Some of the tastiest and most iconic Filipino dishes can be found in Visayas. When you think of lechon or roasted whole pig, Cebu’s lechon comes to mind as the best in the country.
The majority of destinations in Visayas are islands or are located near coastlines, that’s why fresh seafood in this island region is also a must-try. Check out the most iconic dishes in this part of the Philippines:
Lechon
A celebration dish, lechon is found on almost every feast and party in the Philippines. Lechon refers to the method of cooking meat on a spit over an open flame, so it can refer to a whole pig or just the belly, calf, goat or even chicken.
The most common version enjoyed by Filipinos remains to be Lechon Baboy or whole roast pig. While a lot of countries do whole roast pigs, Filipino masters called “Lechoneros”, have mastered the art of cooking them.
Mastering both hand turning the spit and moving the charcoal constantly throughout the cooking process, they are able to achieve an even, smooth browning of the skin, giving it a beautiful caramel colored sheen and keeping it crunchy (even 8 hours after they are cooked) while the meat inside is moist and tender.
There are many regions that boast of making delicious lechon but the lechons from Cebu are enjoying the most publicity now, and with good reason.
Whole pigs have heaping amounts of lemongrass, onions and garlic sewn into the belly with sea salt rubbed all over the pig, making it a fragrant and flavorful dish that does not need any sauce. If one absolutely has to insist, it can be enjoyed with a spicy vinegar dipping sauce.
Batchoy
Batchoy is one of the Philippines’ most popular noodle soup dishes that features egg noodles, beef and pork meat, liver, marrow and intestines, in a pork and beef broth with a hint of guinamos (shrimp paste). As if that’s not rich enough, fried garlic and chicharon (fried pork rinds) are added.
The broth is an exercise in rich umami flavors with the tender meat adding substance to the freshly made egg noodles. Naturally, the best place to try batchoy is in its birthplace, Iloilo, particularly in La Paz.
Inasal
The most popular version of Inasal is chicken marinated in ginger, vinegar and lemongrass, skewered and then grilled over open flame. As they are grilled, they are brushed with oil flavored with garlic and annatto seed.
With inasal places, you can enjoy not only the traditional meat of paa (thigh and leg) or petso (breast and wing), but also the other parts including the baticolon (gizzard), corazon (heart), atay (liver) and isol (butt).
The vinegar ginger marinade infuses the chicken with lots of flavor and the smokiness that is imparted by the charcoal flame make this dish more flavorful than normal grilled chicken. Bacolod is the ultimate place for inasal lovers as they even have a row of inasal restaurants affectionately called, “Manukan Country.” (chicken country).
SuToKil
SuToKil is actually not just one dish but three dishes that are usually enjoyed together. “Su” or “Sugba” refers to grilled and it’s usually a grilled whole fish or other seafood like scallops or shrimps. “To” or “Tola/Tinola” refers to a ginger soup, in this case a ginger and fish soup, and “Kil” or “Kilawin/Kinilaw” refers to raw seafood marinated in vinegar and citrus.
Together, they give the diner 3 different ways to enjoy fresh seafood, giving them 3 vastly different textures and flavor profiles. Numerous places in Cebu still specialize in serving only SuToKil.
Hometown Flavors 