Halo-halo!

This is, to my reckoning, the Philippines’ most widely recognised dessert (thanks to ChowKing branches all over the world). This, my friends, is called halo-halo. ‘Halo’ in Tagalog means ‘mix’ so basically halo-halo means something like…a mixture? Wow I am bad at this. Erm so anyways, halo-halo isn’t anything fancy, really. It’s just shaved ice topped with milk and a wide variety of fruits and beans, sometimes with cornflakes as well. But it is just so good, especially during the summer. Like this summer, there was a whole week I went to ChowKing everyday just to eat halo-halo.

By the way, ChowKing is a Chinese fast food restaurant from the Philippines and their halo-halo is one of the best in the entire country. Their halo-halo is consistently mind-blowingly delicious and has never once disappointed me. So what makes a ChowKing halo-halo? Or, specifically, what makes a ChowKing halo-halo that I can remember? :D

• shaved ice
• milk
• sugar (I’m not actually sure if ChowKing uses milk and sugar or if they use already sweetened milk, but in other places, they serve the sugar separately. I actually like that because you can control how sweet your halo-halo would be.)
• ice cream (The ice cream is actually not part of the halo-halo. You order it separately as an additional topping.)
• leche flan (also known as flan or créme caramel)
• ube (Purple yam. This is my favourite topping!)
• pinipig (Sort of like…rice flakes?)
• mung beans
• kidney beans
• kaong (sugar palm fruit)
• garbanzos
• jack fruit
• banana
• nata de coco

Would you look at that, I just gave you a recipe. Anyways, halo-halo is similar to Malaysia’s ais kacang, Indonesia’s es cendol, Korea’s patbingsu, Japan’s kakigori and Vietnam’s che sam bo luong. Anyways, you eat halo-halo by “halo-ing” all the ingredients. Just…get in there and mix everything together. But the way I eat it is first I eat the flan, then I mix everything together BUT the ice cream. That’s how I roll.

As far as I know, ChowKing has branches in the USA, the Middle East and Indonesia. So if you live in these countries/areas, uh, just ask around if there’s a ChowKing near you. (But I am sure that there are several ChowKing branches in California, just not sure about the East Coast.)

So, there you go! Later tater! :D

Patricia

P.S. This has been a ChowKing appreciation post. LOL

P.P.S. Oh and thanks to my Tito Sam for ‘sponsoring’ this article. Hahaha :D

NOTE: hollvn reblogged this and corrected me regarding the che sam bo luong:

Sam bo luong is the sea weed & lotus seed mixed drink. Halo-halo is more similar to che ba mau, which contains mung bean, kidney bean, jelly, shaved ice, and coconut milk.

Thanks, hollvn!

9 July 7 Permalink

Ted’s Oldtimer Lapaz Batchoy, Diversion Road, Iloilo

So my cousin and I were on another one of our impromptu late night ventures. We decided to go to the 24-hour McDonald’s because it was the nearest place to get some grub that was still open (that was around 10 PM, I think. Things get quiet real early here in Iloilo…). However, there were so many people we decided to go somewhere else. Problem is, we didn’t know where to go. So we randomly got on a jeepney and finally decided to go to the Boardwalk (or Riverside Boardwalk, apparently), which is a row of restaurants side by side right by the Iloilo River. I didn’t really want to go there because we always go there. Luckily, I remembered the new Ted’s Cafe along Diversion Road, so we decided to go there.

It’s the most sophisticated place to eat batchoy now! LOL. This branch is basically the ‘café version’ of the usual diner/eatery Ted’s is known to have. It’s not that different though, because basically the menu is the same. The exterior changed drastically, though, and so did the ambience. I quite like it.

OK, on to the more important thing, the food. Ted’s is famous for batchoy, which is basically a noodle soup that has heaps and heaps of extra ingredients/toppings like pork organs, vegetables, crushed chicharon or pork cracklings, chicken and beef. It’s supposed to have been first made in Lapaz, Iloilo, and that’s why it’s usually referred to as ‘Lapaz batchoy’, which also makes this a true Ilonggo dish. Batchoy is also usually eaten with pandesal which is basically this round bread and puto which is a steamed rice cake. When I was eating this I totally forgot to order pandesal, which I prefer over puto.

I really don’t understand what it is about batchoy that makes it so good, but it is. I have it on good authority :) that Ilonggos who have been away from Iloilo for a long time list batchoy as the top dish to eat when they get back to Iloilo. There’s really nothing like batchoy, especially when it’s Ted’s Oldtimer Lapaz Batchoy.

That’s the interior. On the right corner is the Ted’s batchoy counter, and beside it is Dulgies. I was actually surprised to see Dulgies, which is a restaurant in downtown Iloilo that’s well-known for pastries and desserts. I think this branch of Dulgies only sells desserts and not their meals. I didn’t really find out further about Dulgies since I was there for the batchoy, so I’ll write about Dulgies some other time.

Anyways, if ever you’re in Iloilo, be sure to eat some Ted’s batchoy. I can honestly say it’s a crime if you don’t. :) There are branches of Ted’s all over Iloilo, but I suggest going to this branch because it’s different from all the other branches. This is on Diversion Road, right beside Uncle Tom’s and Ramboy’s. LOL it’s funny how they all have guys’ names: Ted, Tom, Ramboy. Funny…

Later tater!

7 June Permalink

Taho!

So every Filipino knows what that is. Or, almost every Filipino. Uh, anyways, so that thing is calledTAHO. There is a specific way of saying it. It’s not taho like…Lake Tahoe. It’s more like…ok, it’s more like if you were in the middle of a sentence and you get cut off. Like you were gonna say “Tahomygod” but in the middle of saying it somebody punches you in the stomach. Try it out! Say “Tahomygod” but abruptly stop at ‘o’. YOU GOT IT! If I had paid attention when we discussed the IPA in class, I would’ve explained this better. :)

Moving on. So taho is actually street food here in the Philippines. You only get it from street vendors that roam around, usually in the mornings. Some street vendors sell it in the afternoons and nights as well, but the taho isn’t hot anymore, unlike in the mornings, when it’s still fresh.

Taho is composed of only three things: the tofu, which is made to resemble something like custard; the syrup, which is caramelised brown sugar; and the sago or the pearls, which you can see at the top. Since it has tofu, you could say it’s healthy. But then it’s also equal parts sugar, so it’s not that healthy then.
Anyways, as I mentioned, taho is traditionally sold by a street vendor. He has these two large metal containers, one containing the tofu and the other the syrup (the pearls are kept in a compartment somewhere). He goes around and yells ‘TAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!’ and there’s actually a specific way of shouting it, I kid you not! There is always a rise in the pitch towards the ‘OOOOOO!’. In fact, I think there’s a distinct way each taho vendor shouts it. Also, the taho vendor usually sells it in plastic cups and provides a straw, as you can see in the picture. Each cup of taho usually costs P10, but it may vary in different regions here. You can also provide your own cup and the vendor will price it accordingly.

It’s actually really fun whenever you buy taho. At least, in my experience it is. There’s always the wait for the taho vendor, where you keep your ears peeled so you won’t miss the ‘TAHOOOOOOOO!’. Then, when you hear it, you scramble to get outside so you won’t miss the vendor. Sometimes, if you want taho really badly (it happens!) and you missed the vendor, well, you’re gonna have some chasing to do. I think buying taho is such an event. :)

I’m not really sure how taho originated, but probably from Chinese traders centuries ago.

OK, so how does taho actually taste? Well, the tofu is, for the most part, flavourless. You know, in that flavourless-tofu kind of way. And of course the syrup is sweet. And the pearls are there to add texture or something, I don’t know. So all in all, I guess it’s sweet with a bit of a flavourless-tofu taste. I’m doing a bad job of describing taho, because it actually tastes good. :)

So that’s it. You learned a lot of interesting things today! If you’re ever in the Philippines, make sure to have taho!

Later tater!

6 June 44 Permalink