Halo-halo. n. (ha-lo-ha-lo).
From the root word halo, which means "mix"; Halo-halo means "mix-mix".
If you haven't had Razon's halo-halo in Pampanga or in Tarlac then you've been a victim of halo-halo fraud.
Razon's is popular for its halo-halo. Which is ironic because it's not even real. *Authentic* halo-halo is composed of several ingredients:
minatamis na saging (sweetened banana), kaong (sugar palm fruit), gulaman (gelatin), nata de coco, minatamis na langka (sweetened jackfruit), pinipig (rice crisps)
+ shaved ice, evaporated milk, sugar, topped with leche flan and ube. If you want the "special" halo-halo, then they'd give you a scoop of ice cream on top of all those toppings.
Then, according to Wikipedia, "Condensed milk is poured into the mixture upon serving" ~ but that's just silly.
As you can see, *authentic* halo-halo pertains to the Chowking halo-halo
*picture from www.chowking.com*
And not Razon's.
Razon's halo-halo has only 5 ingredients: macapuno, sweetened banana, leche flan, milk, plus it's "secret ingredient": honey. It's "tasty" because it's too sweet. That's just that. Doesn't mean I don't like it. But I still can't quite decide if I like it better than Chowking.
Although I am SURE that the Razon's branches in Metro Manila are a sad substitute for the real thing. Everything tastes bland. Even the leche flan on the halo-halo is pathetic. In Tarlac branches (not a franchise), most customers order another glass of ice (automatically servied with milk) because the halo-halo serving is good enough for two. If you mix the extra ice+milk with the glass of halo-halo, that mixture is still sweeter than the servings here in Manila. Also, the "Pansit Luglug Plus" (plus size of the pansit) in Manila are regular servings in Tarlac.
So if you're from the south, going somewhere in the north then try the original Razon's. A very accessible, small Razon's restaurant in Tarlac is along the high way - right infront of the huge lot that they've boarded up for the first SM Tarlac construction.
Other dishes you must try in Razon's:
Palabok
Puto with...
...Dinuguan of course.
Dinuguan. n. Root word: dugo, meaning "blood". Filipino dish cooked with pig's blood.
You ask, "Why is Dinuguan black instead of red?"
Because it's real. We're not acting cool nor cute, going around saying, "yo, girl! Come try this Bloody Mary I mixed up." No. We're talking about REAL blood.
Dude, girl, fellow Pinoy, perhaps the batch of halo-halo/HH metro you tried was a fluke or you have underdeveloped tastebuds because Raz's HH version in it's metro stores are for the most part just as good in quality and taste as the ones in Guagua. I have "super" tastebuds and I don't find much difference in quality between the original GuaGua version and the various Manila branch servings. The only noticeable difference might be that the Pampanga version seems to have slightly larger chunks of macapuno and slices of saba. Now, if people in the Tarlac branches are ordering extra ice milk to dilute the original order this means that their original servings there are way too sweet - and yes that is a bad thing. Great dishes are great on their own - you do not or should not need to add or subtract anything - and they are certainly not diluted. Now if it's perfect to you the way it's being served in Tarlac then why describe it as "too sweet". If something is "too" whatever - then it's excessively whatever. It's no wonder you think the Manila versions are bland - because the Tarlac versions apparently are way too sweet for you and many of their customers to begin with.
ReplyDeleteIt seems Razon's is doing something right in Manila - everyone that I know there raves about Raz's metro HH and I have never seen anyone adding any sugar or enhancers or asking the staff in metro stores to add additional ingredients to the servings. Could it be that you have this thing somewhat backward - that to most people the metro version is a better tasting version than the provincial "too sweet" one - otherwise why would the darn thing be expanding if it's signature product was pathetically "bland". Go figure, Holmes/Rizal, cause I certainly can't.
By the way, whatever Raz's icy concoction is - authentic halo-halo or not, it surpasses ChowK's HH by a provincial mile however I compare them.
Razon's can surely take that to the bank. I'd be willing to bet that if ChowK sold Razon's metro HH in it's stores that more than 80% would opt for Razon's HH. Raz's HH maybe has significantly fewer calories and sugar than CK's too. Now that's a good thing if true.
BTW, I'm just a loyal Razon's customer (who also likes ChowKing).
Dudes and dudettes, a friend from the Pampanga region(Che-che!)has informed me that the original Razon's in Guagua is no longer there. Kinda sad. I passed thru the town several years ago rather hastily and don't remember too much of it. The exceptions were the river, the big church, the large market, and of course Razon's halo-halo.
ReplyDeleteRazon's for the win! Nothing beats the " gatas ng kalabaw" they use!
ReplyDelete