Halo-halo, also spelled haluhalo means "mixed" in Filipino. Quite fitting, this dessert is essentially a dessert of crushed ice mixed with a variety of other toppings. The ingredients can include:
This origin of halo-halo can be traced to pre-war Japanese Filipinos, and Japanese kaikigori (かき氷), Japanese shaved ice. The earliest variation of this dessert only included mung beans, with the usual condensed milk and sugar. Over time, the toppings gradually increased, eventually shaping the cold dessert that we know today. One way to tell this dessert from its Japanese counterpart is the placement of the ingredients. Rather than having the ingredients placed on top of the crushed ice, they're placed below the ice instead.