Taste the flavors of La Union with every scoop at this museum-inspired restaurant

Aside from La Union's famous surf spots and heartbreak-healing sunsets, there's another compelling reason to visit the province. Tucked in Brgy. Biday, San Fernando City is Halo-Halo de Iloko, a restaurant that celebrates La Union's diverse produce while supporting local farmers.

- By JHON OLIVER NERY

CHEF XAVE poses in front of his restaurant with his dog, a familiar face to regular customers of Halo-Halo de Iloko.

Humble beginnings

Behind this restaurant is Chef Xavier “Xave” Balangue Mercado, a Mass Communication graduate who never trained as a chef but saw food as a bridge between dreams and community. After college, he went to the United States not to work in kitchens, but to learn from them.

“I visited different states and talked to janitors, waiters, waitresses, and cooks. I was doing a feasibility study because I was planning to open a restaurant or refreshment parlor here in La Union,” he said.

However, his stay was cut short by the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001. The incident forced him to return to the Philippines earlier than expected. Back then, La Union was often dismissed as a quick stopover for gas or restroom breaks en route to Northern Luzon. He wanted to change that image.

As a halo-halo enthusiast, Chef Xave saw the dessert as the key, but not if he simply relied on traditional recipes. He traveled across the country, sampling versions from Sultan Kudarat, Cebu, and Davao, even in humble carinderias. Those journeys, he said, taught him that the secret wasn't imitation but celebrating what La Union already had.

In 2004, with P25,000, a borrowed refrigerator, and 15 seats in a small garage, he opened Halo-Halo de Iloko, named after Museo de Iloko in Agoo town. Today, the once-humble eatery is an 80-seater restaurant beloved by locals, tourists, and celebrities alike.

La Union in every scoop