Have A Taste Of Something Special At Monbis Halo-Halo

The halo-halo is the most popular Filipino dessert made from ice shavings, boiled sweetened beans, evaporated milk, different fruits, and gulaman. It is called halo-halo since you basically make “halo” or mix the ingredients used on the dish. Well, Cebu has a number of halo-halo places, ranging from your friendly neighborhood carenderia-cum-dessert place to big-name fast food restaurants located in major malls in the city. But, there are also some halo-halo places that have attracted the attention of locals and piqued the interest of visitors. One of these places is Monbis Halo-Halo in Tisa, Cebu City.

The Halo-Halo at Monbis

Monbis Halo-Halo

Monbis Halo-Halo is a hole-in-the-wall halo-halo place that has caught the interest of residents of Barangay Tisa. The place actually started out as your run-of-the-mill restaurant along Katipunan Street, Cebu City. Their halo-halo was just one of the items on their menu, which included beef stroganoff and siomai as well as sizzling dishes.

Rain or Shine, People Still Flock to Monbis Halo-Halo

But, as things would have it, the halo-halo was a runaway success as most of their customers ordered this popular Filipino dessert. The owners, Edmon and Bambi, decided to focus on offering halo-halo instead. And thus, Monbis Halo-Halo was born. The name of the store is a combination of the names of the owners. They just added a letter “s” at the end to make it sound good.

The Sign Leading to Something Good

Edmon is hands-on when it comes to making the halo-halo. You can see him at the store supervising or even assembling the halo-halo itself. On the other hand, Bambi takes care of cashiering duties at the store. They already have two branches of the store and both are located along the same road. Despite the close proximity of the two stores, they still attract customers like ants to sugar.

Halo-Halo Assembled and Ready to be Served

When I went to the place with a couple of friends, it was actually drizzling. But, after arriving at Monbis Halo-Halo, the place was teeming with people. Some were even standing waiting for a table to become vacant.  To keep things organized, they used priority numbers based on the orders of their customers.

Now Serving

The Halo-Halo

Now, let’s talk about the halo-halo of Monbis Halo-Halo. They only serve one type of halo-halo, the halo-halo special. And special it is. The ice they use on the dessert features fine granules that when mixed has a similar consistency as ice cream. In addition, they also add a number of real fruits, including jackfruit, mango, and bananas. Add the scoop of ice cream and crushed Graham crackers and topped with a good amount of Hershey’s choco syrup, the dish is definitely pleasing to the eyes. The whole dish also has a colorful wafer stick to complete the presentation.

My Halo-Halo Waiting to be Devoured

You can also try making your own halo-halo at home. Just make sure you have a good ice shaver to make the shaved ice. You can try this Kyowa KW-5100 Electric Ice Shaver or the heavy duty SS-11 Ice Cube Shaver. Then make sure you have all the other ingredients you can use to make your own version of the halo-halo.

The Kyowa Electric Ice Shaver

The Price

The halo-halo offered at Monbis Halo-Halo is priced at PHP75, which is rather reasonable since it has a good amount of ingredients on it. In addition, you will likely want to have more of it after consuming one serving.

Have You Tasted the Halo-Halo at Monbis Already?

The Location

We were only able to visit the second branch of Monbis Halo-Halo, which is located along Katipunan Street, Tisa, Cebu City. The first branch is located on the same street around a kilometer or two down the road.

Monbis Halo-Halo

Getting There

Getting to Monbis Halo-Halo is as easy as getting on a jeepney passing through Katipunan Street. Just look for the colorful sign of the place on the right side of the road. If you are coming from Ayala, you can get on a jeepney marked 12L and tell the driver or conductor that you want to get off at Monbis Halo-Halo. If you are taking a taxi to the place, just tell the driver you want to go to Monbis Halo-Halo. If the driver is unsure of its location, tell him to pass through Katipunan Street and simply look for a big crowd of people waiting for their orders or look for the sign on the right side of the road.

Look for the Crowd of People at Monbis Halo-Halo

Monbis Halo-Halo will be a fitting place for you to end the day after tasting the pochero at Gate 5 Pochero House or the chicken at the King of Chicken. It is just one of the many places in Tisa where you can find great-tasting dishes at a reasonable price. This hole-in-the-wall dessert place will definitely be on your list if you want to try the best halo-halo in town.

More Halo-Halo Waiting to be Served

Note: Prices may change without prior notice.