When in Cebu, eat lechon. That’s our group motto when we headed over to the Queen City of the South on an impulse weekend trip. And eat lechon we did. If Premiere Citi Suites Cebu offered it for breakfast, we’d have roasted pig for breakfast. But alas, they do not, so we had to confine our pig out sessions during lunchtimes.

CEBU’S ORIGINAL LECHON BELLY ~ WHOLE, FROM PHP2,200.00

On our last day in the city, we visited Cebu’s Original Lechon Belly. I’ve tried one of Lechon Belly’s Manila branches before and found it to be supremely good; better than most commercial roasted pigs I’ve tried elsewhere. We were told then that they actually fly these pork bellies all the way from Cebu to Manila. And that made me curious if those they sell in Cebu actually tastes like those they hawk in Manila. Or more importantly, is it actually better?

CEBU’S ORIGINAL LECHON BELLY IN SM CITY CEBU

The place of reckoning happened at their SM City Cebu branch [CHECK NEARBY ACCOMMODATIONS]. Lechon Belly has ten branches across Cebu and personally, I would’ve preferred to dine on a stand-alone restaurant instead of one inside a mall, but since it is the nearest from where we were and the airport—one of our friends need to fly out that day—we made do with their mall version.

SIMPLE INTERIORS, BUT WHAT PEOPLE REALLY GO HERE FOR IS THE LECHON

Located on the second floor, the restaurants sits surreptitiously on one corner of the corridor. But once we went pass its glass double doors, we knew we’d be in for a treat; the place has a good crowd going, meaning people actually go here to eat because it is good. But more importantly, I saw rows upon rows of unchopped lechon bellies lined up for our very own bellies.

PUSO RICE, THE PERFECT PAIR FOR THEIR LECHON

My mouth was already watering as we waited for our orders. Besides half kilos each of their original and spicy lechon bellies and a basket of puso (steamed rice on woven coconut leaves), we also requested for a few of their new offerings; lechon dugo-dugo, creamy beef stew, lechon rolls, le chips, and lechon sinigang. All these, of course, have lechon as the main ingredient.

SPICES INSIDE EVERY LECHON BELLY

Cebu’s Original Lechon Belly was conceptualized in 2011 by Marlon Gochan. He thought, why not serve only the best part of a roasted pig? And why not, indeed. Flavored by special ingredients and spices, the belly is then slow-roasted using the traditional way a lechon is cooked.

1/2 KILO OF LECHON BELLY ~ PHP320.00

And the end product was what laid on our table; a chopped bellyful of goodness topped with mouth-watering pork skin.

But before I dug in, I first sampled Lechon Belly’s newer dishes. The lechon sinigang was a hit with my friends, but since I went here for something crispy, I begged off on that front. I liked their lechon rolls, a fried spring roll, sort of lumpiang shanghai, but made with tender pork fillings. It’s a tad on the salty side, but it went perfectly with the sweet chili dip that it came with. Their le chips also won me over, even if it’s a tad dry; it’s like bacon, but made from lechon. Bacon plus lechon? What’s not to love!

CRISPY LE CHIPS ~ PHP150.00

And finally it was time for the star of our lunch, the lechon belly.

On first bite, it was the same Cebu lechon belly I’ve tried years back in Manila. The meat is tender, salty and very flavorful; and the skin, super crunchy. I tried both the original and the spicy version, and like before, I still prefer the latter, especially those parts nearest the spices.

SAME GOODNESS I’VE HAD BEFORE, CEBU’S ORIGINAL LECHON BELLY IS VERY CONSISTENT

Like most Cebuano lechonan, they don’t have any sarsa or liver sauce for the lechon. It’s a mortal sin, they said. They usually just eat it as it is, or they dip it in soy sauce or vinegar with crushed chilis. Besides the lechonan at Carcar’s public market, this is one case where I totally can eat roasted pig without looking for a bottle of Sarsa ni Mang Tomas.

~ CEBU’S ORIGINAL LECHON BELLY HOSTED OUR MEALS. VIEWS AND OPINIONS, ALL MINE.

 

Cebu’s Original Lechon Belly 
Address: 2nd Floor, SM City Cebu, Cebu City, Cebu
Opening Hours: 10:00AM to 9:00PM, Daily
Contact Number: +63 (32) 232-1155
Email: marlon@cebuslechonbelly.com
Cebu’s Original Lechon Belly Menu | Website | Facebook
GPS Coordinates Map: 10.311721, 123.917478

►► BOOK ONLINE FOR TOURS IN CEBU