What makes Paul Jake’s lechon unique

Ask a Cebuano what’s the ever-present item on the dining table and chances are that you will get two answers: danggit and crispy lechon.

Paul Jake Castillo, born and bred in Cebu City, is no different.

“I grew up on lechon,” Paul Jake told Funfare over a plateful of the iconic Cebu lechon at Yobob Lechon de Cebu which is barely a year old, a cozy spot on Tomas Morato Avenue, Quezon City (near Little Asia). “You cannot have a party without a lechon and our family is not an exception.”

The outlet (47x47 square meters) occupies two floors, both of which can accommodate as many as 45 people. Intimate lechon parties may be held there.

A triathlete (that’s why he can’t eat as much lechon as he wants without worrying about his cholesterol intake), Paul Jake (who gained popularity via the ABS-CBN reality-TV Pinoy Big Brother [PBB] in 2010, second placer to Melai Cantiveros) can’t recall when he had his first taste of lechon but he never forgets to stay at the end of the buffet line where the lechon is.

“So that I can have the crispy ears,” admitted Paul Jake who is the second Chinese actor from Cebu to put up a restaurant in that food-crazy area of QC; the other is Richard Yap who partnered with two friends (one a Singaporean) on the Wangfu Chinese Bistro which opened just several weeks ago. “The ears are also my dad’s favorite parts, so we try to beat each other to them; lagi kaming nag-uunahan niyan, eh,  hahahaha! But, of course, the crispy skin and the rib part. Yummy!”

The Castillos are into some businesses in Cebu (Casino Rubbing Alcohol, Efficascent Oil, Bioderm, among them), so what made Paul Jake venture into the food business?

“I moved to Manila for PBB and since my friends knew that I’m from Cebu, they started asking me to help them order lechon from Cebu,” related PJC. “So I would order for them and I charge them for it. We have employees who know how to roast a pig, so I thought, ‘Why don’t I put an outlet in Manila and make it easy for my friends and other people who want to order?’ Instead of asking me to order for them, delivered airport to airport, they can now buy lechon straight from me.”

Yobob (Boboy spelled backward) Lechon de Cebu has been attracting so many customers (especially when Paul Jake is around which is often since he’s not so busy with TV shows these days), Paul Jake (with his family as partners) is planning to put up a branch at The Fort early next year and another one in Cebu where, so far, the Castillos accept orders for delivery.

The menu at Yobob includes other lechon-based items: pakbet-lechon, sinigang na lechon, sizzling lechon, paksiw lechon or any variation of the lechon.

“Cebu lechon is eaten usually without sauce,” said Paul Jake. “But most of our customers look for sarsa, so we decided to make sizzling lechon with gravy. They can choose between regular sauce and spicy sauce.”

I told Paul Jake that in my native Northern Samar, we stuff the pig tummy with camote while in other places they use paella or chicken.

Asked what makes his lechon de Cebu unique, Paul Jake explained without revealing more of his secret formula, “It’s in the way we cook it. Before we came up with what we feel is the best-tasting one, we did siguro more than 80 trials-and errors. Our lechon is a product of a series of experimentation, perfect to its taste, crunchiness, saltiness and even its appearance. We continue to improve it.”

(For orders or inquiries, call 02-351-7002, Smart 0919-510-0010 or Globe 0916-443-8000.)

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