I've been living in the Philippines for almost 3 years.
So when I saw a sign for halo-halo in Nagoya, I thought I already knew what to expect.
I was wrong.
The finished dessert looked familiar.
But something about the way the toppings worked felt strange to me.
"In the Philippines, you don't choose your own toppings for halo-halo."
Here, I was handed a menu and told to choose from 16 or 17 different toppings.
So I asked the owner why.
"When I was young, I didn't like beans or whatever..."
So when she eventually opened her own shop, she decided customers should be able to choose what goes into their halo-halo.
Something from her childhood ended up shaping the menu.
Then there was another piece of the story.
Back in 2019, Japan was in the middle of the tapioca boom.
She told me she started thinking:
"If tapioca can become popular here... why not halo-halo?"
That reminded me of something.
One and a half years ago, I made a video saying Japanese halo-halo wasn't real halo-halo.
I was pretty convinced.
Standing there with 17 toppings in front of me, I started wondering if I had been asking the wrong question.
Maybe the Filipino version didn't disappear.
Maybe it just changed.
I still don't know where the line is between adapting a dish and creating something new.
But that's what made this bowl interesting to me.
I came looking for halo-halo.
I left with more questions than I had before.
Still Learning.
Still Exploring.
One bowl at a time 🇵🇭🇯🇵
One and a half years ago, I made a video saying Japanese halo-halo wasn't real halo-halo. I was pretty convinced. Standing in front of a menu with seventeen toppings, choosing each one myself, I started wondering if I'd been asking the wrong question the whole time.
The topping list didn't come from a misunderstanding of the dish. It came from her own memory of picking beans out of her bowl as a kid, and from watching tapioca take over Japan a few years later.
I realized the choose-your-own-toppings menu wasn't a foreign misunderstanding of halo-halo — It came from the owner’s own childhood memory of picking out the beans. And it reminded me of something I’d said a year and a half ago, when I tried the halo-halo at a Mini Stop in Japan. I’d called it “not real” almost immediately.
| Date | September 21, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Location | La Merienda Halo Halo, Nagoya |
| Event Type | Field Conversation · Menu Investigation |
| Access Method | Creator-initiated collaboration |
| Food Featured | Halo-Halo (Build-Your-Own, 17 Toppings) |
| Cost to Attend | Complimentary |
| Rarity | 🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜ — A familiar dish, reinterpreted rather than rare |
| Bayanihan Index | 🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜ — A one-on-one conversation, not a communal event |
I still don't know if letting customers build their own halo-halo makes it less Filipino, or just makes it hers.
