Nepo Subdivision Angeles City, and a branch at Nepo Mart Angeles
City. Is there a lady named Corazon behind the famous Corazon’s halo-halo? As it turns out, the halo-halo that everyone is talking about in Angeles is the concoction of Mrs. Fe Guarin and you can find her place in Corazon street in Nepo Subdivision. Recently she opened a branch along McArthur Highway near Angeles University Foundation. Mama Fe considers her being in the food business as fate. She was a successful career woman holding key positions in RCPI and later PT&T when she retired prematurely to spend more time with her only daughter who was then having marital problems. Mama Fe felt it was her duty to lend emotional and practical support to her daughter and five grandchildren. She chose to become a fulltime lola so her daughter could pursue her career and earn for her family. But even with five grandchildren to look after, Mama Fe felt idle. She decided to open a small sari-sari store in front of her house. During summer she opened her garage and set up a long table to serve halo-halo, pancit, dinuguan and other merienda treats. The summer menu was a hit and it stayed the rest of the year. Halo-halo sa Corazon was on the road to success. One day Sandy Daza sampled her cooking and featured her in his regular column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. That opened the floodgates for Mama Fe and her garage store. Since then she has not stopped thanking God for her blessings. “I would often sing Papuri sa Dios while I’m cooking the palabok sauce,” she says. “That is the special ingredient to my recipes.I told the Lord that I’m not a good cook and if He can please help me”. Now with 22 employees, the owner has started to give her eldest apo, Jaja Castro, a free rein in the management of the two shops. She lets Jaja make major decisions but stays behind her “if they have to do some remedies later”. “But I often tell her not to be very strict with the employees”, she adds. Almost all their employees come from the neighborhood, which has its disadvantages as well as advantages, so she plans to get from other provinces as well. Labor problems should be the least of her concerns. During the interview, someone came to deliver a bagful of dalayap for her. Mama Fe insisted on giving her halo-halo before she went on her way. She confides, “Although delivery people are not supposed to impose on the hospitality of clients, I still insist on offering them snacks. Buri kung i-share ing kakung blessings(I want to share my blessings)”. And how is the young manager, Jaja Castro, doing? A Physical Therapy graduate, Jaja acknowledges that she has a long way to go, opting to gain more business experience before expanding further. But given the opportunity, she considers opening in San Fernando and Tarlac. She also plans to take cooking lessons to augment the skill she already has. “We come from a family of great cooks!”, she says, adding that she personally prepares the lumpiang shanghai which is fast becoming a favorite. As for the pancit palabok, the lola-and-apo tandem have trained a cook to prepare the sauce. Soon, Jaja’s younger sister Ella will operate her own branch. So what makes the Halo-halo sa Corazon special? The owners take pride in the preparation of their ingredients: macapuno, sagin saba, mais and their special beans and haleyang gatas. “I cook for the pleasure of my customers and try to perfect everything. Less than that and I’ll be cheating them.”
