Definitely Cebu #2: Puto Bumbong and Halo-Halo - Filipino Desserts in Colon and Tisa

Let's pick up from where we left in my new travel-feature series entitled Definitely Cebu. If I'm not a procrastinator, it would have been posted over the weekend. Anyway, I'm actually satisfied with the result of the first entry of this series. For those who haven't read it yet, you can find it here:

After having our fill with Tuslob Buwa, we decided to have dessert. As they always say, no matter how full you are, there's always room for dessert. The initial plan was to have Halo-Halo in Tisa, Cebu City. All it takes was one jeep ride, but it would probably take 45 minutes to 1 hour to get there considering the traffic.

If there was a PUV (public utility vehicle - cheapest mode of transportation here in Cebu) route going to Tisa that's near us, we would have not explored some parts of Colon Street. But since the jeep route is from a different intersection, we decided to explore Colon to see what's new.

While we were still along the street, we saw something that I have been craving for a long time and that's Puto Bumbong.

Puto Bumbong is a type of Filipino purple rice cake which was made by steaming ground purple rice mixture in bamboo tubes. It's typically prepared during Christmas season when vendors are seen steaming Puto Bumbong outside churches during simbang gabi. But you know in the Philippines, Christmas season is starts in September and it will end in February.

While in Colon Street, we saw this odd-looking steamer with bamboo tubes sticking up. Those bamboo tubes are called "bumbong ng kawayan" in which the name of the delicacy is named after. Traditionally, the steamed sticky purple rice is topped with margarine or butter, grated coconut, and muscovado sugar and served in a banana leaf.

The one we tried was a variation where Puto Bumbong is topped with condensed milk and grated cheese. Some alternative recipes include ube or purple yam for the color and consistency while using the ordinary white sticky rice.

For only Php 20.00, you can already try the famed Filipino dessert. They say Puto Bumbong is available in Carbon Public Market all year round. I will definitely try to visit the market one day and feature it here.

As I was taking photos, I was the last one to try it. My friends already told me that it was so good and I should try it already.

I would say that having 1 serving is not enough specially if you're a sweet tooth like me. The purple rice cake is jelly in consistency with subtle sweetness. It was amplified by the condensed milk which was also balanced by the cheese. The grated coconut added texture to the rice cake. It's highly recommended.

I was really full that night that I was planning to ditch the original plan to have halo-halo in Tisa. However, my friends were really eager to push through with it so I just tagged along. Tisa is known to be a place in Cebu where siomai, larang, and halo-halo are a must try.

My camera was already dead because I forgot to charge it before. I never thought to reach Tisa that night anyway, so I was confident that it would be fine. Since we were already there, I just asked my friend to share her photos and informed her that I'll include them in my blog.

Monbis' Halo-Halo is located at 360 Katipunan St., Cebu City. It can be easily recognized because of its signage along the road. It's just a small restaurant that specializes in halo-halo. It opens at 7 PM onwards and I think they're closed during the day.

For those who didn't know, halo-halo is a Filipino dessert that's a concoction of crushed ice, evaporated milk, and an endless combination of various sweets and sweetened treats. Ube, pinipig, sago, gulaman, coconut strips, and sweetened banana are common ingredients that's often topped with ice cream and leche flan, but every region in the Philippines has its own version with whatever sweet treat that's available. It's very popular especially during summer as it's a perfect treat to cool off.

What makes Monbis' Halo-Halo special is their crushed ice. The normal halo-halo would become bland if not eaten immediately since the ice would melt and would become a puddle of water with the floating ingredients. Monbis' crushed ice were already flavored so you don't have to worry about its flavor even after the ice melts. I'm not sure, but they say they use coconut water instead of ordinary water in their crushed ice to make it extra flavorful.

I highly recommend Monbis' Halo-Halo. I was still able to finish my cup even if I was already full from Tuslob Buwa and Puto Bumbong in the Colon.

I guess that's all for this post. I hope you'll like it. If you do, leave a comment down below and show some love. Here is an exhaustive list of my posts that could qualify to be part of Definitely Cebu series:

Kim Ybañez

_{Welcome to Kim's small corner in the Steem blockchain. He is a chemical engineer by profession, but a blogger by passion. He is a wanderlust and an adventure seeker. Join his quests as he visits secluded destinations, climbs mountains, tries new and exotic dishes, and explores his country (The Philippines) and the rest of the world even if he's still a poor corporate slave with tons of bills to pay and two siblings to support in college.}