SINGAPOREANS have their Ice Kacang. Koreans love their Bingsu. We Filipinos always turn to our own icy treat, Halo-Halo, when the hot summer days are simply too much to bear. Whether it be Halo-Halo from our favorite coffee shop or Filipino restaurant or from a seasonal Halo-Halo stall in the neighborhood—just as long as it is Halo-Halo with ice and milk, gelatin, nata de coco, ube, langka, banana and all the works!
After trying quite a few Halo-Halo concoctions this summer, I have turned my attention to Halo-Halo creations with a twist. One of these is Jollibee’s Halo-Halo Sundae. Since Jollibee is just outside the gate of my sister Susan Dy’s small townhouse community in Mandaluyong City (where my husband Raff and I are temporarily staying as he recovers from his stroke), I figured, why not try the Halo-Halo Sundae that looks impressively yummy on the promo poster strategically displayed on its glass window?
So I did.
Just as its name implies, it is Jollibee’s soft-serve ice cream served in a cup, sundae style, then topped with some of the elements that make up the classic Halo-Halo—nata de coco, banana, langka (jackfruit), red bean, macapuno and ube syrup. Although you might look for other ingredients that go into traditional Halo-Halo, such as pinipig, leche flan, halayang ube instead of ube syrup, and a scoop of ube ice cream instead of the soft-serve ice cream, Jollibee’s Halo-Halo Sundae is just what it promises to be—a refreshing sundae with Halo-Halo ingredients as toppings. No pretenses. Just a straightforward summer cooler that does what it is supposed to do: cool you down and satisfy your craving for something sweet at the end of a meal. It might be bitin if you eat it on its own, but pair it with spaghetti, chicken or burger and it is just right.
