LYDIA'S LECHON: LECHON... IN A BOX?!

 

For years, Lydia's Lechon has been one of the most recognizable names in the Lechon business. They continued to innovate their products as they introduced a new way to enjoy your Lechon.. with the Lechon in a Box series! Now that Father's day is coming up, Lydia's has amped up its game with a few more Box options to choose from!

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THE LECHON SHOP BY LEONARDO'S LECHON: FROZEN ITEMS FOR DELIVERY!

 

I'm looking for some of the best food places out there, during the time of Quarantine! One of my favorite places in the world, The Lechon Shop by Leonardo's Lechon, makes a strong case!! I do a taste test of some of the classics, like Adobo, Lechon Sisig and Lechon Flakes!!

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PHILIPPINE CULINARY HERITAGE FOOD FESTIVAL AT DIAMOND HOTEL

          Diamond Hotel Philippines is always looking for ways to dazzle their guests, especially through its food. This June, they launched a special buffet spread at their flagship restaurant Corniche, that puts the wonder of Filipino Cuisine front and center, through its "Philippine Culinary Heritage Food Festival."

LECHON LOVE: MANILACHON'S SPICY GARLIC LECHON PORCHETTA!

I was looking for an affordable, but delicious place to eat at Megamall Food Court, and I found exactly that in Manilachon, which specializes in Lechon Porchetta! 

I decided to taste the Spicy Garlic Lechon Porchetta and the verdict? 

Watch the video to find out!


Manilachon
SM Megmall Food Court
Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila

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LECHON LOVE EPISODE ONE: THE LECHON SHOP B Y LEONARDO'S LECHON

I've started a series where in I try as many Lechons as I can, including products such as Porchetta or Lechon Belly Rolls! 

My first stop is the Lechon Shop in Quezon City, which is a spin off of the popular Leonardo's Lechon! 

In the heart of the Scout Area of Quezon City, The Lechon Shop also offers several lechon spinoffs, such as Lechon Sisig, Lechon Adobo Flakes and Dinuguan.. The cozy, unassuming restaurant is definitely a gastronomic gem in QC!

The Lechon Shop By Leonardo's Lechon

49 Scout Tobias St.

Quezon City, Philippines

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PAMPANGA FOOD TRIP: SAMSAMAN! BOODLE FIGHT WITH CHEF SAU DEL ROSARIO

         During our Road Trip to Pampanga, we dropped by 25 Seeds, the restaurant of Chef Sau Del Rosario for an Epic Boodle Fight! 

        Chef Sau prepared his trademark dishes, such as Sisig, Bulalo, Inihaw na Bangus, and so much more!

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25 Seeds
2F Dycaico Ancestral House 
Barangay Sto. Rosario 
2009 Angeles City

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LECHON LOVE VLOG SERIES: CHUBATCHOY CEBU LECHON HOUSE

        As I mentioned in my previous blog posts, I've been trying to look for more home based businesses I could help promote on my blog. One such purveyor came under my radar, because their product is definitely right up my alley... Meet Chewbatchuy, Cebuano Lechon House! 

THE PICKIEST EATER WEB SERIES: EPISODE 2- FILIPINO FOOD 101 AT 49-B HEIRLOOM KITCHEN AND LEONARDO'S LECHON!

      After a very long wait (sorry na), Episode 2 of The Pickiest Eater Web Series is finally online! Life has gotten crazy since the Episode One, and my partner at Muvo Media and I finally buckled down to finish this. But fear not, because I assure you Episode 3 won't take another 6 months to finish hehe.. 

    So I think I've made you wait long enough.. In case you were wondering, Episode two features two food businesses.. 49-B Heirloom Kitchen, an amazing gem in the Scout area of Quezon City, and Leonardo's Lechon. The two businesses are run by cousins Erica Aquino and Nard Aquino (respectively), making this collaboration a family affair.. and It couldn't have been more fun!

   Ok so enough talking.. here we go!!

PROUDLY PINOY: DIAMOND HOTEL'S FEASTS OF THE FILIPINO KITCHEN

         A couple of years ago, the legend of Pepita's Kitchen was perhaps the foodie world's best kept secret. People heard whispers of this place that serves delectable Roasted pigs stuffed with different variants that would blow your mind, yet no one seemed to know where it could be found, since the dishes came from Private Dinners held in Makati, not an actual restaurant.

     In the food blogging world, an invitation to the famed Pepita's Kitchen Degustation Private Dinner is considered one of the "Golden Tickets" you can receive in your website's career. Only a select few have gotten an invitation to this epic dinner, and the fortunate ones will swear that it is among the best meals they've ever had in their entire life. 

     After rocking the Purple Yam at New York last July and causing long lines in Singapore just this March, the incredible lechons of Dedet Dela Fuente and Pepita's Kitchen are a secret no more, and is very well on it's way to becoming a legitimate global sensation. 

     The Lechon Diva, as she is belovedly called by her friends and fans, takes the stage at Diamond Hotel and works her magic with their renowned in-house chef, Marko Rankel to come up with The Feasts from the Filipino Kitchen Buffet for the first half of June!   

PEPPER LUNCH PINOY FIESTA: SISIG AND LECHON!!

         I still remember the very first time I heard about Pepper lunch. My cousin, Kuya Paolo, sent me a facebook message that lead to the video demo of how to eat the Pepper Beef. I kept asking myself how something so seemingly simple could have me so mesmerized. 

        It was the simple things.. How the butter melted into the corn.. how the corn was gently mixed into the rice.. the soothing hiss of the meat on the sizzling plate, that really had me sold on the idea of Pepper Lunch, to the point that actually tasted it seemed more or less just semantics. But I was very much pleased that when I stood in that long line at Rockwell for my first taste, it surpassed my wildest expectations. 

      Since then, Pepper Lunch has opened several more branches across the country, adding more menu items along the way. Though they managed to incorporate popular flavors from around Asia, such as Curry, Teriyaki and Yakiniku to their dishes, one cuisine was glaringly missing from their lineup - Filipino.

     But that's all about to change, as Pepper lunch is launching the first two dishes of their new Pinoy Fiesta line on May 1!

     The first two dishes? Filipino favorites.. Sisig and Lechon!

HAYOP NA DEGUSTACION AT PEPITA'S KITCHEN!

Serious na si Food Reviews Manila and Chef Sharwin Tee

               Though my blog is already on it's third year, It wasn't until my second year of blogging that I decided to begin accepting invitations from establishments to sample what their dining experience had to offer. Since then, Rina and I have been fortunate enough to have taken part in many amazing dinners. There are a select few that stood out more than the others, and one of those dinners was my 14 Course Lechon Degustation by Pepita's Kitchen. 

          Did you ever watch the movie "Seven" by David Fincher, starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and Gweneyth Paltrow? The scene where the obese man was being force fed with food as a punishment for his alleged, "Gluttony"? If you take away the psychopath pointing the gun to the man's head, that was sort of how I describe that evening. 

         No one was forcing anyone to eat, but all these mouthwatering dishes kept flying out of the kitchen, it would have been a crime in itself to NOT eat them.. Stomach lining be damned. 

         Even though I only actually knew a handful of people there, Rina and I had such a wonderful time. So, when given the opportunity to go back, how on Earth do you say no to that? 

         Easy. You don't. 

         This is our HAYOP NA DEGUSTATION EXPERIENCE at Pepita's Kitchen. 

THE 2013 DAVAO ADVENTURE: CAFE MARCO AT MARCO POLO DAVAO

              If you're like me, then one of the things that excites you most when thinking about checking into a hotel is the food.. Especially a buffet. Call me weird, but the thought of a breakfast buffet is more appealing to me than a lunch or dinner one. I'm probably one of the few people that feel Bacon trumps Roast Beef, any day.

           This case is true for Cafe Marco at Marco Polo Hotel Davao. Their lunch and dinner entrees, are actually quite spectacular. But it can't quite compare to their breakfast food... particularly their Bacon, which I have to say, easily ranks among the best I've ever tried. 

DIPLAHAN LECHON: ZAMBOANGAS FINEST LECHON NOW IN MANILA!

            Somewhere in Zamboanga lies a small municipality known as "Diplahan". As is the case with virtually any place in the Philippines, Lechon is a staple in their fiestas and celebrations. However, in that municipality of nearly 30,000 people, there are only actually two families that prepare a roasted suckling pig in such a way that it is a cut above from the everyone else in the area.

       Once Character Actor Benjamin "Wee" Abelarde sampled this gloriously succulent version during his stay in Zamboanga last year, he realized everything he thought he knew about Lechon was wrong. He and some partners knew they had to bring the awesomeness of the  Diplahan  Lechon to the metro at all costs. But hat was good about his group, was that they refused to bring a cheap knock off of the real thing. 

        It was the Authentic- Diplahan -Real-Deal-Lechon or nothing. 

       Wee and his group convinced one of the families to partner up with them, and share their lechon making prowess with the Manila team, to bring their prized Roasted Pig to Manila. 

       Though they were very confident with their product, the group at  Diplahan  Lechon were wondering how it would fare when sampled by some of the most (matakaw) ardent Lechon Connoisseurs in Manila.  

      That was the night, after a long hiatus, the Kain-Tulog Gang assembled. 

THE LUZVIMINDA FOOD FESTIVAL AT THE F1 HOTEL MANILA

    

       You don't have to be a comic geek to know that the success of the movie "The Avengers", which earned a staggering US$1.5 Billion in its worldwide box office, can be attributed to the public's anticipation of seeing Earth's Mightiest Heroes assembled on the big screen for the first time. Even a year after its release, I still sometimes find myself going on to Youtube just to watch the scene where Dr. Banner casually strolls toward the Huge alien transporter/creature that is chasing Iron Man, and nonchalantly tells Captain America, "That's my secret Cap.. I'm always angry", then transforms into the Hulk, and punches the creature square on the nose, causing it to flip over, just in time for Iron Man to blast it to smithereens. 

       To this very day, the scene that followed, where they are all gathered around in a circle, with the camera panning around them still gives me the chills. 

        Though they're aren't superheroes, seeing the collection of talented Filipino Chefs from across the country that F1 Hotel Manila assembled for their groundbreaking "LUZVIMINDA: Filipino Festival of Flavors" stand before me, gave a food lover such as myself tingles down my spine. 

         I knew that this moment, was something very special, and I was excited for what was to come.

UNDER COVA NIGHTS.. TAPAS Y SANGRIAS

Convicted Pigophile

           I don't know if you know this boring tidbit about me, but I'm a notorious introvert. There's absolutely no chance that you would see me at a bar or a super club in the evenings. Maybe it's because I don't drink. Call me corny and all that, but alcohol hurts my throat and no matter how hard I try, the darn stuff just won't go down. 

          When I was invited to go to Cova Tapas Y Sangrias, I had some slight apprehensions, because everyone I had asked about Cova, always replied, "You should try their Sangria!" or "They have a great selection of wines!". It was only when my buddy Spanky assured me that he wouldn't let the night pass without making sure our bellies were filled to the brim with delicious food that I realized that Cova was more than just a late night drinking spot. 

         Their Spanish food is pretty phenomenal too

14 COURSES.. LECHON DEGUSTATION AT PEPITA'S KITCHEN!!

        One of my new years resolutions as a blogger, was to make sure I attend more blogger events that I'm invited to. I was very hesitant to go last year, mainly because I was a bit shy (I really didn't know anyone from the blogging world yet), but Rina convinced me that if I had any intention of taking my blog to the next level, I was going to need to break out of my shell (I'm being serious by the way). Perhaps one of the events that I had been dying to go to, was the Lechon Degustation hosted by Pepita's Kitchen. When I had heard about that magic night of Lechon concoctions, I had told myself that if ever I get invited to that event, I'm dropping anything and everything I'm doing to make sure I'm there.   

    I bumped into Dedet De La Fuente, owner of Pepita's Kitchen, during Yummy Eats, where she thanked me for the video I made about her two daughters, Lileya, the 12 year old that made a version of Butter Beer here in the country, and Liyora, the young girl that created "Chocolate Happiness". She was proud to note that Liyora's efforts to sell her chocolate treats was able to help buy three wheelchairs for children in need.. Quite an achievement for a nine year old girl!

    Since Dedet was manning a booth at Yummy Eats that featured her trademark lechon, our conversation was cut rather short, but as we said our goodbyes and went our own ways, she turned around and called out to me.. (Well.. she actually yelled out, "Pickiest Eater!") and said, "Please come to my next Lechon Degustation this June!". 

   I think I may have actually shouted out "Yes!" even before she finished her sentence. 

LECHON LOVE AT CEBU'S ZUBUCHON!

 

       Something I believe I took for granted in all my years in Cebu, was their lechon. In all honesty, I didn't realize that Cebu Lechon tasted different from Lechon anywhere else, because my dad would have Cebu Lechon flown in from Cebu for family events (Trust me, it sounds "Sosyal" but its actually done quite often by Cebunanos). But then again, during my days in Cebu, Lechons were only really available as a whole.. And despite my declarations of love for the animal, there was no way I could finish an entire pig by myself, let alone afford it. Aside from that, there wasn't really a place back then where I could sit down and enjoy a kilo of Cebu Lechon at a reasonable rate. 

        According to my dad (Who spends most of his time in Cebu), two places have risen to the top of the Lechon heap in Cebu.

    One of them has the distinction of having none other than World Famous Chef Anthony Bourdain declared it "The Best Pig Ever".. 

    This is the awesomeness of Zubuchon.