Food in Filipino Culture

Food is an important part of Filipino culture, so much so that it is customary to greet someone with “have you eaten yet?” instead of “how are you?” Eating and eating out are favorite Filipino pastimes. A typical Filipino diet may consist of up to six meals a day: breakfast, snacks, lunch, merienda (afternoon snack), dinner, and snacks before bed. And central to every Filipino gathering is a bountiful selection of food. Food becomes an expression of hospitality and friendship — so the more food available, the more “love” is expressed.

In this issue, we highlight halo-halo, a popular Filipino summer treat. In future articles we will discuss what makes Filipino cuisine so unique and some of the historical influences on favorite Filipino foods.

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 Halo-Halo — A Filipino Favorite for Summer

Although the rainy season has arrived in the Philippines, much of the U.S. is still sweltering in the summer heat. For Filipinos here, a favorite way to cool down is with the popular summer treat, halo-halo (from the Tagalog, literally meaning “mix-mix”). Halo-halo is loved because all the tropical flavors in that one glass bring back memories of home. Since it is so refreshing, especially on a hot afternoon, halo-halo is often served at merienda, as well as for dessert. According to one source, the “original” halo-halo is from Arayat, Pampanga, a simple version consisting of pure carabao milk paste and dayap lime, sweet corn, sweet bean paste, shaved ice and milk. There are many regional variations of halo-halo, but it typically includes sweetened preserved fruits, evaporated milk and crushed ice topped with ice cream or leche flan (custard). The dessert is usually served in a tall, clear glass to show off the colorful layers.

How to Make Halo-Halo

For each serving fill a tall glass with a mixture of your favorite sweetened preserved fruits. Add crushed ice to fill the glass. Pour 2/3 cup evaporated milk onto ice-fruit mixture, and top with a scoop of ice cream or leche flan. Serve immediately with a long handled teaspoon and continually mix as you eat (halo ng halo). Enjoy!

You can make your own leche flan! For more about seasonal foods and a recipe on how to make leche flan, see A Filipino Thanksgiving Celebration.

 Ask remithome: Changing the Delivery Address of your Recipient

Question: I sent a transfer to my recipient yesterday and I just found out that her address has changed. What should I do?

Answer: If your transfer has already been processed and you need to have the money delivered to a new address, please do the following:

1. Contact remithome Customer Service at 1-800-919-0787 or email us at customerservice@remithome.com and ask us to amend the delivery instructions to make the delivery to your recipient’s new address. This will allow us to reroute the delivery for the current transfer only.
2. Update the address in your recipient's profile by logging in to your remithome account, clicking the My Recipients button, and then clicking the Update button next to your recipient’s name. This will change the delivery address for future transfers.

Please note that

• You need to call or email remithome Customer Service if you need to reroute a current transfer, but this amendment will NOT affect future transfers. So you need to update the address in your recipient’s profile to make sure future transfers get sent to the correct address.
• Updating the address in your recipient’s profile will NOT affect the current transfer, so if a transfer has already been processed, you will need to call or email us to reroute the transfer. Changing your recipient's profile will ONLY affect future transfers.
• The money will only be given to the intended recipient (ID required for delivery). If your recipient will not be available, please contact us to make other arrangements.

If you have any questions about how to amend delivery instructions or change your recipient's profile, please contact remithome Customer Service at 1-800-919-0787, Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM, Pacific Time (California), or email us at customerservice@remithome.com.