The Boy With The Yellow Popsicle
By hereandthere
@hereandthere (45651)
Philippines
March 24, 2017 10:57pm CST
The young boy was licking on a yellow popsicle, so I smiled and asked what flavor it was. Mango? Lemon? Corn? But he kept shaking his head. His mama saw us and said, "It's cheese." Haha!
March usually means end of the school year and graduation month in the Philippines. Elementary to college students enjoy their summer vacation from April to May, then go back to school in June.
The heat is now being felt all day, so aside from the small sari-sari stores with ice cream freezers selling cones, popsicles and tubs of ice cream, people are also setting up stands of other pampalamig (coolers) like halo-halo, ice scramble, shakes, and ice candy to earn extra.
Hmm, I just remembered, yellow can also mean langka or jackfruit flavor.
When food is yellow-colored, what flavors are they usually associated with in your country?
25 people like this
26 responses
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
25 Mar 17
A yellow popsicle here is more indicative of Banana flavored.
Now I will have to pick up some banana popsicles tomorrow!
5 people like this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
25 Mar 17
banana! that's right! yet another flavor that escaped me!
1 person likes this
@epiffanie (11326)
• Australia
25 Mar 17
I haven't tasted cheese popsicle .. i think it would be a weird taste ....
Lemon is what comes to mind when I see yellow ..
2 people like this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
25 Mar 17
banana was also mentioned, which i also overlooked.
by the way, did you try any 'pampalamig' while you were here like halo-halo?
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
26 Mar 17
@epiffanie i knew it! hahaha! my classmate gained weight, too. ube (purple yam) is simply irresistible.
1 person likes this
@epiffanie (11326)
• Australia
25 Mar 17
@hereandthere oh yes! we had a lot of halo-halo .. with ube flavoured ice-cream .. I put on a couple of kilos ..lol ..
1 person likes this
@crossbones27 (48434)
• Mojave, California
25 Mar 17
BANANA! Just wanted to make that clear. I am a monkey and like monkey behavior. lol. Love the warmer weather, just hate when it gets hot. Warmer weather tells better stories.
2 people like this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
25 Mar 17
i remember buying a small pack of instant oatmeal that was banana flavored and was disappointed at how sweet it was and how strong the banana flavoring was. plain oatmeal with a real banana would have been better.
even we tropical dwellers can struggle with the heat and humidity here. people troop to the malls to feel the a/c since most of us don't have/can't afford centralized airconditioning at home.
1 person likes this
@crossbones27 (48434)
• Mojave, California
25 Mar 17
@hereandthere Fake banana never makes a real banana. I am not sure what that means but thought it sounded good. I hear you it is a struggle in this corrupt world of ours. Leaders not paying attention.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
25 Mar 17
aside from the above, others have added banana, squash and pineapple.
so what flavors would yellow usually be for an aussie?
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
26 Mar 17
@JudyEv there are two squash varieties here. the yellow with green skin, and the orange with brown skin.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325818)
• Rockingham, Australia
25 Mar 17
@hereandthere All that you've mentioned - banana, pineapple, mango, lemon. For myself I'd call mango and squash 'orange'.
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66857)
• Philippines
26 Mar 17
hmm, a cheese Popsicle? what brand is that? Nestle or Selecta? maybe the Popsicle is home made?
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
26 Mar 17
i didn't ask. i don't know where he bought it. however, there are good, though lesser known, brands sold at sari-sari stores like creamline
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
28 Mar 17
@ridingbet i remember buying the creamline gold bar mocha brownie fudge here at the sari-sari store and it was as good yet cheap!
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66857)
• Philippines
27 Mar 17
@hereandthere creamline, we have that here. also there is one that is locally made and it can give nestle a run for their money.
1 person likes this
@chrissbergstrom (10767)
• Banks, Oregon
25 Mar 17
A Cheese popsicle would be gross, i love cheese but not a popsicle, i love bananna popsicles though
2 people like this
@Letranknight2015 (51532)
• Philippines
26 Mar 17
They were times that I would just buy ice cream and other times coke just to pacify myself from the heat.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
26 Mar 17
yeah, i've seen people passing by sucking on ice candy or mixing their halo-halo.
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
29 Mar 17
we don't have a jackfruit tree anymore. 
i don't understand the schools that did that if their classrooms are not air-conditioned. what if the students suffer from heat stroke? i know there are international schools here that follow overseas schedule, like opening in september, but you can be sure their classrooms are equipped for the heat!
i don't understand the schools that did that if their classrooms are not air-conditioned. what if the students suffer from heat stroke? i know there are international schools here that follow overseas schedule, like opening in september, but you can be sure their classrooms are equipped for the heat!1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
30 Mar 17
@Beatburn if you're growing one, make sure there's enough space. all around it. don't plant it where the neighbors or passersby can reach it, hehe, or be annoyed by the constantly falling leaves. don't let it grow too tall, either, that you can't pick the fruit.
1 person likes this
@Beatburn (4287)
• Philippines
29 Mar 17
@hereandthere I never had one, maybe I could grow one at our backyard.
Precisely. Who can study in this grueling heat? Agree, that there are air-conditioned rooms. As long as they stay inside, and don't leave the rooms but they'll still have to deal with changing temperatures.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
26 Mar 17
we don't have apricots here, but melon ice cream yes. saffron seems to be similar to kasubha here, but others argue it's not.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
29 Mar 17
@LadyDuck you've tried kasubha? where did you buy it? what dish were you cooking?
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (458233)
• Switzerland
26 Mar 17
@hereandthere No, I confirm it is not at all similar, I have tried kasubha the saffron has a completely different taste. It is very expensive.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
27 Mar 17
Banana or lemon usually (lemon more often). I have never seen a cheese popsicle! What about blue? what is blue for ya'll?
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
28 Mar 17
i don't think i've seen blue colored ice cream here. violet or purple would usually be associated with ube (purple yam).
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
28 Mar 17
@hereandthere blue for us is usually raspberry. purple grape
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
28 Mar 17
@DianneN which countries in asia have you been to?
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
26 Mar 17
but have you tasted jackfruit in your travels? if it's not yet ripe, it's cooked in coconut milk to be eaten with rice. if it's ripe, it is sweet and added to desserts or snacks.
1 person likes this
@DianneN (246901)
• United States
26 Mar 17
@hereandthere I may have had it in China, but no one told me if I did. I guess it's time for a vacation. Lol!
1 person likes this
@sunrisefan (28524)
• Philippines
25 Mar 17
As young boys in my elementary years, our happiness was sitting at the plaza eating popsicle after our gardening at noon. My favorite then were the peach and the pink popsicle. I did not like the chocolate flavored that much nor the yellow which was pineapple. Those were our simple joys as young kids :)
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
25 Mar 17
see, yet another tropical flavor that should have been obvious - pineapple!
what i liked growing up was pinipig crunch (rice crispies) and buko ice drop with monggo (coconut with red mung beans)
1 person likes this
@sunrisefan (28524)
• Philippines
25 Mar 17
@hereandthere I've not come across that ice drop with monggo. What I enjoyed was frozen avocado inside cups made by the nuns :)
1 person likes this
@almostoveryou (4196)
• Philippines
25 Mar 17
If it's a yellow popsicle, it must be mango! But if it's sorbetes in a cone, it's cheese :D
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
26 Mar 17
i still buy from the mamang sorbetero once in a while. i still prefer the cone, not the small plastic cup.
1 person likes this
@almostoveryou (4196)
• Philippines
26 Mar 17
@hereandthere yeah, for some reason the cone of mamang sorbetero tastes better than the expensive sugar cones that we get from the more upscale ice cream shops :D
1 person likes this
@TheDeepGuy (33)
• India
28 Mar 17
The first thought of course is MANGO!! After a little while I might say, Banana Lemon etc etc etc.
And you wrote it really beautifully too!! Great work :-)
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
29 Mar 17
thank you. it's interesting how many flavors there are that are associated with lemon and it differs per country.
@quantum2020 (12040)
• Ciudad De Mexico, Mexico
25 Mar 17
Mango, pineapple, guava bananas and orange, among many others
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
26 Mar 17
we have guavas here, but i don't think i've seen guava ice cream.
one time, an officemate who visited china came home with guava candy and it was so delicious.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
25 Mar 17
but in actuality, there are several like the ones i mentioned in my post, and banana as added by other responders here.
@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
31 Mar 17
I would say lemon, mango, banana or pineapple.
1 person likes this
@ilocosboy (45157)
• Philippines
25 Mar 17
yellow is my favorite color. What else can I name with yellow... hmm, squash 
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
25 Mar 17
you're right about squash. i see more and more food products with vegetable flavors now, like squash (kalabasa) and malunggay (moringa). it's actually good that we now see more and more healthy chichirya.
