It's 'halo-halo' season!

Just a few days ago, the onset of summer 2014 was officially declared by the government weather bureau. But even if you hadn't heard it in the news, you knew it by the feel of the scorching heat at daytime. Indeed, it's that time of the year when Pinoys crave for the ultimate summer treat - "halo-halo". This cool dessert/snack is a medley of various sweetened ingredients, usually "saba" (cardava banana), chunks of sweet potato, beans and gelatin. A teaspoon or two of  sugar is added, and then shaved ice, and topped with sweetened langka (jackfruit) and a slice of leche flan. A generous amount of evaporated milk is then poured over everything. In many restaurants, a scoop of ice cream will crown your halo-halo, oftentimes in ube (purple yam) flavor. 
At summertime, stalls selling halo-halo are a familiar sight on the streets, both in  cities and in the countryside. They proliferate, seen in almost every corner.

Halo-halo is also part of many restaurants' menu. But perhaps, the greater testimony to the deliciousness of this uniquely Filipino dessert is having been praised by CNN travel host Anthony Bourdain. In the second episode of his show last year, he got to eat halo-halo from a Jollibee store in Los Angeles, California (makes me wonder why Jollibee doesn't serve halo-halo here in the Philippines) and described it as "oddly beautiful".

Anyway, as summer's here, I thought about compiling pictures of halo-halo that I've had in different restaurants, from way back before I started blogging up to last weekend, to share 
with you. And here they are:

Chuan Kee (Ongpin, Binondo))

Cafe Via Mare (Landmark, Trinoma)

Max's Restaurant (Scout Tuazon, Quezon City)

The Mochi Halo-Halo at Karate Kid is one of those unique kinds that I know of. Because it has mochi, you know at once that this is Japanese inspired. You gotta try it. Delish!

Mochi Halo-Halo at Karate Kid (SM San Lazaro)

Panciteria Lido (UN Ave., Manila)

The Halo-Halo Ice Cream at Aling Banang (a carinderia that has about a dozen branches around the metro)  is one of a kind too because it has no shaved ice, only ice cream on top of the usual halo-halo ingredients.

Aling Banang's Halo-Halo Ice Cream (Visayas Ave., Quezon City)

Manong's Bagnet Station (Tomas Morato, QC)

Mang Inasal (Tandang Sora, QC)

Halo-halo in my hometown in Quezon Province

Whew! Lots of sweet icy goodness there! Too bad I wasn't able to take a picture of the one I had from Little Quiapo (an iconic restaurant, being one of the Top 10 oldest in the country). Anyway, I've decided on the best halo-halo I've ever had. We'll, it's a no-brainer: Razon's! Never mind that it only has three 'halo' or ingredients - macapuno, sweetened saba and leche flan. Its flavor just outshines the others because of its uber creaminess. It has finely shaved ice, thus it's very smooth, almost like ice cream! Very yummy!

Razon's (Robinson's Magnolia, QC)

So, why don't you cool down with a nice and lovely glass of halo-halo today? Enjoy summer!

Sweet revenge

I'd been downed by this disease, Chikungunya, the whole of the past week; not just me but the hubby and daughter as well. This mosquito-borne illness, while not potentially fatal like its cousin Dengue, was debilitating. The joint paints and itchy rashes were killing us! Last Monday, my daughter and I decided to exact revenge on Chikungunya. And how sweet it was - cold and comforting too, with a Japanese touch. We had Mochi Halo-Halo at Karate Kid! This was right after being seen by the doctor. From a clinic in Quezon City, my daughter and I headed to SM San Lazaro in Manila and there found Karate Kid, a Japanese fast food restaurant, where we discovered this one-of-a-kind dessert: Mochi Halo-Halo - a fusion of Philippine and Japanese cuisine. Call it ingenious and I'd agree! But before we got down to dessert, we had Yakisoba, California Maki and Takoyaki. Mmm..delicious, everything!

Yakisoba, P68.

Takoyaki (Regular), P36.

California Maki, P42.

Mochi Halo-Halo, P55

Kido Punch Tea, P39.

There were hits and a few misses, but all in all, it was a satisfying late afternoon merienda that we had. First, our eyes widened when we were served the California Maki. They were so tiny! I ordered for a regular, not knowing it meant really small maki. Well, it was still big in taste so it was okay. The Takoyaki was good, too! I missed takoyaki so I was happy to have this Japanese street food again. Meanwhile, the Yakisoba was commendable! It had a nice balance of flavors and lots of crunchy veggies that included bell pepper strips, cabbage, mung bean sprouts (toge - one of my favorite vegetables) and white onion. The only thing I didn't like about it was it was too oily! I poured some chili oil to remove some of the sawa factor. Well, I know I just made it even more oily, but at least, the spice helped bring down the satiety. And then, the dessert - Mochi Halo-Halo. Its mere appearance put a smile on my face - lots of colors! And the taste - it's far from your usual halo-halo..it's of milk tea - a welcome deviation! What's in it aside from those pretty and glistening mochi balls? A lot! Red beans, coffee jelly, nata de coco, pudding (made from soya, I suspect), tapioca pearls, milk and winter melon syrup. All these for the price of just P55 for a regular order and P65 if you want a scoop of ice cream too. Isn't that awesome? My only lamentation was there was no available ice cream when we came. Even then, I was very impressed about Karate Kid's Mochi Halo-Halo - a new and tasty way to enjoy our all-time favorite dessert. I suggest you try it today at Karate Kid. There's a lot of branches in Metro Manila. 

Go find one near you and enjoy good food at very affordable prices. :-)