"I can't believe they increased parking rates. It's absolutely crazy." My friend Kim was visibly, sincerely upset as we entered the parking basement of Ayala Center in Cebu. The bone she wanted to pick with the mall involved the jacking up of the parking fee - from fifteen pesos to an astonishing twenty. Flat rate.
In Manila, that's what's considered a steal, and yet Kim would have none of it. She cussed in Bisaya, egged on by my heckling.
Later on I floated the issue with other Cebuano friends who were just as peeved not to get their five pesos back. Until then I had just accepted the regular shilling out of hundreds of pesos weekly for parking (at one time, nearly P300 in Makati) in Manila as the norm, but then I realized that the locals and I operated on different wavelengths. The differences however, did not end here.
I've always felt that Manila and Cebu have always been at odds, locked in some kind of quasi-cultural rivalry that I haven't fully understood yet. But if there's one thing where Cebu constantly out-trumps Manila, it's with lechon. This was obviously made plain when two friends escorted me to the nearest Zubuchon outlet.
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| Pigging out: Diners flock to Zubuchon made famous by Anthony Bourdain's endorsement |
Zubuchon is the creation of Joel Binamira, more commonly known by his nom de guerre Market Man of marketmanila.com. The restaurant's popularity stems from its flagship lechon cooked sans MSG or gears or additives. Instead he does things 'ye olde fashion way' with lemongrass, pepper, olive oil, and sea salt as healthier alternatives. (It's also with some consolation that the pigs themselves are raised in private backyards, and cheerfully trot around. But not for long.)
The lechon is staked on bamboo poles, stuffed with herbs and spices, and roasted diligently over a charcoal pit by a crack team of lechoneros. The result is lusty, succulent, flavorful pork tucked under crisp, liempo-like crispy skin. In short -- a cardiologist's worst nightmare.
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| Let's get it on, Lechon: Zubuchon's flagship is packed with flavor inside and out |
"It's all-natural lechon. I heard the pigs are raised on a diet of chicos," mulled my friend Clark who drove us to Zubuchon's newest branch along Escario Street. It was a busy Sunday night for the staff who promptly announced to us that they had, as of seven thirty in the evening, run out of lechon. And with good reason: Joel's lechon first became a hit at one of Cebu's weekend markets, and by the time word got out, No Reservation's Anthony Bourdain had also chirped in with his own testimonial that it was the "World's best whole roasted pig" - a claim scribbled on each of the branch's glass counters.
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| Left: The staff works around the clock to keep up with the holiday rush. Right: Among Zubuchon's other pork offerings are slow-cooked adobo, dinuguan, chorizo, pork flakes, and yes, even Zubuchon-certified pork lard. |
Not content with lechon, Zubuchon also offers other pork staples borrowed from the carnivorous Filipino mindset like dinuguan, chorizo, and even sisig. It's enough to make one's knees quiver. After the letdown at the restaurant, Clark and I headed to another branch that was busy plying in pigs. The restaurant was packed. The staff squeezed through the aisles made narrow by long tables of families while other customers were huddled over the counter for take-out. And everywhere - the constant tearing and tugging and nibbling of lechon skin.
Visitors to Cebu (whose ancient name was 'Sugbu' hence 'Zubuchon'), need not return empty-handed to their friends back home. There's much to be had in terms of frozen lechon or chicharon. I took home some from the tiny take-out stand at the pasalubong section of Mactan Airport's departure gate. Clutching my two bags-worth of pasalubong, I was ready to barrel down the security check point. All it took however was a flash of the logo on one of the take-out bags, and the airport personnel already seemed to understand the graveness of my intentions. I'd either come home with lechon or not leave at all.
The next morning, I had lechon for breakfast. That night, more of it. When that run its course, it was time for paksiw.
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| The morning-after takeout lechon. Still pretty good. |
Zubuchon
Escario Building, Escario Street, Cebu City (032) 5835699
One Mango Avenue Building, Cebu City (032)2395697
Mactan Airport Departure Lounge, Mactan City (63) 0917 6274761
