
Halo-Halo Story’s Duncan Yu wants to bring back how people used to go to dessert places to chat and to catch up
Things that remind me of fuzzier times, days of my youth when food was made by Mom, when Dad played Christmas carols all around the house, of days spent just being with family—these are the flavors of Christmas for me. And here are some food finds that are reminiscent of those merry days.

‘Halo-halo’ and ‘champorado’
There are many ways of making halo-halo—from the sellers by the plaza across our house in Agoo, La Union, when I was child, who used fruits in season as main ingredients, to the more grandiose expressions of it at the Peninsula Manila. Halo-halo is a frozen delight that keeps evolving and delighting!
Have you heard of Halo-Halo Story? It’s a new dessert place that has its own sweet tale to tell.
It is where halo-halo comes in many forms—some of them, a coupling of the iconic iced cooler with other beloved desserts.
Have you had, or can you imagine, a Maja Blanca and a Buko Pie Halo-Halo?
Halo-halo Story has both on their menu.

The classics are also available and called the Halo-Halo ng Kapitbahay. They have numerous variations with ube as its base, as well.
The store also offers Ube Champorado that I loved. It brought back familiar flavors. Sweet with salty is how we enjoy our food at home. Their champorado is topped with danggit; there is even an add-on cheese option. Their champorado was so hearty, I had half of it right away, and wanted more—considering that I had it cold.
As to the store’s concept, owner Duncan Yu said that he wants to bring back how people used to go to dessert places to chat and to catch up.
He wants people to “chill” and talk about anything under the sun over halo-halo, meeting in person instead of just chatting on social media. Hence, the hashtag #storiesoverhalohalo—which is how The Halo-Halo Story came to be.

Holiday ice creamsSpeaking of reinvented desserts, leave it to Sebastian’s to turn old-time favorites into trendy ice cream flavors.
Crema de Fruta: the name alone is a blast from the past. The cake that consists of chiffon, fruit cocktail, custard and gelatin is one of the latest flavors of Sebastian’s.Their ice cream is made by first baking a butter pound cake and blending it into a dairy base, to make pound cake ice cream.
Then sorbets are made out of peaches, pineapple and maraschino cherry. It is scooped into tiny spheres and hand layered into the pound cake ice cream.
The result is a gorgeous multicolored scoop of ice cream that is true to the old time favorite dessert in every way.
And there’s more! There’s also Palitaw Ice Cream! I love palitaw! I love kakanin, I simply can’t resist!

The ice cream comes together by cooking malagkit rice until tender. It is then incorporated into the ice cream base with macapuno strings and churned until frozen. It is scooped and topped with grated coconut and toasted sesame seeds before serving.
There is an incredible Milk Ice Cream Cake, too, that consists of our favorite milk desserts in one ice cream cake! Sebastian’s Dulce de Leche, Pastillas de Leche and Leche Flan flavors are garnished with condensed milk crumble.

Leche flan
I recently dined at Casa Mojica in Marikina, where they cook delicious baby squid in garlic. It was not until my last visit, however, that I tried perhaps one of the yummiest of leche flans. It was so smooth, its texture and mouthfeel so delightful. It was very rich yet not too sweet. It was perfect flan that was so easy to eat.For those looking for dessert to serve for Christmas, one that is always present during Noche Buenas of old, the Mojica Leche Flan is it.

Giant ‘pastillas’
Pastillas—we all grew up with our favorite kind. There are those that are hard and crumbly, some chewy and others that are so soft, coated in sugar that melts in the mouth.
Pastillas as we know it were small and good, to be had in one bite—till Iya Lagdameo’s giant pastillas came along.
This time, however, Amelia’s Pastillas takes the throne of the biggest pastillas. It weighs a kilo per piece. It is made with condensed milk and powdered milk. It is good to eat and deadly. If you’re a sweet tooth like me, a pinch here and there would mean having consumed half of it in no time. It is so big that the pastillas comes in a bayong! What was a Christmas business by Amelia’s daughter to help her mom during the pandemic is now a popular Christmas confection for gift giving.
INQFind Halo-Halo Story on Facebook, @sebastiansicecream, @casamojica and @houseofameliaph on Instagram
Follow @iamreggieaspiras on Instagram and Facebook; reggieaspiras.com

Reggie Aspiras has been writing her food column Kitchen Rescue for Inquirer Lifestyle since 2003. Her columns have been collected in three books released in 2005, 2007 and 2011.