Craving for halo-halo
Posted on 04-14-10 · Cooking tips Tags: Asian, Filipino
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Since the last week of March when the winds stopped blowing and there was only the offensive heat and even more offensive humidity, I’ve been dreaming of halo-halo. Not the commercial kind that contains too many colors but not enough flavors and contrasting textures. Oh, no! I wanted halo-halo with only the best ingredients. But what are the best ingredients? Okay, let me backtrack to a few decades ago.
When I was in grade school, my mother went to a place in Dasmariñas, Cavite on weekends and my brother and I would tag along. While she spent time with her colleagues, we would cross the street to a small sari-sari store that served halo-halo in clear glass tumblers. Dasmariñas, Cavite was still very rural at the time and the practice of serving halo-halo in tall cone-shaped glasses, a la Little Quiapo, was largely unknown. We would sit on the bench in front of the store, order halo-halo, watch the store owner, a middle-aged woman who wore her hair in a loose bun, half fill each tumbler with a tablespoonful or so of the boiled fruits “� all home-cooked “� then top them with shaved ice that she manually shaved from a huge block with a heavy steel ice shaver.
The ritual of eating halo-halo at this humble store went on for years. Eventually, we didn’t need to order. The store owner came to know us by face and as soon as we sat ourselves on the bench, she would ask if we would like halo-halo.
That was a generation when preserved fruits in jars were rare and their convenience was not inviting. That was a time when halo-halo makers competed for the reputation of selling the best halo-halo and they prided themselves with the ability to make the best ingredients. It has never been about how colorful the glass of halo-halo is. It has always been about the texture and flavors of the fruits and beans, cooked just the right way and with just the right amount of sugar, and the best combination of these boiled and sweetened ingredients.
In another part of Luzon, the Razon sisters built what eventually became a huge business by selling halo-halo based on that very principle. With only three home-cooked ingredients “� saba bananas, shredded macapuno and leche flan “� it gained fame far and wide. Razon’s is now a chain and outlets can be found in many shopping malls. They all serve halo-halo the way it was served at the first Razon’s in Pampanga but some say it’s not really the same.
For all the Filipinos’ craze over the halo-halo, I wish we could claim that we invented it. But versions of this sweet concoction can be found all across Southeast Asia. There is a Thai version called che Thai and a Vietnamese version called che ba mau. The cendol with its jelly-like green “noodles”� is found in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam. Unlike our halo-halo where the shaved ice is drenched in evaporated milk, coconut milk is poured over the ice to make a glass of cendol. I had this in Singapore and it was very good (above).
At the Shih Lin Night Market in Taipei, there is a stall that sells nothing but shaved ice topped with thick syrups with chunks of fruits. On a sweltering evening in July a few years ago, I skipped dinner and had a huge bowl of shaved ice (above) and my tummy was happy. Cold and substantial and very satisfying.
With halo-halo in my mind so much, last weekend, I finally gave in to the craving. We had previously bought preserved macapuno, langka (jackfruit) and ube (purple yam) jam. Yes, the age of modern conveniences. After lunch on Saturday, I boiled cubes of saba bananas with sugar and steamed a pan of leche flan. My husband, ice chest in the trunk of the pick-up, passed by a place in Marikina where shaved ice can be bought by the bag. He bought ice cream too.
As soon as he got home, we were engrossed in a make-your-own halo-halo activity. My older girl, Sam, and her father liked their halo-halo to have everything in it “� and topped with ice cream too. My younger girl, Alex, wanted hers with saba banana only. Me? I had mine with saba bananas, langka and macapuno. And, on top of the shaved ice “� ube jam and leche flan. Not the best halo-halo by any stretch of the imagination (the store-bought ube jam was an epic failure) but, oh boy, it felt good to finally satisfy the craving.
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where in Marikina did you buy the shaved ice?
I’ll ask my husband to reply to you. He’s the one who buys the shaved ice.
Hi Ms. Connie!
It’s been a while since i post a comment BUT I ALWAYS lurk on your site for new original or re-invented yummy recipes of yours.
Halo-Halo..ahhhh! that’s the best meryenda i can think of pairing the hot dry weather here in Kuwait. I make my own halo-halo at home too. And oh! i make my own ice cream as well to top the halo-halo! no sweat ms. connie, you dont even need an ice cream maker, just simply freeze.I made some ube-langka ice cream and macapuno (separate flavors). perfect duet for a tall tumbler of halo-halo! This home-made ice cream has a creamy factor like the commercial ice cream. I’m not saying its the best, but a must try. I’ll gladly post it here for everybody to try at home with your permission of course.
Enjoy summer in Pinas!
Sam
Making ice cream at home has been a long-wished for project. Soon, talaga. With this heat, very soon.
Sam, please see Karen Engle Carder’s comment below.
Hi, Connie! I just had halo halo a few days back – from Chowking, not the homemade one. But it was my husband’s first time to try it, and he absolutely loved it!
I like shaved ice in halo-halo. I think shaved ice really makes a difference. Luckily here in Qatar, Filipino Restaurants serve halo-halo. I just go to one of them when I’m craving for some.
When we talk of halo-halo, Digman will always be a name in Bacoor, Cavite. It will always be the best in my taste buds. No wonder it is one of the attractions in town.
Nadia, next time, introduce him to maiz con hielo.
Nina, good think there’s nothing in halo-halo that can get it banned in Qatar.
They don’t serve lechon kawali in Filipino restaurants there, I guess?
There’s no pork here at all but some people are brave enough to smuggle some from Dubai, Bahrain or Pinas. At least restaurants in Dubai and Bahrain serve pork dishes and supermarkets carry pork products. Alam nyo Ms. Connie, pag nakatikim kami ng pork that’s really a luxury…
Mamamatay si Speedy dyan.
hahaha, buti na lang di naging muslim si Mr. Speedy.
yes, in Dubai there’s one restaurant that even serve lechon de leche, and almost all restaurants in the UAE serve pork dishes even during Ramadan. kaya kung may plano kayong mag-tour sa middle east, UAE and Bahrain will be the best place for Mr. Speedy.
would love to see “Sam from Kuwait’s” ice cream recipe…with Connies permission of course….I have a Kitchen Aid Ice cream bowl and have fun with it!….thanks
If Sam of Kuwait is still reading this, I think the Food Talk COmmunity is the best place to share her ice cream recipe.
I’ve tasted Razon Halo-halo @ Robinson Place, i love it especially the leche plan on it.yummy
I’d lick my monitor but I’m too polite.. LOL…
I like mine w/ toasted pinipig and yes…ube and leche flan on top.
I remember having the best tasting halo-halo I have ever tasted somewhere in BULACAN. We were served this for a snack and aside from the usual ingredients, they added slices of ripe and very fragrant chico! The blend was unbelievably heaven!