sakit sa baboy

we here in cebu have this term SSB which actually means "sakit sa baboy" or "pig sickness". no, it's not a local term for the "foot and mouth disease", rather, it's the curious sleepy syndrome when you had too much to eat.

much like the baboy that would flop on its side and roll around in a mud pond after a heavy meal. i felt like doing a belly flop and do just that after my cholesterol busting, hypertension causing, heart attack inducing dinner at zubuchon. silly, i meant my bed, not a mud pond.

the "see through" kitchen :) - check out the menu!

we were on our way to merto for a grand burger dinner when my companion suggested we try the restaurant that just opened in one mango (right in the heart of cebu city). i had my tummy set for the oh-so-luscious-delicious beef burgers of merto but my ears perked up when she mentioned the restaurant name "zugbuchon". after getting a glowing review about the "best pig.... ever" by anthony bourdain, i couldn't turn down the chance to check out the place.

then again, it wasn't just the lechon that sold me to the idea of grabbing dinner in zubuchon.

the zubuchon in maita's party. felt the lechon head wasn't cooked and i wasn't  really "liking" the bulutong effect of the  skin.

lechon-wise, my personal favorite would be the spicy lechon from rico's. i've had zubuchon in a party hosted by a friend and i can't say i was particularly super impressed. i'm chalking it off as a bad batch and will probably give it another try some other time.

what got me salivating was the thought of having lechon dinuguan, lechon kinilaw, adobong lechon, lechon sinigang. heck, even the dessert had leche... flan.

the place was small, very simple and used a sparse design. perfect when your star is the lechon itself. i've had my share of hole-in-the wall types where people don't really care if the cutlery or china don't match. what matters is the food.

in zubuchon though, the place was very clean and you can see the kitchen from the dining area. perfect for people who like to see their food cooked.

then again, the REAL star of the night wasn't the place, it was the food.

lechon cooked adobo style, perfectly sour and creamy with the addition of coconut cream. the cream added a slightly nutty taste. the surprise crunch of the chicharon made this dish a good find. reminds me of the same dish in sinugba.

we ordered the creamy slightly nutty dinuguan lechon cooked with a strong acidic hint of vinegar and made creamy by adding coconut milk.

prichon, or fried lechon - reminds me of the lechon leftover in my younger days. we  cut it up, store it in the freezer and when we need instant ulam, we fry it with a dash of soy sauce and garlic. this one was a bit dry. may i suggest that you add a bit of the taba (fat)? what's lechon without the taba?

we wanted to order a small portion of zubuchon but the kitchen ran out of fresh lechon and they offered us prichon, or pritong (fried) lechon instead. the dish could have been better if they added a bit of the fat to give it a definite heart curdling zing. nevertheless, dipped in pinakurat (fermented spicy vinegar) it was still a good dish.

if i were to choose only one dish out of this set, the lechon sisig in tomato pasta is the BOMB!

we could have ended the meal at that point but my companion saw the lechon sisig in tomato pasta and wanted to sample the dish. i would say that it was my favorite for this particular round. who would have thought that lechon sisig cooked in an overload of garlic and tomatoes can be used as a topping for pasta? i probably shouldn't be surprised, i've done chicken in green curry and used that as a pasta sauce before, not to mention the flaked chicken and pork adobo pasta sauce experiment that turned out to be a spectacular hit with my regular foodie partners.

a surprise hit :) kamias otherwise known as "iba" in ilonggo or cebuano. as my friend said, just thinking of this drink made him kuri-it, otherwise known as the facial expression when you bite into something really sour. beats green mango shake anytime!

if you get the chance, order the kamias shake, a perfect drink to clean your palate as the main flavors do have a tendency to overpower each other. you don't want to think that the leche flan somehow tastes like lechon do you? the pineapple-mint shake is my next target :P

superlatively delicious biko, i'm really trying to avoid carbohydrates but this one was just too awesome!

i can feel my gut develop an extra layer of gut but ester wasn't done yet. yeah yeah yeah, she's probably gonna run it off the following day but what about me? what do i do with the creamy leche flan calling out my name, or the biko that's practically giving me the come-hither finger?

i swear, i only ate the dessert as i needed to fulfill my gastronomic journalistic responsibility. extra pounds be damned.

if that wasn't enough, the crew whipped out an extra serving of budbod kabog, compliments of the house :) i must say, that was unexpected but a welcome thing. thumbs up to the restaurant crew (especially alex) who graciously answered our questions and served our food promptly!

budbud kabog, otherwise known as millet, a type of whole wheat grain from  "grass", not the smoking kind.  cooked  suman (tagalog) or ibos (ilonggo) style. perfectly salted and made creamy by the coconut cream

as i'm posting this, the picture set i uploaded in my facebook account has racked up a number of visitors and friends who are alternately praising and cussing me for the temptation.

another lecho... err leche flan for dessert

i'm looking forward to visiting and sampling the other dishes. what's next in my hit list? i wonder? time to count lechon jumping over the roast pit.... one lechon, two lechon.... zzzzz.