While reading a fellow ex-pat's blog, I realized how many strange desserts are served in this country. Well, strange in my American opinion.
For instance, probably the most popular dessert served in the Philippines is called halo-halo. I've never tried the stuff & probably never will (unfortunately, ice cream & I don't seem to agree), but here is a list of what is in halo-halo (give or take a few ingredients, depending on your preference):
* Shaved ice
* Milk
* Ice Cream
* BEANS!! (No kidding! Kidney, garbanzos, etc.)
* Fruit
* Sweet Potato
* Corn
* Rice
I fail to see how the combination of all these ingredients can come together to produce a dessert that so many people love. It boggles my mind.
You will also find the strangest ice cream flavors offered here in the Philippines. (Once again, this is only my uneducated opinion. I certainly do not mean to offend anyone... especially my sweet Filipino friends who think I'm crazy for mashing up an avocado, adding garlic, sour cream & tomatoes & calling it "guacamole". YUMMM!!) But, truly, these ice cream flavors are quite unique:
* Cheese Ice Cream (Thanks to my friends, Marga & Julie, I have tasted cheese ice cream.)
* Corn Ice Cream (No thanks.)
* Ube Ice Cream (It's bright purple & pretty... AND A YAM!!)
* Avocado Ice Cream (Now who's crazy?!)
* Durian Ice Cream (The durian fruit is known for his putrid, horrible smell! Just ask Mandy...)
As further proof of it's offensive odor, this sign is posted on Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit forbidding durian fruit to be brought on board:
There is another type of cake that my housekeeper once told me about that sounded oddly disgusting. At the moment, I can't remember the ingredients, but I'll ask her about it when she arrives tomorrow.
In the meantime, I will be staying as far away from these desserts as possible! Which can only help me in the long run, right??
Sunday, November 23
Philippine Desserts
at 7:54 AM
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5 comments:
I don't think I will ever try ice cream with kidney or garbonzo beans in it either. Yuck.
I think halo halo originated from Mexico or Spain but a lot of Spaniards that settled in the Philippines are from Mexico.
(not really Spaniards).
Halo-Halo comes with different variaties you can even re-invent it yourself.
Tapioca,Vanilla Ice cream,jello-o,milk,crush ice,leche flan,coconut, etc etc mixture.
I love halo halo... It's so much better than the Kaichang (Malaysian shaved ice with some mint julep syrup) I've been trying desperately to find a way of making them here but never got around to doing it.
But I don't like Philippine ice-cream. I find the taste of the milk in their ice cream a tad different from what I'm used to.
I'm thinking maybe I really should try halo halo atleast once before we leave. I don't want any regrets.
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