Travel Treats: Halo-halo

Melting from the extreme heat of the Philippine’s summer sun? Keep your cool with one of the Philippines most iconic ice desserts that is sure to please your taste buds while cooling you down. Halo-Halo, is a colorful dish of shaved ice, jellies, lychee, sweetened beans, condensed milk, ice cream, and flan (for larger, more elaborate Halo-Halo dishes). With its multitude of hues, the food resembles a mini-fiesta in a bowl.

To make your own Halo-Halo, it's as easy as collecting all the right ingredients and then layering them one by one into your favorite dessert bowl. Put the shaved ice at the top part of the container before pouring some tasty condensed milk over everything. On top of everything scoop some ice cream (the original dessert uses ube ice cream if you want an authentic experience). You’re free to add whatever extra toppings you might want like wafer sticks, cookies, or maybe a tasty biscuit or two.

This traditional treat definitely puts a sweet taste to your tropical vacation to the tropical archipelago. You can definitely fight off the heat while filling yourself with some good ol’ Philippine goodness.