Death by halo halo!

I cannot believe I had been deprived of this wonderful frozen delight for so long during my stay in the Philippines. But, when Toefilo and Alan took me to lunch one day, they went ahead and ordered me a “special” halo-halo. Twice the size of the ones they ordered, and after watching the table next to us scarf down the purple, sloppy mixture, I had already decided I would hate this dessert. To my surprise and delight, with my first spoonful, I fell in love and immediately felt like a kid again with a wonderful concoction of mixing flavors, colors, and textures, in an oversized bowl. To help explain this Filipino concoction, halo halo literally means “to mix.” It comes in a clear or translucent bowl so that you can not only taste but see the wonderful layers. It consists of, here goes: cubed jelly fruit preserves; fresh fruits, bananas, pineapple, jackfruit; mini-sized bright green jelly balls known as gulaman (similar to those tapioca balls they put in Japanese shakes); strips of fresh young coconut (which I mistook for noodles the first time I ate it!); mixture of nuts; frozen crushed ice mixed with fresh milk and sweet cream, all topped with a scoop of bright purple ube ice cream, and a few sweet cornflakes for decoration (as if it needs it). Ube (pronounced UBEE in Cebuano) is a type of yam that is famous in Cebu and particularly in the island of Bohol. It is naturally a Starlight-Bright lavender color.



Needless to say, I made the mistake of telling Toefilo how much I enjoyed the halo halo, expressing it mainly due to surprise of how well it suited my taste buds. The hot weather lets it melt slowly, making it easier to probe with your spoon to mix all the layers, getting to the “good stuff” at the bottom. By the time you are finished -- if you manage to finish it -- it is a purple soupy mixture with chunks of jelly and fruits and noodle-like pieces of coconut which people slurp up with enjoyment. Needless to say, I have now had it 3 times in the past week! Toefilo offers it to me everyday with a curious, “Have you had halo halo yet today?” The key word being "yet." And the one time I turned down his offer, he say “Why?” with astonishment and confusion. I don’t think I should make it a daily meal, although to be honest, I think that I probably could. I’ve heard in Manila that it often contains corn and/or red beans which make me shutter and have nightmarish flashbacks of the terrors of red bean paste, red-bean ice cream, and red-bean filled buns from my days in Korea. But, since halo halo is even a mystery to me, if next time I have it, I will be surprised once again, I am sure to slurp it up with ecstasy and love, feeling like a little kid who gets to eat birthday cake everyday!