'Sang Dosenang Halo Halo ng Taga-Digman

We used to live in a little cozy family compound in Pasay City, where having my immediate relatives (mother's side) for neighbors, ensured a tight bond that would last us till we kids (then) have grown up and are now with our own little ones to care of too.

My childhood spent in the land of motels (this is how I view Pasay City.  Heck!  We even had one 2 houses away from our home, right next to a Christian church, mind you.  J) were not to last as when the late 1990s rolled along, our lot was sold and families went their own separate ways.  2 titas (and their corresponding families, of course) stayed in another area also within Pasay City.  One settled in Laguna; and 2 (ours included) chose to call Cavite home.

Living a stone's throw away from Bacoor, it's inevitable that that mouth-watering delicacy known as Digman's halo halo (a type of local dessert) would make its way to my food-I-must-try radar.  Pestering the paternals (the parents) were of little use as locating this famous hole-in-the-wall was a little exhausting to say the least (not located along a major highway, folks).

But little did I know that I've been having a taste of this famous dessert for ages already.

Halo Halo ng Taga-Digman

My family were frequent The Landmark goers years past, when were were still living near the vicinity, usually doing our grocery shopping at their basement supermarket.  I've seen it in its olden state -- complete with gray food court chairs and cracked tables -- till its current appearance, a blossoming (in a way) due the recent renovations and add-ons installed.

But up to this very day, I can still very well remember 3 things about The Landmark of my youth: (1) the turnstiles going in and out of the supermarket were sooooooo ridiculously narrow, only a kid could fit through; (2) a Jollibee store was always present; and (3) this small halo-halo stall in the food court with the long, but catchy tagline -- "'Sang Dosenang Halo, Sang Dosenang Sarap" (roughly translates to "a dozen mixes, a dozen tastes/deliciousness", which looking back now, I know more than the actual name of this place.  I just knew it was that colorful stall that displays heaping bowlfuls of their halo-halo ingredients in a glass case.

Imagine my surprise when, during a recent trip back to The Landmark, that this stall where we had halo-halo countless of times in my youth was actually called Digman's (or, to be more precise, Halo-Halo ng Taga-Digman)!  The tagline coming from the fact that they use exactly 12 ingredients for their concoction, the same dozen displayed on their glass shelves.

And while I know that Digman (which, by the way, is a municipality in Bacoor, Cavite) has slowly lost its place as THE halo-halo of choice of the people (what with various establishments offering their own versions), having 1 more serving from them is perhaps a call of nostalgia (on my part).

Digman's Halo-Halo sells for Php70; Php75 if you want it with ube (a jam made with water yam) and leche flan (a local milk custard).  Yes, nothing sure beats the heat than with a serving of this cold Pinoy treat.

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Halo-Halo ng Taga-Digman
Basement Food Court, The Landmark Department Store
Ayala Center, Makati City 1224