Totally Cebu

Cebu's Lechon

If it’s all about food we’re going to talk about, then Cebu is a no-stranger when it comes to that topic. Cebu is not only famous for its stunning beaches, beautiful landscapes and great people perfectly blended by the modernization, but also for food uniqueness; the lechon, or roast. There are actually three kinds of lechon: the lechon baboy (roasted pig), lechon manok (chicken) and the quite rare lechon baka (roasted cow). The lechon baka is relatively rare since, rather than the whole cow, the hind leg/s is the only part available.

In Cebu, and in some parts of the Philippines, the default name of “lechon” is branded on the whole-roasted pig since it is mostly the first choice to be order in several major occasions like weddings, feasts and birthdays. Today, the places of Carcar and Talisay are considered the most prominent lechon producers. Even parties handled by wealthy people in Manila are bound to make orders in Cebu just to get the most delicious and scrumptious lechon.

Lechon preparation

I, myself, was curious as to how lechon are cooked? I actually got my answer when I visited a certain lechon cookhouse. The pig is cleaned thoroughly first then heated and shaved to take away the hairs. It is then stuffed by several kinds of vegetables and herbs like the onions, garlic, ginger and others. After that, the pig is roasted gradually over the open fire until its inside is tender, skin gets crispy and the smell is too good for you to deny. Well, I almost vent out my frustration to eat the whole roast but I was able to resist the temptation. After all, it wouldn’t be a mortal sin to taste the crispy skin right?

Anyway, I decided to simply buy the enough portions for me. It’s only 70-100 pesos for a ¼ kilo so I settled for that one. You can always ask the vendor if he/she can include a hefty sum of that crispy skin. Darn, I can actually smell the aroma of the lechon from nowhere. That’s how tasty lechon is; it’s so good that you’ll get hallucinations thinking about it. But that’s not really a big deal right? At least for me.

The lechon manok, on the other hand, can be bought along the roadside stalls where you can smell it if you open the windows of your car. It’s indeed tempting to buy this type of lechon but you have to be aware. You might buy those “double-dead” chickens that most people talk about. It’s those lechon manoks that are already dead but is still “enhanced” to make it look like normal and then sold. You don’t want that to happen right? Well, you can always take a look at the chicken first right before you buy one, which is between 100-130 pesos nowadays.

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