Halo halo sa Pasil anyone?

By Ara Chawdhury
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 12:05:00 07/24/2008
Filed Under: Food, Entrepreneurship

Barangay Pasil in Cebu City has long been synonymous with cheap fish. This is where labaseras or fish suppliers unload fish from boats from other
parts of the Visayas. This is where most of the fish vendors in the city get their supplies to sell in wet markets.
Pasil is also known for its food stalls, which sell tinola soup and even larang (cooked stingrays).
In recent years, another food item is gaining popularity in Pasil ? Manang Bebang?s Halo Halo.
Halo halo is a Filipino dessert that is a mixture of shaved ice and milk to which is added boiled sweet beans and various fruits, served cold in a tall
glass or a bowl.
Genoveva Calinawan, better known as Manang Bebang said people go to her family?s halo halo store in sitio Concepcion Riverside for generous
servings of ingredients ? boiled bananas, avocado, ube, pineapple and milk.
Another reason is the finely shaved ice of the halo halo.
Murag snow (Like snow),? she said.
Then there?s the price, affordable and cheaper than rates in commercial establishments.
When Calinawan started the business 10 years ago, her halo halo were sold at P10 per cup.
Today, it?s only P12 for a 12-ounce cup and P22 for a 16-ounce cup.
The store once won a competition sponsored by Alaska Milk for being the cleanest and most visited store in Pasil.
Calinawan said customers start coming in when the store opens at 7 p.m. until closing time at 10 p.m.
Most customers are students fresh out of class or employees from different establishments around Colon Street, including a few foreigners.
She also has customers from Mandaue City and Consolacion town.
Basketball star Dondon Hontiveros once brought three friends with him to her store. Those friends return every now and then for the tasty refreshment.
Calinawan said she was not threatened by a lot of competitors sprouting in barangay Pasil because she already has loyal customers.
The business started after the family?s sari-sari store went bankrupt.
Her parents fell ill and later died, leaving the house and store to the children.
Proceeds of the store went to paying the medical bills of her ailing parents.
The five remaining sisters and their families discussed what enterprise to start in order to survive.
At one point they rented out rooms to pay the bills.
Then in 1998, with a capital of P500, they went into the halo halo business after learning that a halo halo stand was doing well in nearby sitio Suba,
Pasil.
They converted the sari sari store into a halo halo store and started selling the snack at P10 per glass.
Today, they spend at least P1,000 a day for the ingredients of the halo halo.
With increasing prices of goods, Calinawan said she is wary of increasing the price of her halo halo because affordability is one reason people flock to
her store.
She said that as long as the family still earns enough to eat and pay the bills that would be enough for her.
(Source: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/enterprise/view/20080724-150411/Halo-halo-sa-Pasil-anyone)