To be fair, this lechon specialist is in the middle of a mall food court. I'm not an expert on Filipino Lechon but what I do know is that I dig pig. I have had Filipino Lechon on my list of things to get my mouth on when overseas for many years since all of my big foodie heroes (Bourdain, Zimmern, Wiens, BEFRS, etc.) have sung its praises. Unfortunately, I am not getting anywhere near an outdoor firepit with a native expert rotation man spinning said pig over flame for hours on this business trip. So, mall food court it was.
Where I'm from, mall food courts are places to be avoided. In Asia, they are a thing of beauty and this food court in the Mall of Asia is pretty good. It's not huge but they have a lot of great hits from all over (Hong Kong clay pot rice, Cantonese BBQ meats, Tsukemen Ramen just to name a few!) so I could not resist my chance to satisfy my oral fixation with a swine.
From the counter, it is pretty impressive. The carcass is sans head, rear-end and legs and is stuffed with a lot of green aromatics. The skin is a lovely orange/goldent/brown and they carve up your portion to order. The portions are reasonably large for the money (I had a small plate of about a dozen pieces, a large scoop of steamed rice, some dipping gravy, a free bowl of broth and a bottle of water for about $9.00 USD. That is pricey by Philippine standards for a meal but I am accounting for the fact that I am in Manila, in an air-conditioned mall. So yes, you can get lechon elsewhere for cheaper but you will likely be in the boonies chasing away cockroaches and mosquitoes, choking on roadside pollution, and sweating like a politician on election day. Today I paid for convenience.
Ordering was a bit intimidating. The menus shown all seem to be "sets" that come with several side items. I only wanted pig with rice and I did not see any set that looked like that so I asked and there is a person with an iPad standing at the line who will help you order and get what you want.
Was it good? Yes, absolutely and I would say it was borderline very good. Was it great? No, I'm sure that there are better versions of it in the PI. But here is my assessment. I loved the boneless pieces with the hard-shellacked skin over a nice layer of fat and the meat had a nice, herby aromatic flavor. But the skin was not as crispy in all areas as I was expecting. I was expecting hard crispiness like the texture of breaking glass. What it was was moderately crunchy in most areas but several bites were also sort of chewy. It very much hit the spot but I suspect it had been sitting covered for a good portion of time and was "steaming" during that time which led to these areas becoming chewy. A total first world complaint when sitting in mall food court comfort I know, but that is what kept it from being great.
The thing I surprisingly enjoyed a lot was the free bowl of rich, porky broth that they put on my tray (I think everyone gets one). It was steeped with full pig flavor and also had a slight hit of vinegar-like sourness to it that was the perfect foil to the richness of its mouth-feel. I would go there again just for that broth and a side of rice!
Overall, I can definitely recommend this place when you have a lechon deficit in your belly that you need to fill. read more