Halo Asian Mix - Filipino Fast Food in the Loop

I've been pleasantly surprised by the offerings at Halo Asian Mix.

It opened up in the old Oodles of Noodles space on Adams (near Wabash) and even kept much of their signage and menu. Since I was pretty turned off by the food at Oodles, I had stayed away from Halo until recently.

The menu is organized by country of origin. They feature standard issue Americanized Chinese and Thai food that I haven't tried, as well as some Japanese options. I've focused mostly on the Filipino and Hawaiian dishes because they were more interesting to me, and the place, I think, is owned by a Filipino family.

The food takes a little while to come out since they're cooking most things to order. Off the Hawaiian menu I've enjoyed the SPAM loco moco which had three grilled slices of SPAM, two runny fried eggs, and a healthy spoonful of surprisingly tasty brown gravy since I assume it's from a can (though I suppose it could be somewhat homemade given the feel of the place). They also have Filipino fast-food classics like tapsilog, tocilog, and longsilog. All are simple and pretty well prepared and taste like what I'd expect to have in a Filipino house.

Today was my best experience there by far. On Fridays they offer steam trays filled with pretty authentic Filipino food. I tried the shrimp with bitter melon and the chicken adobo. There was a large group of Filipino men in the restaurant when I was there chowing down on the steam tray offerings. They also have some fried, whole pompanos that are served with a spicy Filipino vinegar sauce. I've got my eyes on that dish for next time.

I was surprised to see such authentic offerings in the middle of the loop. The meals always cost under 8 bucks so I've been willing to try different items on the menu looking for items I like. The food comes out fresh and hits the spot. It's a remarkably unique and interesting spot in the loop.

Halo Asian Mix
29 E Adams St
Chicago
http://www.haloasianmix.com/

Had another successful lunch at Halo today. They use the steam trays on Fridays only, as far as I know, so that's when I try to visit. Their other offerings are solid, but I feel like they make a real effort to offer unique items on Fridays.



I ordered two dishes with a side of rice. The black dish is some kind of stewed tilapia in a tart sauce. I think it might be dinuguan, but it definitely didn't have any of that metallic or offaly flavor I'd expect from a dish made with pork's blood. Though it was a little funky, hard to say. Perhaps they used a little and offset it with plenty of vinegar so as not to scare off customers? Not sure, but it was tasty. The fish was soft and tender, and served as a nice vehicle to carry the funky sauce. There were also pieces that were soft and fatty that originally I thought was soft tofu, but realized it was some kind of animal fat (I don't think it was fish). They leant a nice textural contrast to the fish and added richness to the dish.

The other dish is the Filipino classic, chicken afritada. This was a solid version that featured perfectly cooked hunks of carrot that were still firm but still picked up plenty of flavor from the creamy sauce. The chicken was all dark meat, soft and flavorful. The sauce was a little sour from the tomato sauce, but I also detected a funkiness that probably came from fish sauce. I perked it up a little with their spicy vinegar that they have behind the counter.

This place is real close to my office, so it has become my go to for a quick, cheap Friday meal. I hope they keep rotating the interesting Filipino steam tray offerings on Fridays. It's been a fun and delicious education in Filipino cuisine.

Thanks for sharing this. It is not too far from where I work and I had no idea this place existed. I will definitely be making my way there soon.