House of Lechon: Serving Carcar-Style Lechon in Cebu City (The Best in the City, In My Opinion!)

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This article is part of my Cebu Food Trip 2023 series. Check out the installments so far: Abaca Baking Company (Bakery and Brunch) | Parr’t Ebelle Tinola (Seafood)

When I first went to Cebu in 2019, I did a Lechon crawl (read about my experience here). You can’t come to Cebu and not eat a lechon. So what is it?

If Bali (Indonesia) has Babi Guling and Spain has Cochinillo Asado (or simply cochinillo), then the Philippines has lechon, the country’s take on roast suckling pig (many Spanish-speaking countries also use the same name). This amazing pork dish is usually served on special occasions and fiestas. It is seasoned first (ingredients vary per region), placed on a bamboo or metal pole, and cooked over charcoal. Then it’s traditionally hand-turned but some establishment have mechanized this process. When the cooking process is complete, the lechon is typically served with a dip of liver sauce or vinegar (again, depending on the region).

The Cebu-style of lechon is stuffed with a ton of ingredients, with garlic and tanglad (lemongrass) as the most common. It’s already flavorful by itself so there is no need for a dip. But if you insist, you can dip it in vinegar.

For me, the best Cebu lechon is found in Carcar, a city that’s an hour drive south of Cebu City. What differentiates Carcar-style lechon from others is that it’s served with its drippings and has a few more ingredients stuffed with it.

At the old Carcar Public Market (photo taken in 2019).

We didn’t have time to visit Carcar (because we visited a municipality to try another pork dish, which can rival Cebu lechon). Fortunately, House of Lechon in Cebu City serves Carcar-style lechon.

House of Lechon is one of the best lechon chains in Cebu City. I’ve tried their lechon back in 2019 and was pleased by it. So when I returned to Cebu (and this time with my wife), I made sure to go back.

Aside from its delicious lechon, I also like its ambiance, which is perfect for families.

Anyway, let’s talk about their Special Carcar Lechon. Let’s start with the skin, which is thin and super crisp. Its also delightfully fatty and the meat has melt-in-the-mouth parts. It’s yummy!

Special Carcar Lechon (1/8 kg.: PHP275; 1/4 kg.: PHP390; 1/2 kg.: PHP580; 3/4 kg.: PHP790; 1 kg.: PHP1100)

Of course, in keeping with the Carcar-style tradition, it’s served with lechon drippings. While it’s expectedly on the salty side, it’s flavorful and best poured into steaming rice!

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House of Lechon also offers other dishes. For our appetizer, we tried their Cheese Sticks (cheese wrapped with lumpia or spring roll wrapper and deep-fried). It’s cheesy inside and crisp outside.

One of their bestsellers aside from lechon is Baked Scallops. Since it’s in almost every table at the restaurant, we ordered it. It’s cheesy, creamy, and garlicky.

It’s so good that it may have even eclipsed the lechon, in my opinion.

Finally, we got the Cebu Express. We were intrigued by the name because we’re only familiar with Bicol Express, a dish made with pork stewed in coconut milk and chilies, originating from the Bicol region.

The Cebu Express is made with chopped, crisp Baguio beans, covered with coconut gravy that’s spicy and slightly sweet, and topped with crunchy anchovies that give the dish some saltiness and umami. It’s an interesting dish.

Of course, we ate our meal with rice, which is served in a cute, mini kaldero (rice pot):

We had a pleasant visit at House of Lechon. Their lechon and other dishes are, and the ambiance is nice. If you want to experience Carcar-style lechon but have no time to drive south, then this is your best alternative. I highly recommend House of Lechon to you.

What dish above have you tried or would like to try? Comment below!

For House of Lechon branches and operating hours, check their Facebook and Instagram accounts.

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