Double Shot: Shop Halo Halo
For our second issue, we’re covering a Filipino coffee shop and bakery located at 50th and Woodstock, Shop Halo Halo.
Walkability/Accessibility: Halo Halo is about a 30-minute walk from campus, up the Woodstock hill a couple blocks up from Safeway and The Heist. If you’re headed to the Multnomah County Library, the café is just across the street. Because of this, the 19 Line has a stop right next to it. It’s worth mentioning that the shop has slightly odd hours, open between Thursday and Sunday from 10:00am to 5:00pm. [B+]
Price Point: Drinks at Halo Halo range between $4.75 and $5.75, it’s a steal for how good they are. [A]
Coffee Quality (and option variety): While Halo Halo doesn’t have any espresso options, the quality of their coffee options more than makes up for it. Their Dalgona Latte is still full and dark, and is only made better by the addition of their rich caramelized coconut cream latik syrup. Their drinks are in a different league from a typical latte with syrup. All of the drinks at this shop are vegan and made with barista oat milk. The flavors of the drinks are mixed wonderfully with that in mind. [A]
Food Quality (and option variety): Halo Halo brings an unrivaled menu of both sweet and savory treats. On the more traditional side, they have a brown butter coffee cake that perfectly balances salt, sweetness, and vanilla. Their black sesame butter mochi is a sweet and chewy rice dough treat, with the sesame providing umami. For something more filling, check out the corned beef pandesal. It has tender corned beef and potatoes surrounded by a lightly sweetened roll. These options are more diverse than any we’ve seen. [A]
Atmosphere: The café shares its location with Daphne’s Plants, which gives the place a wonderful atmosphere, comfy and open with a large window for natural light. When we went to write this review, there was a D&D group hosting a session at a reserved table. They have an entire wall dedicated to art from local Asian and Indigenous artists with works you can purchase to support them. [A]
Alternative Drinks: One of the drinks that we had was their brand new Baguio Fog, their take on the London Fog named after the large city in the Philippines. It’s earl grey tea flavored with their latik syrup and pandan, a flavor derived from the plant of the same name. Pandan has a unique floral and refreshing taste like a mix of jasmine, roasted rice, and vanilla. Their chai was more ginger-forward and spicy than any other chai we’ve had in the city, which is a plus for us. Their chai was also on the sweeter side. The tea lattes are easily some of the best that we’ve had, even compared to dedicated tea shops. The jasmine latte was beautifully fragrant and balanced with the milk. [A+]