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Uhm, there’s macaroni pasta in my halo halo

Halohalo in Banaue, Sagada and perhaps the rest of the Cordillera region is interesting with macaroni and fresh fruits included
Lateral view showing the ingredients of Banaue’s halohalo. CLICK TO ENLARGE

Halohalo, that Pinoy iced dessert popular during the hot summer months take on an interesting form in the highlands of the Cordilleras, even when it’s cold. The clincher? Interesting ingredients used that set it apart from the rest of the concoction in the lowlands.

A casual walk in the streets of Banaue and Sagada proved to be amusing as I just found out that the halohalo stalls in these areas, and perhaps in most of the Cordillera region, uses rather not so familiar ingredients. Where else can you find fresh fruit in lieu of fruit preserves in syrup popular “down there?” But what really piqued my interest was the inclusion of elbow macaroni. Unusual? Yes!

According to an account told to me by a woman in Sagada, locals used to prepare macaroni and fruit salad and when the halohalo was introduced, they simply added ice and other ingredients to it drizzled with Liberty evaporada (evaporated milk).

A small plastic cup costs P20 ($0.40) in Banaue and P25 in Sagada with almost similar ingredients but the fresh fruit may vary.

A halohalo vendor in Sagada with her ingredients

In Banaue, the ingredients include boiled camote (sweet potato), coconut strips, cooked saba banana in syrup, crushed peanuts, gulaman (jelly), sago and boiled, unsweetened ube (purple yam).

In Sagada: pinipig (rice crispies), melon strips, boiled and slightly sweetened ube, apple, avocado, boiled camote, banana, and red and green gulaman. Brown sugar is used. Here, I really liked the crunch of the apple and the textures of the different ingredients makes this a sating snack. Compared to Banaue, I liked this which is available across the street from Ganduyan Inn.

By the way, be informed that these vendors, unless you destroy the plastic cups, recycle these.

Check other halohalo versions in this post.

11 thoughts on “Uhm, there’s macaroni pasta in my halo halo

  1. That’s what I love about the Philippines! So many things to discover! Our food alone is worth remembering! You ought to have asked and tasted their version of the Phakbet!

  2. @blas, yep, dami talaga pwede discover even the littlest of things 🙂

    @james, hahaha… sauce talaga? :p

  3. I’ve been to Sagada twice and I haven’t seen that halo-halo stand! 🙁

    Thanks for the info, though. Next time I’m there, I’ll definitely look for it. 😀

  4. reena

    haha. i’ve experienced eating halo-halo with macaroni noodles in ilocos when we were kids. we found it weird. we still find it funny til today. but i think it’s a standard ingredient na nga for the northerners. 😀

  5. Cool, the first time I’ve heard of mixing in the halo halo a macaroni shell.

  6. @robbie, baka summer lang available as they don’t sell it during the rainy season. you have nice work pala 🙂

    @reena, meron din pala sa ilocos 🙂

    @witsandnuts, really interesting 🙂

  7. Amazing noh? 🙂 Filipinos can mix anything up and it will still taste good! 🙂

  8. @kristine, yep, anything goes for the pinoy 🙂

  9. I remember trying this about 8 years ago when we first went to Bontoc, P10 for a plastic cup. I was so surprised too but I oddly liked it! I even ordered a second serving. Refreshing and filling snack 🙂

  10. gaye, I had 3 servings: 1 in Banaue and 2 in Sagada 🙂

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