Halo-halo espesyal: Ice, ice, baby!

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April 17, 2025 | 12:00am

What could be more tempting on a blazing summer day than a most refreshing, tall glass of halo-halo with its perfectly shaved, melt-in-your-mouth ice laced with a delicious mix of well-loved Filipino ingredients?

Go ahead and indulge your taste buds! This sweltering Friday noon, all roads seem to lead to Kuya J at Venice Grand Canal, Upper McKinley Town Center, Fort Bonifacio, where a halo-halo espesyal tasting session is happening.

After polishing off the last morsels on my loaded plate, overflowing glasses of halo-halo are gingerly laid down in front of us, one by one. I thought I had died and gone to dessert heaven! I can’t help but succumb to the dreamy, sinful temptation and just promise myself I’ll do penance later.

Uber treats with ube

First, we dive into the Kuya J Halo-Halo Espesyal that refreshingly combines milky-smooth ice and delightful ingredients, topped with homemade leche flan and a generous sprinkling of cornflakes. Then we let our taste buds feel more special with the Kuya J Ube Halo-Halo Espesyal, which infuses the beloved ube  (yam) into Kuya J’s signature ice to create a vibrant ube-flavored shaved ice. Simply yammy! Finally, ube gets the recognition it deserves because here, it’s the star and not just a topper.

Can’t get enough of our Kuya J halo-halo so far? We freeze at the sight of the Kuya J Duo Halo-Halo Espesyal, a double treat that combines Kuya J’s signature milky ice, ube-flavored ice, and essential toppings to create the best of the classics.

For the finale (and a fitting curtain call to such a cool gustatory production), we’re having the Kuya J Cheesy Ube Halo-Halo Espesyal that gives a sweet treat spin by mixing ube-flavored ice with grated cheddar cheese. Say cheese — rather, let it melt in your mouth as the iced ube delicately slides down your throat.

Each flavor is available for only P89 (solo) and P135 (regular). But for the not-so-heavy eaters like me, the solo already feels like regular with its oh-so-generous serving while the regular is really much more than your regular halo-halo. In that magic ice glass sculpture lies a dazzling blend of different flavors and textures — and a whole load of fun!

“The Ube Espesyal and Halo-Halo Espesyal are originals, they started with Kuya J,” says Caren Aguado, senior marketing manager for Kuya J. “The ice mix and the standard ingredients (leche flan, nata de coco, saba, langka, beans, cornflakes) were developed by the original R & D team of Kuya J and approved by the chairman.”

We ask Caren about the ube ice, an uber treat you can only enjoy at Kuya J. “We have a special machine that mixes the ube with the ice,” Caren discloses, without giving away Kuya J’s closely guarded trade secret. “The store freezes the mixture.”

So, after all that indulgence, would you count the calories? I wouldn’t, because I’d rather count the memories, not the calories.

‘Meaty’ Fish/seafood menu for lent

This Lenten season (and perhaps any other season), you can go meatless at Kuya J with its “meaty” menu of fish, vegetable and seafood dishes. Like sizzling pompano sa gata, drizzled with coconut sauce and served with a medley of Pinoy vegetables; grilled scallops, loaded with cheese and garlic butter toppings; lumpia presko (ubod, crab meat, bean sprouts, carrot, rolled into malunggay-infused wrapper and served with sweet garlic sauce); seafood kare-kare (with Chilean mussels, shrimp, squid, and veggies in Kuya J’s signature peanut sauce); spicy tuna belly, garnished with garlic chips; crispy bangus ala pobre, richly topped with crispy garlic; homecooked sinigang na bangus with green veggies; danggit fried rice with chives; crispy aligue (crab fat) fried rice; ginataang gulay; ensaladang talong with bagoong dressing; crispy kangkong with bagoong-mayo dip; fish and chips (tawilis with kamote chips), and the list can go on and on.

At Kuya J, you can go solo or salo (with set meals designed for big groups and families). “Families usually come on weekends,” Caren informs us. “Dating couples and working people come on weekdays. Yes, our prices are mid-range; compared to other restaurants, we’re lower. We try to maintain our value-for-money offerings.”

Since Kuya J opened in 2013, it has branched out into 83 stores all over the country.

Finally, we ask Caren what we’ve always wanted to ask: Who is Kuya J? Is there really a Kuya J?

“Yes, there was,” is all Caren can tell us for now.

So, the “J” in Kuya J is not the actor Jericho Rosales? “He’s our endorser,” replies a smiling Caren.

But of course, we wouldn’t mind having the debonair Jericho sitting beside us as we wolf down a glorious glass of Kuya J halo-halo on a hot summer day. That would be really cool!

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Enjoy elevated Filipino casual dining at Kuya J with its flavor-forward approach to classic Filipino dishes offered at affordable price points. Check out its website at kuyaj.ph or follow its Facebook and Instagram @KuyaJResto.