Jhun And Ana Halo Halo: Padre Garcia’s Best

Since it is summer, it is time to talk about one of the Filipino’s favorite dessert during this season. Halo Halo is a refreshing dish featuring layers of shaved ice and condensed milk on top of all sorts of ingredients like jellies, flan, macapuno, palm seeds, sweetened red beans, shaved ice, ube ice cream, fresh fruits, toasted coconut flakes and pinipig. In different places in the Philippines, I’ve seen various kinds of Halo Halo, wherein people give this dessert different twists so it can be enjoyed in different ways.

Recently, after our staycation in The View Deck – Exclusive, we headed to the famous Halo Halo dessert store nearby to try Padre Garcia’s Best Halo Halo again. Jhun and Ana’s Halo Halo isn’t new to us since we’ve already been here before when we visited Lucena.

The place isn’t as aesthetic as the modern restaurants that you think. Instead, it embodies the typical local eateries, where we used to spend our lunch when we’re low on budget. But these carinderias can’t be belittled because, usually, they produce the best and specialize in a certain dish. Jhun and Ana Halo Halo only takes up a small space in Padre Garcia Public Market but has taken the whole province by storm. Eateries like this also feel homey. One time, we visited and just shouted our orders while in the car. They were readily available at the table before we could sit.

For a halo halo to be distinct and famous, it has to possess a secret or unique ingredient that cannot be found in a traditional halo halo. In this case, it’s the caramelized banana and toasted jackfruit. Although bananas and jackfruit are common in halo halo, they put more flavors and goeeyness into these fruits, turning the dessert into something special. Hence, the milk is infused with the sweetness of the brown sugar syrup from these fruits. I was more amazed when the crushed ice melted simultaneously in every spoonful so we didn’t put much effort on mixing them.

Talking about the price, I can’t believe that a sundae glass only costs 65 pesos. There are other halo halo offerings out there that are more expensive than this but wasn’t able to reach the goodness of Padre Garcia’s Best Halo Halo. It was really worth it. However, there is just a price difference for dine-in and take-out because for packed Halo Halo, they use biodegradable containers, which are pricey. They can’t use plastic because there’s a “no single-use plastic ordinance” in Batangas.

We first visited Jhun and Ana Halo Halo seven years ago and I can’t remember any other dishes offered. Now, we see that there are other food items such as milk teas and siomai. There are also chicharon that seems to be made here in Batangas, if not in Padre Garcia. I didn’t try the milk tea because it was the low-priced kind. I don’t have a trust on milk teas that are worth 28 pesos or 38 pesos. But I’m happy to notice a lot of people buying. They have limited selections in their menu but the house was full all throughout our stay.

I chose to pair the Halo Halo with their siomai, which I found bland. It wasn’t the homemade kind. You’ll immediately know that it was bought frozen and ready-to-cook because the meat was compact and was ground finely like the one in Master Siomai. But I just hope they chose a brand that is flavorful. This one lacked flavor even after soaking in the accompanying toyomansi, which was neither salty nor sour. It was sweet. I appreciate that we were given complete selection of toppings and seasonings for this though.