Friday, Jan. 15, 2010

6. Halo-halo

If you could distill an entire culture into a single beverage, it would have to be a halo-halo. Confounding to some yet irresistible to others, this quintessentially Pinoy drink cum dessert — with a name that literally translates as "jumble-jumble" — is a refreshing concoction of shaved ice and evaporated milk, mixed up with any combination of sweetened beans, candied fruit, nata de coco, leche flan (Filipino crème caramel), ube (purple yam) concentrate and jelly, among other ingredients. Don't forget to top it off with a scoop of ube ice cream.