Summer in the Philippines is best enjoyed with a tall glass of special Halo-Halo. One with ice cream, leche flan, sweetened jack fruit, banana, ube halaya and macapuno! You can have red beans or sago in it if you like - which I don't - but wouldn't it be so much better if you are given the right to choose the contents of your Halo-Halo?


It's Summer once again and the sun will emit all sorts of frequency, light and radiation to helpless humans like us. Be it infrared, visible light, ultra-violet; there might even be bluetooth or wifi! The sun's very unpredictable the past few days that every now and then you don't know which SPF number to use. And who knows, you might even get a heatstroke? *knocks on wood*

I know right? Summer heat can be a bitch. And do you know the best way to cool down bitches? The answer, a vengefully sweet and icy dessert. Yes! There may be lots of other ways and places where you can cool yourself down, but, ah-ah! Nothing beats a Halo-halo! And when you're here in Davao, there's only one authority when it comes to our country's most popular dessert and it's none other than Aling Foping’s Halo Halo Atbp!

Now on its 12th year in the business, Aling Foping's Halo Halo Atbp continues on providing Davaoenos the most refreshing escape to hot summer days. And take note that their name has "Atbp." in it, meaning, you'll also get to taste the best out of their menu. Just like the Bibingka which my friends and I have all agreed of calling a "Winner!". They also have the Chili Con Carne which was not too spicy but zesty at best. No wonder it got a nod from PNoy himself. Yeah, we were told they served it to the President during one of his visits here in Davao. But enough namedropping! Here's are some photos I grabbed from their Facebook page featuring the Halo-Halo, Chili Con Carne and the Bibingka since I can't find my photos of them.


So going back to the Halo halo, the thing about Aling Foping's is that you will be the one to choose the contents of your Halo-halo. Upon ordering, they have this form which obviously you need to fill-up. On that form, you'll come across the hardest decision of your life. Regular or Special? Special or Regular? Hmmm.. The special Halo-Halo comes with a scoop of ice cream but that's not the best thing about it. The ice cream just adds to the ube flavor and the texture but then the regular Halo-Halo is creamy enough and they didn't make the ice cream so...why settle for regular when you can have it espesyal?

Now it's time to choose the content of your Halo-Halo. Remember that you're not supposed to choose everything on the list. Don't be greedy! At P105 you're only allowed a maximum of 6 ingredients to your Halo-Halo. If you want everything or you want to double the amount of a particular ingredient then go ahead! No one is stopping you! You're gonna have to pay a bit more of course.

My cousin and I trying their Halo-Halo! :D

My Halo-halo is usually composed of leche flan, sweetened jack fruit, banana, ube halaya and macapuno. That's five out of the six I'm supposed to add. The sixth ingredient to my Halo-halo is still the ube halaya because of its melt-in-your-mouth texture and strong taste that is so good I always ask that it'd be doubled.

Halo-Halo may be a hodgepodge mess with 'everything nice' mixed all together. But if you know, you get to choose and you like what's in it then you're off for a delicious treat that will beat the summer heat! And it rhymes with eat so cheat and tweet and be complete while it's not yet time for Trick or Treat. Hahaha ^_^

So go out there! Halo-Halo is our country's most popular dessert for a reason! :D

Aling Fopings is located inside Matina Town Square, Matina, Davao City. You can visit their facebook page here!