Introduction

"Halo-halo (Tagalog language for "mix-mix") is a popular Filipino dessert with mixtures of shaved ice and evaporated milk to which are added various boiled sweet beans, jello and fruits. It is served in a tall glass or bowl.
Ingredients include boiled kidney beans, garbanzos, sugar palm fruit (kaong), coconut sport (macapuno), and plantains caramelized in sugar, jackfruit (langkâ), gulaman, tapioca, nata de coco, sweet potato (kamote), cheese, pounded crushed young rice (pinipig). In terms of arrangement, most of the ingredients (fruits, beans, and other sweets) are first placed inside the tall glass, followed by the shaved ice. This is then sprinkled with sugar, and topped with either (or a combination of) leche flan, purple yam (ubeng pula), or ice cream. Evaporated milk is poured into the mixture upon serving"   from Wikipedia


I was born in Manila, Philippines in 1961. My father was born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Philippines. My mother was born in Bacolod City, Visaya, Philippines. My grandparents on both sides were from Fookien, China. It is located at the southeastern part of China.

Growing up in Manila, my neighbors were  mostly Filipinos. I spoke Fookien at home and Tagalog outside. In school, we learned English in the morning and Mandarin in the afternoon. Tagalog is the official language in the Philippines. With it's 7,100 islands, there were different dialects. In China, there were about 30 provinces and each province has its own dialect. Fookien is from the southeastern province of  China. Mandarin was its official language.

So what has this dessert have to do with me? At age 52, I feel that that is who I am right now. I am an American citizen. I speak English at work. When I come home, I speak Mandarin with my wife. Our most favorite vacation place is Los Angeles, California. It is not because of Hollywood or Disneyland, it is because we can eat authentic Chinese food. When I go to Las Vegas, Nevada, I would stop by Goldilock for my Filipino fix. I would order Halo-Halo, palabok, kare-kare or dinuguan.

After high school, my ambition was to become a Chinese writer. I wanted to go to Taiwan to study Chinese literature. My father was against it. I followed his wishes and went to medical school. My desire to be a writer and publish a book has been with me all these year. This is my book, a collection of my essays, poems and photography.