Philippine Street Food: Sweets Edition

Planning on visiting the Philippines for a tropical vacation? Then don't miss out on the common Filipino street foods especially desserts. Since a lot of fruits grow all year round, these are usually incorporated in the food. These street foods have become common favorites that you can order them on restaurants as desserts. Here is a guide on Filipino sweet street food: 

 

1. Halo-halo

This directly translates to "mix-mix" because you need to mix them all together before eating. It is a concoction of crushed ice, evaporated milk and various ingredients including, among others, purple yam, sweetened beans, coconut strips, tapioca pearls, gelatin, boiled root crops in cubes, fruit slices, flan, and topped with a scoop of ice cream.

 

2. Turon

Turon, dusted with brown sugar, rolled in a spring roll wrapper and fried. Other fillings can also be used together with the banana, most commonly jackfruit, and also sweet potato, mango, cheddar cheese and coconut.

 

3. Taho

It is a snack food made of fresh soft/silken tofu, arnibal (simple syrup), and sago (tapioca) pearl. This staple comfort food is a signature sweet and taho peddlers can be found all over the country. In some parts of the country like in Baguio City, the syrup can be strawberry or purple yam (ube) flavor.

 

4. Sorbetes

Sorbetes is the traditional variation of ice cream made in the Philippines. It is distinct from the similarly named sorbet. It has a variety of flavors ranging from the commo chocolate, cheese, cookies and cream to flavors common in the Philippines such as mango, avocado, and ube.

5. Bananacue

Bananacue is a term used to call fried skewered plantains cooked with brown sugar. This is a staple in the Philippines and is mostly consumed as a mid-afternoon snack.