on Filipino food

Have you ever eaten at an Asian restaurant and wondered why the dessert choices are limited, if anything is offered at all?

In my experience, Asian desserts have not been all that enticing to people who are not Asian.


So this is Halo-Halo.  This is a Filipino dessert that I grew up with.  This is the only way that I know how to eat beans - in this sweet dessert.

I have been in Seattle where there happens to be a huge Filipino population - so huge that at the Southcenter Mall in Tukwila, WA, there are 3 Filipino restaurants tucked inside the large Seafood City (a Filipino supermarket).  What's even more remarkable is that all of this Filipino goodness is directly across from Nordstrom in this vast mall boasting even more South East Asian restaurants on the upper level.

So, back to Halo-Halo...

I have had this dessert 3 times in the last 4 days I have been here.  This dessert is just that good.

Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain tried my beloved Halo-Halo on a recent episode of "Parts Unknown" on CNN.


“Dig deep and you hit delicious strata of red beans, white beans, chickpeas, cubes of red and green jello, young white coconut, shaved ice and… flan… I love it!”

His guide described the dessert as “part of every Filipino’s life,” to which Bourdain replied, “I’ve got to take a picture of that. It’s oddly beautiful.” He later posted the photo on his Twitter account.

Bourdain is famous for his New York Times best-selling book “Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly,” and his travel and food television shows “No Reservations” and “The Taste.”

So why exactly isn't Filipino food the next big thing yet?