---
title: Halo-halo and ube
url: https://karigurashijourney.com/en/notes/halo-halo-and-ube/
lang: en
journey: https://karigurashijourney.com/en/episodes/mactan/
---

# Halo-halo and ube

A little of each town’s story　/　Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu

The name comes from doubling the Filipino verb halò, "to mix." Shaved ice is combined with evaporated or coconut milk, sweetened beans, coconut meat and jelly, then topped with leche flan, ube halaya (mashed purple yam) and ice cream; the ingredients vary from region to region. Its origins are traced to pre-war Japanese Filipinos and Japanese kakigori; the earliest form, monggo con hielo, was mung beans in syrup over shaved ice with milk and sugar. Ube, the purple yam, is used in many Philippine desserts.

## This moment in the journey: Halo-halo: mix well and enjoy

For dessert, halo-halo: a sweet loaded with toppings that represents the Philippines. On top of the shaved ice sat brightly colored ube (purple yam) ice cream, cornflakes and something like a yellow custard.

At the bottom of the glass were green jelly and red beads. I heard that halo-halo means "mixed," and the proper way is to stir everything together before eating. Still, curious about each topping, I couldn't help scooping them up one by one. Not too sweet, and impossible to stop eating. A verse from the Bible was painted on the shop window.

![Halo-halo topped with ube ice cream and cornflakes](https://karigurashijourney.com/img/mactan/s76-1200.jpg)
- Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo-halo
- Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dioscorea_alata

Read this scene in the full journey: https://karigurashijourney.com/en/episodes/mactan/