Pigs can fly
Probably the best pig skin I’ve ever eaten. Yes, better than
the best Chinese style suckling pig skin. The key difference is the crunch –
Chinese style suckling pig skin has a crispy crunch, whereas CnT lechon has
‘glass-like’ crunch which does not break down into small fragments upon biting,
giving a longer lasting crunch. Not the mention the moreishly salty layer of
fat underneath.
But it’s not just the skin – make sure you order the pork
shoulder cut of lechon – it’s tender, a tad salty and a touch herby from the
secret mixture used to stuff the pig.
Don’t forget the to order the ‘atchara’ – a pickled green
papaya salad whose sweet and sour properties complement the fatty pork
perfectly.
And I didn’t mention the price. Rice, half a kilo of lechon
and ‘atchara’ will set you back around 500 PHP. Incredible value. Just note the
opening hours of CnT’s branches – many will be sold out by the later hours of
the afternoon – so if you can, stop by for lunch.
Price: ~250PHP per person
Opening hours: 8am – 6pm, Earlier you arrive, the better!
Address: Multiple outlets across Cebu
When disappointment turns into awesome sausages
We only had time to grab a bit of Zubuchon’s lechon at the
domestic terminal of Cebu airport (traveller’s tip: once you’ve gone though
check-in in the international terminal, you can still hop over to the domestic
terminal to get a taste of zubuchon, just ask the staff how), and since it was
reheated lechon, I can’t unfortunately compare it on an apples-to-apples basis
to CnT’s flagship product.
So how did we end up in this situation?
We turned up at the Mango Mall branch of Zubuchon at around
4pm, hoping for some lechon, only to be told the lechon is made centrally and
delivered to the store at 5.30pm. Naturally, we were disappointed, until our
order of spicy chorizo sausages came along. These sausages, served sizzling on
a hot plate, are quite something. Spicy, herby, fatty and just downright
delicious, not overly oily and with a unique crumbly texture, these sausages
are pretty much unmissable.
My only criticism was that they were a tad sweet –
it could’ve done with a touch more chilli. Wash it down with a ‘kamias’ shake,
made of ice and a zesty and refreshing fruit native to Cebu.
Price: 350 PHP per person
Opening hours: Varies depending on outlet – but remember,
the lechon deliveries occur at 5.30pm!
Address: Multiple outlets across Cebu
Kinda like ceviche
Moalboal isn’t famous for its food. Top class diving, such
as its famed ‘Sardine Storm’, it has. Authentic Filipino food, it has, but hard
to uncover. If you are struggling to find genuine local fare, then I’d suggest
Lantaw restaurant near Panagsama beach.
Two notable dishes here. First, kinilaw – a Filipino
classic. The easiest way for me to describe it would be that it is like a
creamy ceviche, with a strong focus on citrus and chilli kick. Watch out for
the bird’s eye chillis hiding within. Delicious nonetheless.
And then sizzling shrimp. This dish wasn’t about the shrimp.
They were quite small and own their own nothing to write home about. But that
sauce, nutty and buttery, is really addictive. I wanted to order another
portion.
Price: ~400 PHP per
person (including non alcoholic drinks)
Address: Lantaw Restaurant, Panagsama Beach, 6032 Moalboal
Opening hours: Mon – Thurs 10am – 10pm, Fri – Sun: 10am –
11.30pm
The perfect bite of buttery shrimp goodness
Oslob’s whale shark watching is can be seen to be touristy.
After all, with fishermen feeding whale sharks a mere 30m for the shoreline,
with hoards of tourists jumping into the water to get an up close encounter
with these gentle giants, who could not say that this is designed for tourists.
Nonetheless, this is a magnificent experience with even more magnificent
creatures, so much so that, even though this is a good blog, I’ll post some
pics of these beautiful beasts in case you’re contemplating not enjoying this
rather artificial yet nevertheless amazing experience:
So the food: we only tried one restaurant for dinner and
breakfast post-whale shark encounter. A very simple seaside eatery by the name
of Paul n Madz, serving up some delicious local dishes. Firstly, Halibos
shrimp. Juicy prawns cooked in butter and a bit of chilli powder. Just devour
it. My tip for the perfect bite: slurp the umami rich goodness from the prawn
head, mop up some of that buttery sauce with the sweet prawn flesh and quickly
place into mouth for shrimp heaven.
Also notable was their grilled squid stuffed with bell
peppers. Soft, tender squid flesh charred to perfection, crunchy bell peppers,
with a simple soy and vinegar dipping sauce. These guys know how to cook.
Price: ~450PHP per person (the huge plate of Halibos shrimp
was a steal at only 350 PHP)
Address: Paul n Madz, Tan-awan, Oslob
Opening hours: 9am – 10pm (a guestimate based on when we ate
breakfast and dinner)
Crabsters
I had no idea that these creatures even existed until we
stumbled across a restaurant by the name of Alona Hidden Dream, about five
minutes walk from Alona Beach (Panglao Island). As a foodie, a mere glimpse of
these oddly-shaped animals from 10m away sparked off something in my brain: I
had to go investigate. Upon closer inspection, they looked like a slightly
alien-esque cross between a crab and a lobster. The lady promoting trying to
entice people into the restaurant explained to me that these critters go by the
name of ‘Curacha’, only found in the south of the Philippines.
Over the next two days, we ate around 50% of the restaurant’s
stock of these arthropods, 6 to be precise. The majority of their flesh resides
within their massive head, or rather their main thorax, to be precise. So
compared to say Sri Lankan crabs, they are much easier to devour due to the
easy accessibility of their juicy flesh.
The flavour is much more similar to
that of a Sri Lankan crab than a lobster, but the meat has a bit more bite
which is why these creatures are often marketed as a lobster-crab hybrid, or a
crabster as some might call it. Depending on how many you buy, one large
Curacha could set you back 1000 – 1500 Piso, so not cheap, but with their
sweet, juicy flesh, and excellent meat to weight ratio, and the fact that you
might not find these guys outside the Phillipines, these are a must try.
Best
steamed and served plain (or with garlic butter sauce separately to dip) so
their sweet flesh is un-adulterated. We demolished many crabsters and crabs on our final, highly satisfying
night on Alona beach:
Price: 1000 – 1500 PHP per Curacha, depending on how many
you eat and your negotiating skills
Address: Alona hidden Dream Restaurant, Tawala, Panglao
(walk along main path perpendicular to Alona Beach for about 5-8mins)
Overload yourself on organic
The food here is good. Very good. And organic. And pretty cheap.
And it's spot of serenity away from the touristic area of Alona Beach. Now you might be wondering, how did two people eat all of
this:
Complimentary starter plate: Freshly made bread and mango
jam (awesomely tasty), crispy cassava chips with a cucumber and feta topping
Fresh vegetable spring rolls: crunchy assortment of veggies
wrapped in a crispy cassava shell
Halang halang soup, a slowed cooked chicken in light
coconut-based broth, enhanced by horseradish-esque ‘malunggay’ leaves.
Seafood soup with noodles (Not pictured), simple yet
delicious, with the prawn shell notes running through this spicy soup. Mango
and peanut butter shake. No further explanation needed.
Ube ‘jam’: Not really a jam. Just a soft ube (Filipino
purple yam) cake. A must have for ube addicts like myself.
Then, somehow waddle out of the restaurant.
Price: 400 PHP per person
Address: Bohol Bee Farm and Resort, Dao, Dauis, Panglao
Island, 6339 Bohol
One place where sea urchin is cheap
Uni, or sea urchin, is not normally an item which is cheap.
But on Virgin Island (Bohol), this unctuously sweet and delicious animal is.
Extremely. And downright delicious.
For only 20 Piso, a fisherman will cut a open a fresh sea
urchin, and hand a half straight to you. I ate ten such portions. Tip: Ask for
the orange ones, orange referring to the colour of the flesh. The more orange
they are, the sweeter they are.
Ube ice cream
I’ve mentioned above that I’m a self-professed ube addict.
So fortunately for me, Bohol Bee Fram has an ice cream store 5 minutes walk
from Alona Beach. Obviously I chose the ube ice cream. Excuse the disgracefully
out-of-focus picture, I was too excited to eat it.
But they have other exciting flavours: their jackfruit
flavour is a must for lovers of this fruit.
Opening hours: until ~10pm, getting there early is your best
shot at getting whatever flavour you wish for
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