Milky Way Cafe

The 38 Essential Manila Restaurants

"The original Milky Way started out as an ice cream bar in 1962, serving scoops, buko lechias (coconut and lychee) sherbet, and chicken asparagus sandwiches to Manila’s high society. Today, Milky Way continues to serve homey Filipino classics with inspirations from Pampanga, another food capital of the Philippines where chef J. Gamboa’s family is originally from. The classic halo-halo, a popular shaved ice dessert, is hailed as the best in the city, though also take a look at its minimalist cousin, ginumis: shaved ice, sago (tapioca), and gulaman (jelly) topped with coconut cream, pinipig (popped rice), and house-made panutsa ice cream made from cane sugar." - Toni Potenciano

"In Search of Authentic Halo-Halo at Milky Way Café Halo-halo is a popular everyday dessert whose name is a Tagalog word meaning "mix." It’s composed of many ingredients, including various beans, fruits, and jelly-like coconut-based sweets. These toppings are put over a big bowl of shaved ice with milk; finally, the mixture is topped with a slice of leche flan (cream custard) and ube (purple yam). Some versions also incorporate gelatin, cheese, or pinipig (crispy rice), though nothing beats adding a scoop of ube ice cream on top. The proper way to eat halo-halo is to stir it up first so that each spoonful includes many ingredients and gives you a taste and texture explosion. Halo-halo is available everywhere, from public markets and local food chains to ice cream bars and the most luxurious hotel restaurants. But serious connoisseurs go for the classic one at the Milky Way Café. The eatery has been serving halo-halo for more than 40 years, and their iteration boasts 20 premium house-made ingredients and ice that is finely shaved using a hand crank."