Escape to the Queen City of the South: CnT Lechon

CnT Lechon, Best Lechon in the World, 'best pig ever' by Anthony Bourdain, Cebu's lechon

When Anthony Bourdain said that Cebu’s Lechon was the “best pig ever”, I thought, everybody should try it. Yes, including me and you. I tasted Lechon before but not the ones from Cebu. And since I was there, I certainly needed to savor that flavorsome roasted pig that gave Chef Tony an idea about what was really fun and delicious about the Philippines.

Although I didn’t know exactly which restaurant to try, I trusted my best friend April (who’s been there a couple of times already) to take us to the “high blood heaven”. That’s what I heard from my friends. They were making fun of high blood pressure and all… planning to take pictures of Pipo (who has an appetite of a six footer guy) before and after eating Lechon. Oh well...!

After a 10 minute ride from a public shuttle bearing some weird numbers as signage instead of the conventional, we arrived at CnT Lechon, a meek Nipa Hut resto along V. Rama Avenue in Guadalupe area. According to my friends, CnT is famous in Cebu and for more than two decades it became a household name for Cebuanos and tourists alike. I heard it has six outlets. The one in Guadalupe had enough space for parking. I assumed customers really come to this place to dine. There was a black net curtain shielding the restaurant probably from dust and from some annoying insects. Oh well the appetizing whiff of the Lechon aroma is just something difficult to resist especially to pesky flies.

There's no better way to devour CnT lechon other than starting off with a piece of that shell-like skin. Then the meat part… and some more crunchy skin… LOL Cebu’s Lechon is undeniably better and although it didn’t come with a sauce, it’s still tasty on its own.

Price range for an entire pig starts at P2,600 to P3,500, ¼ kilo of Lechon at 60-80 pesos. It’s reasonably priced. By the way, for our meal, we spent 350 pesos for 5 of us. We ordered ½ kilo of Lechon, Chopseuy, Puso rice, drinks and leche flan for dessert… I think that’s what I like most about Cebu. The fare is cheap and the foods are delectably affordable, all that a tourist would want in a day of travel.

Indeed there’s a plenty of reasons to love about being a Filipino. If you have time please try to visit our humble country and prove to yourself how our food is possibly the best in the world.