Chocolicious Alternative Café

Halo-halo Heaven

The very first time we tried eating at Halo-halo Heaven was on February of this year. We were really not expecting anything spectacular, for we only went to that place for one food stop – Ababu Persian Cuisine. Ababu is a store away from Halo-halo Heaven. After having indulged in our favorite Persian place, we saw this brand new Halo-halo joint for the first time and decided to try it out.

Our group of seven was craving for Razon’s Halo-halo, but we thought we could try this alternative, while we were there. The server who was waiting on us guaranteed that their Halo-halo is better than that of  Razon’s. I actually had to raise a brow to that. But then again, I was open to welcome this prospective competition to my favorite Halo-halo.

You won’t miss the humor that they integrated with their menus. Like their selection of pasta dishes: eTUNApo ang spaghetti (tuna flakes, bell peppers, herbs in tomato sauce), Anak ng Tinapasta! (fried tinapa flakes in chunky tomato sauce) and Ang Gara Carbonara! (bacon bits in creamy white sauce) . All pasta dishes are priced below a hundred.

Going back to this Halo-halo wonder, we really have to give it to them that their halo-halo is superior to your regular fastfood place (yes, Chowking’s) or even the one that are easily available around the corner. And given that my benchmark for a good Halo-Halo is Razon’s, allow me to compare one from the other. Halo-Halo Heaven’s halo-halo is a couple of pesos cheaper than Razon’s. Shaved ice just like that of Razon’s. Aside from Razon’s regular, saba, macapuno and leche flan, Halo-halo Heaven threw in a couple more treats, a chunk of yummy Purple Yam on top by no less than The Good Shepherd’s. And this entertaining phrase from their tarpaulin should really say it all, “…at may surprise pa sa ilalim.” Really innovative and fun, if you ask me. Because you know what, the moment I got to that surprise, I did not regret trying out Halo-halo Heaven’s sweet treat.

After having tasted various types of Halo-Halo, it is not difficult to conclude that the Razon’s Halo-Halo is probably one of the best, if not the best of its kind. For the benefit of those who do not know what Halo-Halo is, here’s a definition from Wikipedia:

Halo-halo (from Tagalog word halo, “mix”) is a popular Filipino dessert that is a mixture of shaved ice and milk to which are added various boiled sweet beans and fruits, and served cold in a tall glass or bowl.
There is no specific recipe for this dessert, and a wide variety of ingredients are used. The order in which the ingredients are added varies widely. Primary ingredients generally include boiled red mung beans(monggo), kidney beans, garbanzos, sugar palm fruit (kaong), coconut sport (macapuno), and plantains caramelized in sugar. Other components may include jackfruit (langka), star apple, tapioca or sago, nata de coco, purple yam (ube) or sweet potato (kamote), sweetened corn kernels or pounded crushed young rice (pinipig), leche flan or custard, ice cream and gelatin. Other fruits, such as papayas, avocados, kiwifruit, bananas or cherries, may also be added. Some preparations also include ice cream on top of the halo-halo.
Generally, condensed milk or evaporated milk is used instead of fresh milk, due to the tropical climate of the Philippines.

The seemingly complicated definition what Halo-Halo is, it can be said that technically, Razon’s Halo-Halo is not really Halo-Halo. All you see from their glass of dessert are shredded macapuno (from buco fruit), saba banana, topped with a couple of slices of leche flan. All that really made it Halo-Halo is that it is buried in crushed ice. No ice cream on top, very plain really.  But don’t let the simplicity of the package fool you into thinking that it tastes as plain.

one satisfied bunch

What made their Halo-Halo special is their finely crushed ice. The rich flavor of every single ingredient, albeit just a couple of fruits, with just the right amount of condensed milk make a very refreshingly sweet dessert. I recently just found a single prospective competitor to this delectable dessert, located along Xavierville Avenue in Quezon City. Something that deserves a new post altogether. But by far, Razon’s has my loyalty. Razon’s Halo-Halo is sold for P73 a pop.(approx.$1.59)