Dufan's Iced Mix Fruit: Halo-Halo The Way it Should Be (Naga City Halo- Halo Series 5)

It’s summer time and it’s halo-halo time. Stay, Stray Play and Feast is running a series of food review on where to find the best halo- halo in Naga City. While we have gotten used to the traditional preparations of stuffing so many sweetened ingredients in a bowl of ice, as we always believe that the more the merrier, but the halo- halo loses its distinctive taste this way. It is a culinary fact that in preparing any dish- the lesser, the better and making the best halo- halo is not an exemption.

Dufan's Iced Mix Fruit 
Halo-Halo The Way it Should Be
(Naga City Halo- Halo Series 5) 


My family had a chance to try two foreign versions of halo- halo.
The first one was in a Burmese Restaurant at Post St., located in 
front  of  Beresford Arms Hotel where we stayed in  San Francisco 
 more than a decade ago, and tasted just like any other Pinoy halo- halo.

The second one was in Dunia Fantasi or Dufan,
a theme park located in Ancol, Jakarta in Indonesia.



It is available at the Bonanza Restaurant,
located at the old American Zone of Dufan, 
and listed as Iced Mixed Fruit on the menu.





It has a delightful mix of fresh fruit, not the uber sweet
and sugar- laden candied fruits used in Pinoy halo- halo.

Fresh bananas, watermelons, cherries, strawberries
mangoes, peaches, apples placed in a bowl of crushed ice,

….topped with grated young coconuts,



…they added a zesty and tangy fruit syrup that further
enhanced and brought out the best of the fruit flavors.

Despite having so many ingredients, the fruits being fresh and
since no cream or  milk were added, it does not overwhelm
and every ingredient retained their distinctive flavor and  taste.



Indeed, this is how a healthy and tasty halo- halo should be,
and unfortunately, it is not Pinoy but an Indonesian creation.

Read the links below for other  
Naga City Halo Halo Summer Series   

Mang Inasal’s Crema de Leche
The Best Halo- Halo in Town
Naga City Halo Halo Summer Series 1 

  DJC Halo- Halo 

The Most Popular Halo Halo in Bicol
(Naga CityHalo Halo Summer Series 2)

Chow King’s Halo Halo
Philippines’ “Pambansang Halo- Halo”
Naga City Halo Halo Summer Series 3

Chili Peppers Iced Lycee 

Most Delicious Halo- Halo in Bicol 

Naga City Halo- Halo Summer Series 4

Dufan's Fruit Mix
Halo-Halo The Way it Should Be
Naga City Halo- Halo Series 5

  

Chili Peppers Iced Lychee: Most Delicous Halo Halo in Bicol (Naga City Halo Halo Summer Series 4)

It’s summer time and it’s halo-halo time. Stay, Stray Play and Feast is running a series of food review on where to find the best halo- halo in Naga City. While we have gotten used to the traditional preparations of stuffing so many sweetened ingredients in a bowl of ice, as we always believe that the more the merrier, but the halo- halo loses its distinctive taste this way. It is a culinary fact that in preparing any dish- the lesser, the better and making the best halo- halo is not an exemption.

Chili Peppers Iced Lychee 
Most Delicous Halo Halo in Bicol 
(Naga City Halo Halo Summer Series 4) 

This uber delicious dessert is not classified
as halo- halo at the Chili Pepper’s menu,

...but has the trimmings of being the best
halo- halo that I have been looking for.

First; it had a coarse crushed ice that one could still

bite the crunchy bits and pieces of ice, that neutralizes

the sugary sweetness of the dessert in your tongue.

Second; it has the right number of  ingredients- lychees,

green gulaman cubes, sweet caramel syrup at the bottom

of the glass and topped with sugar preserved red cherry.

The result is a merry mix of delicious and invigorating fruity

refreshment without the disgusting flavor overload (‘umay’)

that one feels after eating most of the traditional halo- halos.

Some may disagree that this concoction is not halo- halo,

but this is a somewhat undersized halo- halo for me, and

still I consider this as the best tasting halo- halo in Bicol.

I just hope that Chili Peppers would create a larger version of this

dish, for a more satisfying and tummy- filling halo- halo experience.

Read the links below for other  
Naga City Halo Halo Summer Series   

Mang Inasal’s Crema de Leche
The Best Halo- Halo in Town
Naga City Halo Halo Summer Series 1 

  DJC Halo- Halo 

The Most Popular Halo Halo in Bicol
(Naga CityHalo Halo Summer Series 2)

Chow King’s Halo Halo
Philippines’ “Pambansang Halo- Halo”
Naga City Halo Halo Summer Series 3

Chili Peppers Iced Lycee 

Most Delicious Halo- Halo in Bicol 

Naga City Halo- Halo Summer Series 4

Dufan's Fruit Mix
Halo-Halo The Way it Should Be
Naga City Halo- Halo Series 5

  

Chow King Halo Halo :The Philippines’ “Pambansang Halo- Halo” (Naga City Halo- Halo Summer Series 2)

It’s summer time and it’s halo-halo time. Stay, Stray Play and Feast is running a series of food review on where to find the best halo- halo in Naga City. While we have gotten used to the traditional preparations of stuffing so many sweetened ingredients in a bowl of ice, as we always believe that the more the merrier, but the halo- halo loses its distinctive taste this way. It is a culinary fact that in preparing any dish- the lesser, the better and making the best halo- halo is not an exemption.

Chow King Halo Halo 
The Philippines’ “Pambansang Halo- Halo” 
(Naga City Halo- Halo Summer Series 3) 

Of all the halo- halo preparations in the Philippines, the classic 
Chowking Halo-Halo Super Sangkap is one of my favorites.

It passed my very first criteria of having a coarsely
ground and crunchy ice that one could still chew
the bits and pieces of crushed ice neutralizing the
otherwise intolerably and horribly sweet concoction.

One turn off though is still the flavor overload- as just like 
any traditional halo- halo versions , Chowking  still stuffed
 it with  so many of sweet ingredients from top to bottom..

Because of this, it does not have any distinctive taste since
having so many dissimilar things  in a single bowl makes
it impossible to tell apart one ingredient from the others.

Still, for the coarse crushed ice alone, I consider this
the best tasting  traditional halo- halo in Naga City.

The good thing is, Chowking came out with a better,
and tastier, although, a toned down version of their
popular halo- halo. The new Milky White Halo- Halo. 

This time they got it right. It had the right sweetness,
the coarse crushed ice that is still crunchy to the bite,
and a perfect neutralizer to the halo halo’s sweetness.

It also had right amount ingredients of leche flan,
sweet bananas and tapioca, topped with a scoop
of vanilla ice cream, resulting to a creamy, milky
ice crunchy delicious refreshing summer treat.

With hundreds of branches all over the country, highly
accessible to everyone, it makes Chowking Halo- Halo 
the country’s unofficial ‘Pambansang Halo- Halo’.

Read the links below for other  
Naga City Halo Halo Summer Series   

Mang Inasal’s Crema de Leche
The Best Halo- Halo in Town
Naga City Halo Halo Summer Series 1 

  DJC Halo- Halo 

The Most Popular Halo Halo in Bicol
(Naga CityHalo Halo Summer Series 2)

Chow King’s Halo Halo
Philippines’ “Pambansang Halo- Halo”
Naga City Halo Halo Summer Series 3

Chili Peppers Iced Lycee 

Most Delicious Halo- Halo in Bicol 

Naga City Halo- Halo Summer Series 4 

Dufan's Fruit Mix
Halo-Halo The Way it Should Be
Naga City Halo- Halo Series 5

  

DJC Halo- Halo: The Most Popular Halo- Halo in Bicol (Naga City Halo- Halo Summer Series 2)

It’s summer time and it’s halo-halo time. Stay, Stray Play and Feast is running a series of food review on where to find the best halo- halo in Naga City. While we have gotten used to the traditional preparations of stuffing so many sweetened ingredients in a bowl of ice, as we always believe that the more the merrier, but the halo- halo loses its distinctive taste this way. It is a culinary fact that in preparing any dish- the lesser, the better and making the best halo- halo is not an exemption.

 
DJC Halo- Halo 
The Most Popular Halo- Halo in Bicol 
(Naga City Halo- Halo Summer Series 2) 

DJC Halo- halo is undeniably the most
popular halo- halo in Bicol, and one of
the most sought after in the Philippines. 

This iconic halo- halo originated in Tiwi, Albay,

and because of its popularity, it had opened

branches in Legazpi, Naga and even Manila.

This is the halo- halo that Bicolanos would

recommend to their guests whenever they

want to show off the best halo- halo in Bicol.

But DJC halo-halo falls short of SSP&F’s  best

halo- halo criteria due to the following reasons:

First, it just had too many ingredients that

results to a flavor overload making the taste

indiscernible from any other halo- halo varieties.

Second, the kind of ice used was the finely shaved

milky variety that it melts very fast resulting to a

creamy- watery concoction similar to a melted smoothie.

I have always wanted a coarsely crushed ice where

I could still bite the crunchy bits and pieces of the ice.

Whenever we are in DJC’s, I always order their 
Banana Lanka Halo- Halo.  It was unfortunately 
always  out of stock so I wasn't able to get any photos 
of this extremely yummy and addicting halo-halo.

Cropped from SOURCE:

Although they still use the finely crushed ice milk- that I dislike,

 the banana and langka creates a perfectly sweet treat that gives a
lingering fruity aftertaste made more flavorful by the dash of vanilla.

Cropped from SOURCE:

Just for the Banana- Lanka Halo- Halo alone, it gives us a perfect 
reason  to keep on coming back to DJC’s again and again and again,
but I hope it would already  be available on our next visit then.

Read the links below for other  
Naga City Halo Halo Summer Series   

Mang Inasal’s Crema de Leche
The Best Halo- Halo in Town
Naga City Halo Halo Summer Series 1 

  DJC Halo- Halo 

The Most Popular Halo Halo in Bicol
(Naga CityHalo Halo Summer Series 2)

Chow King’s Halo Halo
Philippines’ “Pambansang Halo- Halo”
Naga City Halo Halo Summer Series 3

Chili Peppers Iced Lycee 

Most Delicious Halo- Halo in Bicol 

Naga City Halo- Halo Summer Series 4  

Dufan's Fruit Mix
Halo-Halo The Way it Should Be
Naga City Halo- Halo Series 5

Mang Inasal’s Crema de Leche: The Best Halo- halo in Town (Naga City Halo Halo Summer Series 1)

It’s summer time and it’s halo-halo time. Stay, Stray Play and Feast is running a series of food review on where to find the best halo- halo in Naga City. While we have gotten used to the traditional preparations of stuffing so many sweetened ingredients in a bowl of ice, as we always believe that the more the merrier, but the halo- halo loses its distinctive taste this way. It is a culinary fact that in preparing any dish- the lesser, the better and making the best halo- halo is not an exemption.

Mang Inasal’s Crema de Leche
The Best Halo- Halo in Town 
(Naga City Halo Halo Summer Series 1) 

The best Halo- halo is not the traditional halo- halo
that they serve as it had no gustatory identity, as
most  Pinoys have a penchant of putting so many
ingredients,  heaping up in a bowl of crushed ice.

The flavor overload confuses our taste buds 
we would never know what we are eating.



Since most of halo- halo ingredients are made 
of preserved candied fruits and sugary desserts,
and we have gotten used to this syrupy 
saccharine concoction we usually judge how good
it is according to the degree of sweetness.  



Most Filipino traditional Halo- halo lovers would disagree
or even hate me for this, but I want my Halo- halo to have 
the most basic ingredients where I could savor and still 
identify the kind flavor that was added in the concoction.  



I also don’t not want my Halo- Halo too sweet,
the ice should still be crunchy, not too milky-
that it should not have a smoothie- like texture.  



These are the reasons why I consider 
Mang Inasal's Crema de Leche, 
 as the best tasting Halo- halo ever.  

 

Taste it to believe it. 


Read the links below for other  
Naga City Halo Halo Summer Series   

Mang Inasal’s Crema de Leche
The Best Halo- Halo in Town
Naga City Halo Halo Summer Series 1 

  DJC Halo- Halo 

The Most Popular Halo Halo in Bicol
(Naga CityHalo Halo Summer Series 2)

Chow King’s Halo Halo
Philippines’ “Pambansang Halo- Halo”
Naga City Halo Halo Summer Series 3

Chili Peppers Iced Lycee 

Most Delicious Halo- Halo in Bicol 

Naga City Halo- Halo Summer Series 4

Dufan's Fruit Mix
Halo-Halo The Way it Should Be
Naga City Halo- Halo Series 5

  

Pizza, O Pizza. O Yellow Cab Pizza: The Best Pizza in Town

Pizza, O Pizza. O Yellow Cab Pizza.
The Best Pizza in Town 

While we are addicted to Sbarro, except for ordering food to go,
we never really get interested to dine there because of its detestable

location  at the overcrowded and raucous SM City Naga Foodcourt.

Good thing that Yellow Cab has a full store in Naga

and since their pizza is just as good, we get to enjoy a

variety excellent pizza, dining in a restaurant comfort.

Yellow Cab is the only restaurant where no one

disagrees whenever someone suggests dining there.

Who could ever resist the temptation of Four Seasons Pizza.

made of NY Classic, 4 Cheese, Anchovy Lovers, Roasted Garlic

and Shrimp, where they put in four great flavors in one pizza.

I immediately served myself a slice of the delectable

Roasted Garlic and Shrimp and it was very, yummy. 

While my wife ordered her all time

favorite of Chicken Alfredo Pasta,

I feasted on the very delicious and addicting Aglio Olio.

It is a light and tasty pasta recipe with garlic,

olive oil, basil and sun- dried tomatoes, which

surprisingly tastes like  a spiced fresh tomato.

The topping was teeming with
 fresh, plump and juicy shrimps,

…and was served with Garlic Bread.

My daughter got herself Garlic Parmesan Wings

which she got to share with us. and it was very delicious.

While my son wanted to eat something with rice,

so we ordered on at the nearby Bigg’s Diner,

…and delivered a Chicken and Kebab Meal just for him.

We concluded our hearty and satisfying dinner with

a delectable Strawberry Ice Cream for dessert.

Yellow Cab undeniably serves the best pizza in the city-

and definitely the best pizza restaurant in the Bicol Region.

Read the links below for related posts: 

Yellow Cab's Twisted Bread; Pretzels, Glorious Pretzels
Yellow Cab Tango.   
Yellow Cab 3 PM Breakfast 
Yellow Cab @ Bigg’s Fusion Cuisine 
Yellow Cab's Serendipity 
Yellow Cab's New York Pizza; Midnight Indulgence 
Yellow Cab’s Mrs Hudson Pizza 
 Yellow Cab Pizza 2/7 Delivery

 Twisted Bread by Yellow Cab.