Filipino Halo-Halo, introduced by the Japanese?

Filipinos are all aware of the dessert called "halo-halo" or translated in English, mix mix. It is popular among all Filipinos, and it is made of shaved ice, evaporated milk with beans and fruits, all served in a tall glass or a bowl.

Halo-halo has been a Filipino favorite for a long time. During the summer, people crave for this cold treat, which makes it a certified hit in the season. Halo-halo is very easy to do that is why vendors crowd the streets during the summer, in order to satisfy their customer's cooling needs.

Halo-Halo Vendors
Image source:100poundfoodie.com

We have been snacking on it, and we claim it as a Certified Pinoy Dessert, but have you ever wondered how the concept of the halo-halo started?

No one knows who started making the first halo halo in the Philippines, but historical records show that:

It was first introduced by the Karayukisan-san. This is a group of Japanese women who traveled to East Asia and Southeast Asia to work as prostitutes about 100 years ago. These women, after retiring from their old work, which was prostitution, started to make Japanese sweets using the Philippines’ local fruits and crops for a new business in order for them to gain money.

Karayukisan-san Women

In an excerpt from the book, A Japanese in the Philippines” by Kiyoshi Osawa (1981), the food referred to is the halo halo:

“Another line of business monopolised by the Japanese [in the Philippines] was what we Japanese called mongo-ya. Mongo is a Tagalog word meaning red beans. What was sold for ten centavos was a plateful of cooked red beans heaped with ground ice, topped with sugar and milk. The business could be started with a small capital outlay and some Japanese, after a few years of modest saving as farming immigrants, turned a new leaf as proprietors of mongo-ya. All that was needed to open a shop were a makeshift hut, some small tables and log chairs, and one young boy to help. Also needed were red beans, ice cream, papayas, and penny candies, all in small quantities.”

Halo-halo is already popular all over the world. The Japanese may have started it during the pre-war times, but, the Halo-Halo will always be a typical Filipino's favorite dessert. You know what they say, You are not a Filipino, unless you try the Halo-Halo :)