Where to Eat in CEBU | Rico's, Malou's, Yobob, Zubuchon & CNT Lechon
Friday, May 17, 2013
I had the chance to visit CEBU once again (thank God for work related travels!). And since Cebu is almost synonymous with great tasting Lechon, I tried my very best to hunt for the best tasting Cebu Lechon!
Here are the list of my Cebu Lechon Hunt
1. Rico's Lechon
My boyfriend's mom told me to try Rico's Lechon because for her it is the BEST. So it was on top of my Cebu Lechon Hunt list.
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Rico's Lechon
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Rico's Lechon has been around Cebu for 13 years in Talamban Cebu City. It started to become popular 6 years ago for being the pioneer of spicy Lechon in Cebu. Surprisingly the only ingredients they use in their lechon is garlic, leeks and chili.
I visited their branch in the newly opened restaurant in Mabolo during lunch break. The first ever restaurant opened just last December.
Because of my work I had limited time so I opted to order for take out. Here were my orders:
1 1/4 regular lechon & 2 1/4 spicy lechon for lunch.
2 1 kilo of of spicy lechon for pick up at night to bring home to Manila.
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Take out
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orders for pick up
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When we ate the lechon, it was nothing special except for its spiciness, my friend who is a fan of their lechon told me that you have to heat it before eating (we really didn't have the time to heat it as we were doing an audition in Ayala Mall)
So when I got home in Manila, Rico's lechon was our family's dinner. We heated it for 25 minutes in the turbo and there I experienced one of the best lechons I've ever tasted. It's sooo tasty and spicy HOT, even the skin was still very crunchy! I didn't regret buying this one :)
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Rico's yummy lechon after 21 hours
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By the way, before we ate my pasalubong, I was so agitated that it might get spoiled because it took us 21 hours before we ate it (12 hours in the freezer) so I was really thankful that it still tasted so good!
Details:
Rico's Lechon Restaurant
Unit 4 and 5
The Ridges Commercial Bldg.F.
Cabahug Street,Mabolo Cebu City
Rico's Lechon Branch
Highway 77, Talamban
Cebu City
Cebu City
(032) 344-0119 & (032) 345-5688
+63915-7033964
2. Malou's Lechon
It was a treat from one of our artists who is based in Cebu, he gave us one whole lechon to gorge! According to him 'this is the best, the rest are overrated.' So for my second Cebu Lechon Hunt, I tried tasting Malou's Lechon.
Because I was a bit full at that time, I first tried tasting the skin. It was as crispy as ever! But unfortunately it lacked taste :( so once more I tried my luck to taste a different skin area, however I wasn't again satisfied :( :(. My officemates and I share the same sentiments. But don't worry the whole lechon was not put to waste. Nevertheless it was our breakfast the next day and it tasted good naman with the lechon paksiw sauce! :)
3. Yobob Lechon de Cebu
I first tasted their lechon last year when PBB 2nd Big Placer, Paul Jake Castillo introduced to us his new business. He generously gave us 1 whole lechon while we were chilling at their place in Catmon Cebu.
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1 whole Yobob Lechon de Cebu from last year
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And I clearly remembered how Yobob Lechon tasted, the skin was really really crispy even after 7 hours of not eating it, the meat was tender and very delish! It also was spicy which we really loved. I remembered that the best tasting part of this Lechon was the inner area, I saw a mixture of different herbs and spices that we can't get enough of.
And when I came back to Cebu, Paul Jake treated the whole team in Manggahan Restaurant and gave us one whole Yobob Lechon again!!! Gluttony at its finest!
My 3rd Cebu Lechon Hunt- YOBOB!
The unique thing about Cebu Lechon is that because it is very tasty, you don't need a sarsa to enjoy it compared to the lechon served in Manila.
Details:
Cebu contact details:
Manila contact details:
Globe: (0916) 443-8000 Smart: (0919) 510-0010
4. Zubuchon
The most well-known Lechon in Cebu! I even watched Market Man's Zubuchon feature on No Reservations several times on TLC and was very proud when Anthony Bourdain uttered the words 'best pig ever' :). So on my first vacation-related-Cebu travel 2 years ago I made sure that I will taste Zubuchon. That time there were only 2 branches but during my last visit I noticed Zubuchon branches pop like mushrooms. They're everywhere!
What sets Zubuchon apart from any other Cebu Lechon is that it is acupunctured and cooked manually which makes the lechon tasty, crunchy and absolutely delish! They also don't use coloring so you'll notice that the skin is uneven.
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airport branch among the many others
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When I was about to board a plane, I visited their booth at the airport and was surprised with the big improvement! Back then they only had a small booth that can only fit a small table, but now they were occupying a whole restaurant space.
And because I was in my great Cebu Lechon Hunt (kahit I feel super bloated na from all the lechon's I've eaten) I couldn't say no to Zubuchon so I ordered for take out Zubuchon with rice meal and my fave Kamias Shake!
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Zubuchon with rice P190
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Kamias Shake for P60
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And of course Zubuchon never disappoints as always :)
Details:
Branches:
ONE MANGO AVENUE BLDG.
Gen. Maxilom Avenue, Cebu City - (032)-2395697
ESCARIO CENTRAL
Escario Street, Cebu City - (032)-2540247
LOBBY of ISLAND STAYS HOTEL
R. de la Cerna St, Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City - (032) - 5050130
PRE-DEPARTURE AREA
Mactan Domestic Airport - (032) - 3402486 local 3304
ZUBUCHON EXPRESS TALAMBAN
Rosedale Bldg. beside University of San Carlos, Talamban -
(032) -2380879
ZUBUCHON EXPRESS ESCARIO
Escario Bldg., Escario Street, Cebu City - (032) -2391225
ZUBUCHON IT PARK
The Walk, IT Park, Lahug, Cebu City - (032)-2368256
Related Post:
Verdict: It's really hard to choose just only one! I honestly love all three- Rico's, Yobobs and Zubuchon. So if...
You love hardcore spicy lechon go to Rico's
You love spicy lechon with other different spices go to Yobobs
You don't love spicy but loves tasty, juicy, crunchy lechon go to Zubuchon
P.S. I was yet to experience CNT Lechon, a lot of locals tell me that for them this is still the original and the BEST, I will find out next time :)
5. Finally! CNT Lechon
CNT Lechon was a favorite among the locals, it is the epitome of Cebu Lechon. CNT Lechon was CNT Lechon already even before all the other Cebu Lechon was born. Wasn't able to eat at the restaurant because the lechon was out of stock the day we went!
And because we were too busy the next day for a work related activity, we opted to order for take out to bring back home :)
And you can guess what was the first thing I did the moment I arrived Manila...
CNT Lechon was a favorite among the locals, it is the epitome of Cebu Lechon. CNT Lechon was CNT Lechon already even before all the other Cebu Lechon was born. Wasn't able to eat at the restaurant because the lechon was out of stock the day we went!
And because we were too busy the next day for a work related activity, we opted to order for take out to bring back home :)
My lunch! :)
CNT Lechon was absolutely delicious! I love it!!! The taste was very different from the other Cebu Lechon. As what Cebu locals say 'CNT is still the best Cebu lechon' for them, well for me... it depends on the person eating :) Basta all I can say is that CNT Lechon is not to be missed when you're in Cebu! Trust me! :)
Other Cebu Related Posts:
Other Cebu Related Posts:
Where to Eat in CEBU | Manggahan Restaurant
Where to Eat in CEBU | Larsian Barbecue
Queen City of the South, Cebu
6 comments
noted! heading here this June! :) kailangan na magdiet for the love of Lechon! :P
ReplyDeleteWow! Sige try mo din CNT and tell me if it's better :) Enjoy Cebu!
Deleteof all the lechon sellers in cebu.. u missed out the most popular! CNT proven and tested through the years. BTW, rico's lechon is only good bcoz its spicy. other than that, theres nothing special.. IMO :)
ReplyDeleteHello there, yup I haven't tried eating at CNT but will definitely try their lechon once I go to Cebu this year :) Thanks for the comment! :)
DeleteHi. For your Cebu lechon needs, please give us a cal---MANONG's LECHON CEBU, at 7032133 or thru our Sun mobile number 0922-2819406. We have been silently serving Manila for almost 5 years now and people who ordered from us keep coming back for more. I guess it's about time that we should make noise. Our recipe has been handed down from generations. We deliver door to door within Metro Manila.
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