The new pasalubong

This lechon is the new pasalubong available to travelers from Cebu to Manila. Labelled Zubuchon, a play on the words Sugbu, the original name of Cebu, and lechon, this is a welcome addition to all the familiar Cebu delicacies – otap, hojaldress, pastillas, etc., sold at the Mactan Domestic/International Airport. They come frozen in one kilo packs at P499. By the time the plane lands in Manila, the meat would have stayed frozen and will keep for at least three hours from time of purchase or until one gets home.

The lechoneros of Cebu have always taken pride in their product, just as much as those who cook chicken inasal. They stuff the pig with local spices before roasting it over charcoal which brings out its natural flavors. No enhancers are used. The lechon can be warmed up in a pre-heated oven at 375º F for 10 to 12 minutes. For a crispier skin, take it off the flesh and place on a rack in a hot oven or fry it in hot oil. Unfortunately, the Cebu lechon does not come with liver sauce. It is normally served with chili vinegar. But there is always Mang Tomas or Mama Sita’s which you can buy from any store. 

If not serving the lechon immediately, store it in the freezer. When ready to heat, defrost inside the refrigerator, but never in water. Then fry. As corned beef has been cooked into nilaga and sinigang, lechon can be made into sinigang as well. This is a departure from the usual paksiw na lechon which we all normally do with the left overs. Do as you would any sinigang dish. Outside of the airport, Zubuchon is served at the restaurant carrying the same name, owned by the same people, on 1 Mango Boulevard, General Maxilum. Call telephone no. 032-236-5264.

It was a time for eating out with the family last week. Craving for real Binondo Chinese food, we hied off to Emerald Garden on Roxas Boulevard across the US embassy. The place has not lost its clientele. We were early, but soon the halls filled up with diners, mostly families. Needless to say we had the traditional dishes we were familiar with prior to the modern interpretations of today’s restaurants – the usual cold cuts, nido soup, Chinese-style fried chicken, a mountain of crispy fried noodles accompanied by a soupy bowl of vegetables, sweet sour pork with onions and red bell pepper and shrimp balls.

Always very refreshing after a heavy meal was the cup of almond and lychees in light syrup. Of course, some of us still needed to have the mongo buchi.

For those avoiding much pork in their diet but would want to have longganiza for breakfast, try the chicken longganiza of CDO which we noted recently at the South Supermarket in Alabang. Likewise they have turkey burgers, which are much healthier, but they come in big packs.

Over in Quezon City, a friend was kind enough to get us a kilo of beef sirloin (marbled) from Garcia grocery. It costs P280 a kilo, a much, much more reasonable price than usual.

At Shopwise, those who do not have not much time to cook from scratch can look at their collection of ready-to-cook viands, ranging from chicken teriyaki (from P170 a pack) to fresh lechon (P650 a kilo). Available in most supermarkets is the Purefoods selection of cooked meals, mainly pork at P380 a pack of more than a kilo. The variants include ham tocino and humba. All one needs is to simmer the meat in its sauce on low heat. It does take a while to tenderize.

Mangoes are in abundance and they are priced much less in tiny roadside stalls along the roads to the South, at P50 a kilo.

We almost missed the Dizon bagoong one day, until we looked more closely. The bottle sports a re-designed label, but the content is the same familiar well done bagoong.

Have a great family-focused Sunday.

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