Halohalo ala DEC

Nothing beats the heat during a scorching hot summer day than a big bowl or glass heaping with sweetened tropical fruits, beans, gelatin, strips of macapuno or langka, a spoonful of ube haleya or ube ice cream with leche flan and pinipig packed with crushed ice, milk and sugar!

In the Philippines, that mix-mix mixture is called "halohalo." No self-respecting person from this country, young or old, male/female or any other sex, can say that he is a true-blue Pinoy if he does not know what "halohalo" is and what it tastes like. No summer in this tropical country can go without one dipping a long spoon into a tall glass and doing an up and down movement with it to make the ice melt, mix the sugar and milk down to the layers of sweetened saba, red beans, sweetened chickpeas, langka strips, kaong, gelatin and whatever else is there in the glass of "halohalo." 

There's simply no substitute for the experience of mixing the blend down to a cool, sweet, colorful, milky sensation that pops in your mouth:  bits of fruit mixed with crushed or shaved ice, then off to a soft piece of jelly to a pasty bit of red bean or chickpea. And if you ordered the "special" with a scoop of ice cream that's usually ube flavored, then you just turned your day around. "Halohalo" is bright, colorful, sweet, cold - what's there not to like? 

These days, most everyone goes to Razons of Guagua for a glass of "halohalo" with just three ingredients: sweetened saba, macapuno bits and leche flan, for P75 per glass. There's even an urban myth that goes around -- that these ingredients were made every night by the grand matriarch of the Razon clan back in Guagua. I almost believed that until I found the Razons commissary tucked somewhere in Pasig. Some even say that the secret is in the milk that is used, fresh carabao's milk. But really, it's only evaporated milk sweetened with condensada. The only honest thing about Razons' version is they reinvented it by using shaved ice instead of crushed ice. THAT makes a whole lot of difference! Take note, CHOWKING! 

Razons has made its mark in the "halohalo" world here in the country. But more variations of the sweet iced dessert are cropping up. It was my daughter, the aspiring pastry chef, who introduced our family to DEC's Halohalo. To most, DEC's is a Chinese deli selling kikiam, siomai, siopao and other Chinese foodstuffs. But this summer, we discovered that they made really good "halohalo" with a mixture that outnumbers Razons' magic mix: red beans, buko strips, saba, round gelatins, different types of jellies, leche flan, ube, and instead of pinipig, the mixture is topped with crunchy cornflakes! There is no secret ingredient - just evaporated milk mixed with condensada and of course, shaved ice. 

Since we like our "halohalo" packed with color and flavor, this is our hands-down choice for the best "halohalo" in town. We found DEC's at the ground floor of the Provident Building at the back of OB Montessori Greenhills. And for just P60 per glass, it comes with a disposable tall spoon and a huge straw so you can sip the goodness of the milk and "halohalo" bits at the bottom -- no need to turn a tall glass over onto your mouth to drink the milk!