Razon's to bring popular halo-halo to the Middle East

MANILA – Razon’s of Guagua, known for its creamy, no-frills halo-halo, will soon be available in the Middle East.

The Kapampangan restaurant chain is set to open a branch in Dubai, where many overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are based.

“It will be our first international store in Dubai, and we are excited to cater to over a million OFWs in the region. There is a demand for real Filipino food in Dubai,” Jose Razon, executive vice president of Razon’s, said in an interview with Manila Standard.

Razon’s halo-halo is different from the original Filipino icy treat as it only contains three main ingredients: leche flan, saging na saba, and macapuno.

The restaurant, which has branches in Pampanga, Metro Manila, and nearby provinces, is also popular for its pancit luglug, sizzling bulalo, sizzling sisig, and dinuguan with puto.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Beat the heat for P30 with Ilonggo-style halo-halo

ILOILO CITY – People here want something to make them feel cool this summer, and they have found it at La Paz Market for the low price of P30.

Customers flock to La Paz Market to try the inexpensive yet delicious halo-halo, which is made with fresh fruits.

Each order consists of shaved ice mixed with sago (tapioca pearls), gulaman (gelatin), corn flakes, corn kernels, and slices of avocado, coconut, melon, watermelon, banana, and leche flan.

Ilongga Nida Ponsaran-Bradilla took over her parents' halo-halo business at the La Paz Market which started in 1965. She and her husband, Edgardo Bradilla, have personally managed the business for decades.

“Amon ya ingredients native fruits compare sa iban fresh fruits bala (We use native fruits. Compared to others, we use fresh fruits),” said Ponsaran-Bradilla of their halo-halo, which customers have praised for its freshness and flavor.

However, according to the couple, their halo-halo has no secret ingredient. What keeps customers coming back, they said, is the quality of service they provide.

"Amon timbang ginasinganan nga mayo mag entertain sa customer (We told our helpers to treat the customers well)," Bradilla said.

However, for one customer, the reason he keeps coming back is simple.

“Diri ko pirmi gasulod kasi namit ial timpla halin sang una (It’s delicious, I often go here because the taste is different,” said a customer named Onyok.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

LOOK: Halo-halo with Red Bull a hit at Coachella

Coachella is not just about the music. It now also a celebration of food.

A hybrid of the Filipino shaved ice creation made an appearance at the annual music and arts festival, and the crowd went wild for it.

Halo-halo is the Filipino word for mix. It's usually made up of shaved ice, beans, boiled banana, purple yam, leche flan and milk. There's really no strict list of ingredients. To enjoy the flavor of the popular dessert, everything needs to be mixed together well.

Chef Isa Fabro is the genius behind the creation served at Coachella. She is part of the food concept Unit 120, a group of chefs creatively experimenting with Filipino food.



To add her own spin to the the desert, she added fruity pebbles, pineapple, soft tofu, coconut milk, and Red Bull in addition to making it gluten-free and vegan. Perfect for the Coachella crowd.

Chef Isa is also responsible for a special pastry which is part kouign amann and part ensymada.


This story was originally published on the Coconuts Manila website.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

LOOK: Anthony Bourdain tries Jollibee in PH

Nagmeryenda lang ako, nakita ko pa si Anthony Bourdain sa Jollibee! Mukhang enjoy sya sa chickenjoy!

Posted by Alfredo Lupe on Friday, 11 December 2015

MANILA - Aside from visiting a Korean restaurant in Malate on Thursday, television personality, chef, and best-selling author Anthony Bourdain appeared to have also stopped by a branch of Jollibee.

A photo of the 59-year-old Bourdain eating at the local fast food chain has been circulating online. A Facebook user named Alfredo Lupe posted it on his account with the caption: "Nagmeryenda lang ako, nakita ko pa si Anthony Bourdain sa Jollibee! Mukhang enjoy sya sa chickenjoy!"

This is not the first time that Bourdain was able to eat at Jollibee. Back in 2013, Bourdain visited a Jollibee branch in Los Angeles and tried halo-halo, a menu item he described as "oddly beautiful."

Bourdain's last visit in the country was in 2008 for his Travel Channel show, "No Reservations." During that trip, he made stops in Manila, Pampanga, and Cebu.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Halo-halo, atbp: Filipino words make it to Oxford Dictionary

Go tell your “barkada” that you’ve been waiting for that “gimmick”; and don’t get surprised if “carnap” is now grammatically acceptable.

This, as several English-Filipino words have been included in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) as part of the organization’s move to record words "from all varieties of English" including words categorized as "Philippine English."

OED said “barangay,” “balikbayan,” and even “high-blood” are now recognized as a variation of the English language.

OED also emphasized that the term “presidentiable” (‘a person who is a likely or confirmed candidate for president’)” is not just used in the Philippines “but also in parts of the United States that have large Filipino populations. “

“There are new senses of common English words like gimmick to mean ‘a night out with friends’; loanwords from Spanish (like estafa ‘fraud’) and Tagalog like barkada (‘group of friends’); and formations in English that are only used in Philippine English, like carnap (‘to steal a car’),” OED also said in a statement.

Interjections such as KKB (kaniya-kaniyang bayad; used as an adjective), nouns like “halo-halo,” and terms such as “batchmate (‘a member of the same graduation class as another’)” and “topper” (meaning a high-achieving student), are also included in the OED list, along with 500 other new words from around the world.

OED claims of leading the world’s largest and longest-running language research projects, with at least 900 newly revised words included in this month’s new OED list.

The following is a selection of new words included in the OED list, reposted from the statement: (for full definitions, please see OED Online):

barangay (noun): In the Philippines: a village, suburb, or other demarcated neighborhood; a small territorial and administrative district forming the most local level of government. [First recorded 1840]

balikbayan (noun): A Filipino visiting or returning to the Philippines after a period of living in another country. [1976]

KKB (interjection): ‘Kaniya-kaniyang bayad’, literally ‘each one pays their own’, used especially to indicate that the cost of a meal is to be shared. It can also be used as an adjective. [1987]

high blood: (a) n.colloq. hypertension; (b) adj.Philippine English angry, agitated.

despedida (noun): More fully despedida party. A social event honoring someone who is about to depart on a journey or leave an organization; a going-away party. [1929]

halo-halo (noun): A dessert made of mixed fruits, sweet beans, milk, and shaved ice, typically topped with purple yam, crème caramel, and ice cream. [1922]

sari-sari store (noun): A small neighborhood store selling a variety of goods. [1925]

utang na loob (noun): A sense of obligation to return a favor owed to someone. [1906]

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Halo-halo among '25 best summer foods'

MANILA – The Philippine dessert halo-halo has been included in CNN’s list of “25 best foods for summer,” which was released as the warm season in the United States starts this month.

Halo-halo, which literally means “mix,” is a mixture of shaved ice, evaporated milk, beans, caramelized fruits and starches, different colored jelly cubes, pinipig (pounded crushed young rice), sago (tapioca), nata de coco (coconut gel), kaong (sugar palm fruit) and other sweet things.

The icy treat is usually topped with leche flan (custard), halaya (purple yam pudding) or ice cream, or a combination of the three.

In the article "25 best foods for summer" published on CNN Travel, author Elizabeth Leigh described the halo-halo as “a jumble of sweet and colorful ingredients mixed together.”

She also noted how the Filipino dessert got exposure from well-known chef and travel host Anthony Bourdain when he tried it for an episode of “Parts Unknown,” which airs on CNN.

Halo-halo joins a number of snacks, soups and desserts in CNN Travel’s “25 best foods for summer” list, which was not ranked. Durian, which is available in Davao and in Asian countries such as Singapore, was also included in the list.

Here in the Philippines, the summer season started last March, and ended in early June. While halo-halo is most popular during summer, the icy treat is well-loved in the Philippines all-year round.

Click here for ABS-CBNnews.com’s list of ten halo-halo treats in Metro Manila.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com