Keep cool with salted egg ‘halo-halo,’ Korean cold noodles
I came across an updated hierarchy of needs in one of my chat groups. On the tip of the pyramid was halo-halo, followed by ice cubes, water and, lastly, aircon.
In this heat, we are all finding ways to keep cool. And without a doubt, anything that’s cold and refreshing becomes a need!
‘Halo-halo’
Debates have followed the sudden surge in halo-halo makers. Old-fashioned versus modern seems to be a hot topic of conversation. Add to that: more or less sangkap (ingredients); fine-shaved ice over traditional hand-shaved; pure evaporated or blended milk; water-based ice versus milk ice.
When trying a new halo-halo, I hear happy eaters say: “Yey, I got a large chunk of ube!” Others take delight in big portions of leche flan. Some complain about having too much or no sangkap, while a few profess great disappointment in not finding saba in their mix. What a disaster, indeed!
Ben’s Halo-Halo came to my attention lately, particularly for their Spicy Winter Halo-Halo made with saba, macapuno, white bean paste, langka, ube, leche flan and sweet corn, a sprinkle of chili powder, capped with siling labuyo.
Another variant of interest by Ben’s is their Salty Summer Halo-Halo, with all of the above sangkap sans the chilies plus slivers of salted egg for that salty-sweet play on the palate.
Ben’s roots are in Laguna. Their classic halo-halo I would consider traditional, only creamier. For, after all, Ben’s claim that their halo-halo is one of the creamiest as they make use of gelato ice to cap their frozen delights. They take pride in making all their sangkap from scratch, and blend their own gelato ice.
I particularly enjoyed Ben’s Saba con Hielo. I took notice of the way their saba was cooked; so old-fashioned, soft and gooey. It reminded me of Mom’s minatamis na saging. How can saba, something so simple, taste so good? Well, some of the best-tasting things are the simplest of things cooked right. (Follow Ben’s Halo-Halo on Facebook.)
‘Naengmyeon’
I never really gave much importance to eating for the purpose of cooling my body—until now. The heat wave has made me search for ways to cool myself internally.
Fact is, choosing the right fruits and vegetables literally refreshes you!
I had lunch at Haru Korean Restaurant upon the prodding of my dear friend Jenny Co, her daughter Jena and Ana Yu. We savored a host of dishes for lunch. I am almost certain we ordered most of what was on the menu.
Haru’s Kimchi Pancake was phenomenal. It was tasty and so very crisp in a lovely, delicate way.
Their beef intestines were good, though I was told that it was nothing like the pork—that’s supposedly incredible but out of stock.
The marinated beef belly was delectable! It was so perfectly marinated, soft and tasty. Their chicken wings were so very good too.
The dish that was exceptional for me was their cold noodles. I have been searching for a well-executed one for a long time, with no luck—until last Thursday.
Mul naengmyeon is a Korean noodle dish in cold broth.
The broth is made with beef brisket and aromatics such as onions and green onions. Dongchimi brine (radish water kimchi brine), vinegar, pear juice and seasonings are added to to the broth. The mixture is left to freeze lightly, to the point that the broth is slushy. At this state, it is ready to use.
The dish comes together by putting cooked naengmyeon noodles (Korean buckwheat noodles), thin slices of Korean pears, some pickled radish, half a boiled egg, a thin piece of cooked beef (from the brisket used to make the stock) and julienned cucumbers in a bowl.
Cold broth is poured into the bowl of noodles just before serving. Before eating, give the noodles a drizzle of vinegar and a smidgen of mustard for depth and complexity.
At Haru, mul naengmyeon is served with a most refreshing cup of ice cold fresh pear juice.
Pears, radish and cucumbers are all considered cooling foods! On a day with temperature in the high 40s, I felt cool, refreshed and light after our meal. (Follow @harumakati on Instagram.)Street dessert
After lunch, we headed to Quezon City from Makati to try Esmeralda’s Kitchen on Mayon Street. I have been wanting to visit Esmeralda’s for a long time, after receiving so many positive reviews. We decided to have something cold yet again, for dessert.
I took a liking to La Mestiza that was described as an ode to Filipino street desserts of old. In a cup were creamed binatog, white cheese, macapuno, lychee and nata de coco finished with a generous shaving of milk ice.
Their Ube Sweet Corn Turon Sundae was my favorite. Combined were sweet corn binatog, ube haleya and cheese spring roll. It came with a trio of sweet corn, ube and vanilla ice creams.Their fruits shakes are the slush type and very refreshing. Jena had a watermelon shake, and it looked so appealing.
I promised to return to Esmeralda’s Kitchen soon. Their menu was so enticing. I will tell you more about it someday.
Till then, stay safe and be cool! INQFollow the author @iamreggieaspiras on Instagram and Facebook; reggieaspiras.com
