What is Halo-halo?

Halo-halo is a mixture of many ingredients in a tall glass. It is a favorite Filipino dessert or snack that is popular on hot summer days. The common ingredients are sweet preserved beans (red beans, chick peas), coconut meat (macapuno), jackfruit (langka), pounded dried rice (pinipig), sweet yam (ube), cream flan (leche flan), shreds of sweetened plantain (saba), filled with crushed ice, milk (or coconut milk) and topped with ice cream.

I remember my childhood days in Santol (a small neighborhood on the eastern part of Manila) where I would go to Aling Elma's sari-sari store for a halo-halo treat. It cost 25 centavos, but since I normally didn't have 25 centavos to spend, Aling Elma would put it down in our family ‘charge’ account that was usually paid off at the end of the month, more like our credit card account of today. My halo-halo purchase would have to be pre-approved by my mother before I could proceed with the purchase.

I live in Benicia, CA with Louise, my wife of 47 years. I still indulge in halo-halo and there are so many places around here were anyone could get one. My favorite place as at the bottom of the hill from our house, The Hula Hut, a Hawaiian-Filipino restaurant. Louise is from Florida. She had never tasted halo-halo until we met. Over the years she has acquired a taste for it and now she enjoys it more than I do!