in Hawai’i.

Most recently, he has partnered with Evolution Fresh’s Real Fruit Soda, a brand Rock says immediately won him over with its real fruit ingredients and refreshing flavors. With the brand, he recently hosted a “soda-powered car wash” to clean cars with a solution made with phosphoric acid, an artificial compound found in other cola products.

In this exclusive interview with EatingWell, Rock talks more about the partnership and opens up about his love for mango in all its forms (mango is his favorite flavor of Real Fruit Soda, of course), the underrated Hawaiian staples he grew up with and more.

Do you have any dishes or drinks that you love featuring mangos?

I am a sucker for mango sticky rice. I love it so much. It fills my little Asian heart because desserts for Asian people, we love something that is not too sweet. I love that mango sticky rice has three of my most favorite things in the world: mango, coconut and rice. It does not get more Filipino than that honestly… even though it’s Thai food.

I also love my mom’s mango sago. Sago is like boba with mango and crema, I love that. A mango is one of those perfect fruits that you don’t need to do too much to it. But I had mangoes that were going bad and my assistant made me a mango banana bread with them. Oh my God, so good.

Why partner with Evolution Fresh? 

I mean, why not? I have been a fan of Evolution Fresh since November 23, 2023. Don’t ask me why I know the date, I was doing a taste test of all of them and I fell in love with them instantly. It’s real fruit soda. I’m not the biggest soda drinker in the world, but I would drink anything that says “real fruit.” I actually came across them when I was grocery shopping with my assistant while I was in LA and just fell in love with them naturally.

Is there something surprising you’ve learned since partnering with the brand?

Not only was I surprised, I was physically and emotionally gagged when I found out that a lot of competing soda brands have ingredients like phosphoric acid that can remove rust off of cars. I was just like, oh my God, that is going in my body… I’m literally a car, I’m a metal. I was truly gagged.

Were you ever a regular soda drinker, and if so, how have you been able to switch to prioritizing healthier drinks?

Oh my gosh, yes. I had all the cavities in my childhood to prove it. You could not get soda out of my hand, but now I’m more picky with the sodas that I drink. I love a good flavored soda, but my body is a temple, and I try to be careful with what I drink.I love drinks with real ingredients that don’t make you feel like shit.

Is there a Hawaiian food staple that you think is underrated?

I know poke is overrated, so I’m not even gonna say poke, but something that shocked me genuinely was when I started telling people I love musubi. Musubi is basically Spam sushi, for lack of a better word—it’s Spam and rice wrapped with nori. It was created during the Hawaiian sugar plantation days when a bunch of cultures were all mixed up working in the plantation, and they mixed all of their ingredients together to make musubi. It’s a staple back home, and it was my food when I would bring lunch [to school], and it was a staple for us going on field trips. But my shock was the fact that when I came to the mainland, a lot of kids here think that Spam is gross, and back home that’s our heart. I was so offended, and I feel like people need to eat more Spam because it’s so good.

Another one that isn’t so popular is taro. You take the heart of the taro and pound it until it turns into almost like a sticky mochi. It is an acquired taste, but put a little bit of brown sugar on top and it’s so bomb. The whole process of making it, it’s truly a labor of love and it’s so good.

Do you have a least favorite food?

Celery and olives actually need to die. I don’t like celery because I feel like celery thinks she’s a main character and she is just not that girl. I’m sorry, I hate when a celery is in a thing because it’s all you taste. And then olives, because I had a field trip one time and my friend put olives up her nose, she put it back on my plate and then I ate it by accident. I puked my whole lunch up, and ever since then I never looked at olives the same.

What does “eating well” mean to you? 

I think eating well to me is being conscious of what you’re eating, especially the ingredients, what you’re putting into your body and also being cautious of how these ingredients affect you. Eating well is just an overall understanding of food, period. Also, people have this generalized notion that less calories means more healthy, but that’s not necessarily the case. It’s more about being aware of where your food comes from. Being self-aware of everything that you’re putting in your body, I think that’s what eating well is.

Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length.