This odd concoction might not seem to make any culinary sense, but halo-halo is characteristically Filipino it reflects the country’s past and its variation of cultural influences.įlan and condensed milk are obvious traces of the Spanish, whose colonial impact remained on the islands after they were ceded from Spain to America in 1898. It grows on you, though, and the more you eat the better it tastes. Mouthfuls of squishy sweet plantains, chewy corn, and flavorless Jell-O made for an – ehem – interesting experience. Excavating the bottom layer with a long plastic spoon was like blindly digging through a magician’s bag I had no idea what new ingredient I was about to pull up, and the variation seemed endless. Juice from red gummies diffused through the shake to give the whole thing a subtle strawberry taste. After plucking out a satisfying amount of flan I decided to mix the rest together. The first spoonful tasted like a sweet, Spanish-inspired snow cone: thick chunks of leche flan and ice infused with creamy condensed milk. I wasn’t sure what the proper approach was to eating such an intricate layering of flavors – do I pick at them separately or do I mix it all together and hope for the best? I decided to try both strategies.

The couple sitting behind me also ordered one, and I heard them quizzically attempting to identify each layer.

Filipino desserts halo halo