Halo-halo, The Seasonal Flavor of Summer

Because Philippines is known as a tropical country, the weather during the summer months are extremely hot. Every Filipino have its own way to beat the heat. Some are spending their vacation in the beach to refresh their body from the humid of summer, others may find the cheapest way to cool down the temperature and that's to eat the seasonal flavor of summer, halo-halo.

Halo-halo (from Tagalog word halò, "mix") is a popular Filipino dessert that is a mixture of shaved ice and evaporated milk to which are added various boiled sweet beans and fruits, and served in a tall glass or bowl.

Ingredients include boiled kidney beans, garbanzos, sugar palm fruit (kaong), coconut sport (macapuno), and plantains caramelized in sugar, jackfruit (langkâ), gulaman, tapioca or Tae, nata de coco, sweet potato (kamote), pounded crushed young rice (pinipig). In terms of arrangement, most of the ingredients (fruits, beans, and other sweets) are first placed inside the tall glass, followed by the shaved ice. This is then sprinkled with sugar, and topped with either (or a combination of) leche flan, purple yam (ubeng pula), or ice cream. Evaporated milk is poured into the mixture upon serving. (from wikipedia)

During summer, every corner of the street in the Philippines is fill with halo-halo vendors. They grab the opportunity to get extra income for their family. You can buy as low as seven (7) pesos to a higher price of thirty (30) pesos for a special one. Prices may also differ when you buy inside the malls and restaurants.

The preparation of Halo-halo ingredients maybe the hardest among Filipino delicacy. Every ingredients should be cook separately. Halo-halo is a representation of how the Philippines is bountiful with regards to tropical fruits.

Today, every ingredients of halo-halo can be find in the supermarkets. It shorten the long way of preparing it. When you have those, just mix all the components and you may have now the world's elusive dessert.






Photo from Flickr.com

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The Intriguing Lokot-Lokot

Fascinated by its name, lokot-lokot was not really prominent in the entire Philippines. When I first heard the word "lokot", the first thing that it crossed in my mind is like a thing that you rolled. Then my guessed had not missed.

THE ORIGIN OF THE “LOKOT-LOKOT”

The Muslim communities in the Zamboanga Peninsula are known for the variety of delicacies they produce during special occasions, especially the “Hariraya” or the feast of the Eid-il-Fitr, which celebrates the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. Foremost among the goodies is the golden brown curious-looking “locot-locot” or “jaa” as the villagers call them. A lot of people actually consider it as the “queen” of the delicacies because it is the most popular and frequently asked for by guests.

It is fascinating to watch someone who is seeing the locot-locot for the first time. After asking what it is, he instantly wants to taste it, and as it crunches in his mouth his eyes light up with pleasure and he nods approvingly. Some give the okay sign or put up their thumbs enthusiastically.

If you ask how the locot-locot came about, its origin is sadly lost in the mist of time. Fortunately the ancestors of the present Muslims passed on its technology to the next generations down through the millennia. Some people believe it came from Malaysia or Indonesia as the region, including the southern Philippines, was once a part of the great Madjapahit Empire during the 13th and 14th centuries. The seafaring Malays probably brought it to our shores as they wandered freely throughout the area.

Legend has it that it was the locot-locot that inspired the appearance of the Chinese noodles, such as the sotanghon, bihon and miswa. It is said that several attempts of the people of China to imitate the locot-locot led to their creation, which over time became famous delicacies themselves.

Making locot-locot requires a lot of time and hard work. First the grains of rice have to be pounded into flour. Then the correct proportions of water and sugar are added to create a gooey mixture which is poured into a container made of coconut shell with regular small holes at the bottom, all the while it is poised above a frying pan filled with hot oil. As it turns golden brown it is deftly and expertly folded and shaped in the pan with a couple of wooden spoons to create the desired look. Watching a cook do the locot-locot is like watching an artist in motion.

You can tell a house is making locot-locot by the rhythmic sound coming from the kitchen made by the beating of the coconut container to pour out the dough into the frying pan. Some purists say if the rhythm is out of sync the locot-locot will not look attractive and enticing.

(Other infos came from the Facebook page of Taluksangay Muslim Delicacies)

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Napoleones at its best

So what is napoleones all about? Napoleones is basically made of sugar, egg, flour, butter and milk. It's like a croissant with a sweeter twist. This pastry comes in square, bite-sized flaky crust with a creamy custard cream, topped with glazing sugar.

Some speculations that Napoleones has originated from France where the Mille-feuille was really famous among the French. In the United States, they call this as Napoleon pastry.

Napoleones was first introduced in the late 90's thru Virgie’s Homemade Products in Bacolod City. It was then just an experiment being a pasalubong among the kamag-anak's but luckily it become one of their bestsellers.

To prolonged the shelf life, just make it sure that this pastry was properly stored in the refrigerator.


Photo: www.flickr.com

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The Innovative Filipino Polvoron

When we say polvoron, it is a typical Filipino dessert that is wrap on a Japanese paper or a silky transparent colored plastic in a round form. But as time evolves, some of this prominent look had also change. Some people had transformed the conventional way of preparing the recipe.

One of them that introduce this flavored polvoron is the Postres del Cielo. They redefine it as "Heavenly Desserts".

Product Variants:

CRANBERRY - subtle sweetness of the cranberry polvoron makes it an ideal after-dinner delight. It is best serve while you are drinking wine or champagne.
KIWI - Light and tart, our kiwi polvoron has just the right mix of tangy and sweet, sure to delight dessert lovers of any age. It is best serve while having an after meal ice cream.
ROSE - Timeless and classic, you too will fall in love with the elegant flavor of rose. It is best serve during afternoon tea break.
LAVENDER - Smooth and soothing, lavender is the flavor of choice for sophisticated and discerning palates. It is best serve a companion of green tea or coffee.

Aside from the different shapes each of this variant has each unique taste that surely you love it. Chosen ingredients such as fruits are all imported and rose petals are carefully hand-picked to preserve the freshness.

You can contact the maker of these yummy polvoron:

Postres del Cielo
44 Sta. Maria St. Kapitolyo, Pasig City 1603
Email: postres.delcielo@yahoo.com
Phone: 635-4734
Mobile: 0918-8118115

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