I miss that Filipino heat buster and popular merienda fare: the halo-halo, found in restaurants and in roadside stalls alike. The halo-halo I like most is one with sweetened beans, coconut meat, ube, leche flan, nata de coco, sago, gulaman... I'm not fond of ice cream on my halo-halo but I sometimes indulge on it.
Back in the good old days when the end of school signals the start of a lucrative halo-halo business for many roadside entrepreneurs, we would bring our own bowls which our suking kapitbahay would graciously fill with an assortment of goodies before manually crushing ice from the ice box with an ice shaver then piling it on top and then pouring evaporated milk over everything. When I would have my summer vacation in the province, the hot afternoons would make us beg the elders no end til they give up and buy halo-halo for us. There was also a time when my mother also sold halo-halo, and us kids would eagerly await the end of the day, as our Nanay would shave up the leftover ice for the day and make us these cold treats.
These days, one no longer needs to wait for summer to have halo-halo. Chow King (a fast food chain) serves this the whole year round, although the delight of having one from the nearby friendly road vendor and either enjoying it outside or having it inside the house with friends is still the more enjoyable way of having it.
This photo was taken during our trip to Puerto Galera a couple of years ago. Was it already that long ago when my friends and I would plan weekend outings? Time flies indeed. And I look forward to that time when I can have my halo-halo again.
Technorati tags: food trip
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