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Jul 1, 2014

Long Drive for Apareja Halo-Halo in Koronadal

Price: P65 dine-in, P70 take-out
GPS waypoint: N 6°25'01 E 124°52'56
Location: Barrio 8, Brgy. Saravia, Koronadal City, So. Cotabato, Philippines

The Iconic Halo-Halo
Halo-halo is the Philippines' merienda pastime. Every eating place in the country usually has it in the menu. With so much of it around from roadside eateries to high-zoot resaurants, what does it take to make a name in halo-halo? A few names come to mind. But in Gen San, an obscure highway-side halo-halo place in far-away Koronadal seems to make a name for itself as the halo-halo must-try.

Are We There Yet?
When Helen invited me to join her together with Chic and Leona for that long drive to halo-halo haven, my knee-jerk reaction was, "Isn't that too far away?". Without missing a beat, Leona retorted, "Hey, I'm the one driving...and I'm not complaining!". That settled it. We were off to find out if Apareja Halo-Halo was worth the hype we were hearing. The 'long trip' was actually longer than I even thought. Finally, we were there.

Obscure
The place was along the highway, very nondescript and could easily be missed. Without its reputation, the place could readily be mistaken and bypassed for any ordinary roadside eatery. There were other halo-halo joints too that jumped-in on the bandwagon. If you were just looking for 'the halo-halo place' without knowing the resto name, you'd be hardpressed which one to choose.

Halo-Halo Goodness
With our order, a few things were already noticeable - the coconut shell was fresh, not just a recycled placeholder for halo-halo. You could actually scrape the coconut meat off the shell and mix it in with the halo-halo. There is the quintessential Ube ice cream on top, and the ice shavings were the perfect Razon's style...fine and creamy. The ingredients were only the select prime choices for halo-halo - jackfruit, leche flan, etc. and none of the filler stuff (gulaman, etc.). Taste? You couldn't go wrong with the ingredients. It's definitely at par with the best there is.

Ending Thoughts
Yes, it was a great halo-halo treat. The long drive with friends made the anticipation even more eagerly awaited. If you're heading to Cagayan de Oro from Gen San, it's along the way. It's worth stopping by.

--- TheLoneRider

Thank you Leona for driving us there (in your new car)!

FYI / Tips

a tablespoon of brandy or rum with halo-halo takes you to Cloud 9
if you're making the trip from GenSan, you might as well stop by Durian Farm which is along the way

How to Get to Apareja