,
Zubuchon boasts its roast pig, developed with its secret recipe of herbs and spices. The small stall located at BTC, the only branch in Cebu, is just above the robinson's supermarket branch. It caters to small individual orders of one kilo and up and bulk orders of one whole pig. The moment you take home one pack of this sumptuous roast will be the moment you'll either: a) complain of how little the serving is, or b) drive back to BTC to buy another one. 
The pig is roasted after having been infused with rosemary, thyme, sage, salt and other foreign spices. Of course, one can expect that the pig has its staple serving of garlic, scallions and whole peppercorns. What makes this fare unique is the way it was cooked. The skin, it would seem, looks as if it had contracted a skin disease while it was cooked with fire. To do this, the one in charge must prick the whole pig with needles one inch apart from each other. Doing so will eventually make it look like you fried it in hot oil (See: crispy pata).
I never really heard of Zubuchon until my cousin from Manila came and told me that it was the "best lechon in Cebu". Imagine, a person from Manila telling a person in Cebu what the best lechon is in that city. Well, I've been out of town for three years so I claimed ignorance.
I checked out Market Manila's blog and saw the posts about Anthony Bourdain's visit and the famous Zubuchon chronicles as well as Jessica Soho's article. This is something worth checking out, I thought to myself. So off we went to BTC, which is very commuter unfriendly. No jeeps stops there, you can only really get there through cab or private car. Actually, you can take the jeep but they only drop you off until Country Mall then you'll have to cross a short bridge to get to BTC, which I thought stood for for Better Than Country Mall =p but really it means Banilad Town Center. 
Ok, so there was Zubuchon, a small stall just above the supermarket and they have prepacked frozen lechon and lechon sisig aside from the roasted pig that I never really got to see whole. Apparently it gets sold out quickly so if you want to get the best part, you'll have to be there at 10 in the morning, just before the sun is high in the sky and the temperature is 35 degrees Celsius.
Verdict:
A = 4/5 The meat is cooked to perfection because of the recipe and process it was cooked. It is tender and well done, like other lechon shops. The skin is heavenly but salty. Sadly, the taste doesn't compare much to CNT, the original cebu lechon. If you've grown tired of CNT, I'll recommed this.
N = 3/5 The price doesn't justify the taste, and I don't think it deserves the "best lechon in Cebu" title, but it's a nice try. Knowing that they pick backyard-raised pigs and help the small farmers do help in boosting its image and raising its rating.
May 6, 2010 at 6:56 AM
Looks yummy.
:)