Lechon World

• 
  
  
  

By Myra Isabel Magsaysay Sun

Friday, July 22, 2011

Zubuchon, the lechon adjudged the most delicious in the world, is now also a restaurant at One Mango on Gen. Maxilom Ave. As its name implies, it offers zubuchon with a menu anchored around the famed zubuchon lechon. with the other dishes meant to complement the roast pig.

SMALL things can really grow into big enterprises, and that’s worth squealing about especially when it rotates around the lechon world.

It’s a creative menu. There’s zubuchon liempo, kinilaw na lechon, lechon sisig, lechon sinigang, monggo with lechon, lechon crispy pata, pritchon, red curry lechon, paksiw na lechon, binagoongang lechon, lechon dinuguan, squid stuffed with lechon sisig, zubudobo and yes, pechon pancit!

If one tires of the lechon offerings (well, does one ever?) there are other Filipino food favorites to choose from: chicharon bulaklak, chicharon, shrimp sinigang, kalabasa soup, utan Bisaya, lard-fried chicken, slow-cooked adobo, fried chili shrimp, sizzling bangus Tampalen. As for veggies and salads, there’s a tomato, salted duck egg and bangus tinapa dish, seaweed platter vinaigrette, Zubu pickle platter, eggplant salad, nangka salad, adobong kangkong with chicharon, and lumpia ubod.

The noodles and rice menu has lapu-lapu daing fried rice, sisig and tomato pasta and sotanghon guisado. Of course, there’s dessert, also “native”: leche flan, biko and budbud kabug.

The brains behind this place and the creator of zubuchon has hidden himself behind the name Marketman (marketmanila.com), now it can be told that Marketman is Cebu-born Joel Binamira. He is also the person behind the popular food blog, Marketman, where he shares his market exploits, often featuring food and ingredients from Cebu, food facts and food trivia. Joel loves to research dishes back down to their original basics—a classic adobo, kinilaw na isda, roast pig.

The Market Manila reader sponsored feeding programs, provided 30,000 complete meals for under nourished public Cebu school students—is Binamira’s advocacy.

Zubuchon One Mango cooks with the best ingredients and a whole lot of soul.

Teaming up with him for his restaurant venture is general manager Joan Danao who makes sure that the restaurant, in white with chrome accents and the Zubuchon red pig logo, keeps its squeaky clean ambiance. Now there’s a place to satisfy one’s lechon cravings, or for good old fashioned native cooking. Good enough for us to say, “Mangaon na ta! Let’s eat!

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on July 23, 2011.