Yes, that concoction of shaved ice mixed (hence the term) with cooked, sweetened munggo, saba, langka, yam, kaong, macapuno, mais, nata de coco, pinipig, and sago in a tall glass or bowl, liberally doused with evaporated milk and topped with a spoonful of leche flan or a scoop of ice cream.
Not exactly lost in translation, but Pampanga’s own mix of this delight is all too different from the Tagalog’s.
Not simply with how it’s called – “alualu,” in keeping with the absence of “H” in spoken Kapampangan, and un-hypenated.
Alualu veers from the literal translation of halo- halo that is “mix-mix” as it is a contraction of “ali-aliua” meaning different, referring to the ingredients. So it was learned from the short talk of Chef Claude Tayag, noted Kapampangan artist and bon vivant, at the Grand Kapampangan Alualu Festival sponsored by the Pampanga provincial government at SM City Pampanga last Friday.
“Alualu has munggo, saba, ube and corn as basic ingredients, with pastillas or leche flan for added flavour, and arnibal (syrup) as sweetener,” Tayag said.
Thence, the chef proceeded to demonstrate how alualu is made – really HOW!
With 25 bags of shaved ice poured into a ten-foot tall glass made of…fiberglass, the ingredients – by the trayful, sourced from different towns, like corn from Mexico, pastillas from Magalang, leche flan from Sta. Rita, and saba from Porac.
The evaporated milk was provided by Gov. Lilia Pineda and Vice Gov. Dennis Pineda.
All mixed – not without some strenuous efforts by Tayag and his assistants – with over- 10-foot-long aluminium ladles and poles.
The concoction comprising some 360 gallons, may be enough to make the Guinness Book of Records had it been entered, noted Tourism Director Ronnie Tiotuico who said the festival was part of the “Flavors of the Philippines” campaign preparatory to Madrid Fusion 2015.
No grandiose goals for the provincial government in the alulau fest, said Governor Pineda.
“It’s just a celebration of one more native Kapampangan offering, in affirmation of our being the culinary capital of the Philippines,” she said.
And SM mallers that Friday could not agree more with her, having been served Chef Claude’s alualu with banana leaf-wrapped “pancit luglug” from the provincial government’s culinary center.
Yes, that’s how they’re paired in Pampanga – alualau-pancit luglug, as in mami-siopao, puto-dinuguan, and some others elsewhere.
