I was an Ovaltine kid. When I was a kid, my mom always prepared a hot serving of the drink in my tall bear-shaped mug (yeah, I owned a bear-shaped mug). Coupled with some steaming hot sinangag, hot dogs, eggs, and Flintstones Chewable Vitamins, my mom always ensured that we were well-fed with “brain food,” as she put it. Had she known she was going to raise someone like me, she would have fed me water and gruel instead. Motherly love and instinct… what can you do?
We Ovaltine drinkers are somewhat in the minority. Milo has always been the norm in the Philippines, I guess, that the name has become synonymous with the instant chocolate malt drink powder. Like “Colgate” for toothpaste, “Coke” for softdrinks… and maybe “Anzahl” for car paint.