I'm one of those people that think of what pasalubong (gifts/treats to bring home) to buy even before I leave home. So of course, my last trip to Cebu was no different.
Frozen
I could never go in Cebu without buying my mother her favorite pasalubong - Lechon!
Normally, I always buy my lechon at CNT but this time I thought I would buy something different and thought of Zubuchon. Now the last time I ate in one of their restaurant, I wasn't that impressed. See my initial review here. But I decided to give them another chance and had our dinner the second night in Cebu. Read here for my second visit.
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| Zubuchon is the only lechon kiosk at the pre-departure lounge |
The good thing about Zubuchon is that you can buy your lechon at any of their restaurants and just pick it up at the airport at the pre-departure lounge (after the check-in and security). Super convenient. The not-so-good thing was that the lechon was frozen.
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| Each box can contain 2 kilo frozen lechon - no need to tie/tape up |
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It also shows some ways to serve the lechon such as a Pritchon, Sinigang, etc.
My mom was disappointed that she couldn't eat it immediately. We had to defrost it a couple of hours inside the refrigerator. Since we didn't have an oven or a turbo, I just put the meat in a toaster oven for 10-15 minutes. I fried the skin in a skillet.
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| Ta-daa! |
Personally, I like the lechon in Zubuchon since it is less saltier than CNT and they packed the lechon better with a good combination of meat vs skin. However, mom still liked CNT better. Go figure ....
Price of Zubuchon was P570/kilo.
Dried
Aside from Lechon, Cebu is also known for its dried Danggit (salted local fish), pusit (squid) and chicharon (fried pork rind). One of the best places to go is Taboan Market. Just make sure that if you do, wear clothes you won't need for the rest of the trip because your clothes will smell even after you leave the place.
We went here early morning and just took a taxi.
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| dried everything |
If you're not sure which danggit (salted or unsalted) to pick, ask to taste it. Most of the stalls would fry pieces up in the morning so they can offer these to their customers to try. I like the unsalted danggit.
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| Danggit P280 for 1/2 kilo, Pusit P300 for 1/2 kilo |
Since the fish and pusit can be smelly, they vacuum pack it in strong plastic. Added bonus is that you can have it divided into how much weight you want (1/4k, 200 grams, etc). Super convenient especially if you're giving it to different people.
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| Chicharon P260 for 1/2 kilo |
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| bought everything at this store |
Others
Yes, you can buy a lot of stuff at SM. But I always feel like its a cop-out whenever I do buy my pasalubong from there. I do understand, however, that sometimes you have limited time and just want to buy everything at one place.
Islands Pasalubong can be a good alternative. It's a one stop shop that houses most of Cebuanos delicacies and well as some unusual items.
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| air conditioned store |
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| super expensive chocolate dipped mangoes - I believe this cost P700 per box |
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| dried mangoes in different flavors |
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| chewy, crunchy and healthy? |
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| Shamrock galore |
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| Different flavors of Butterscotch bars |
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| not sure if this would be good |
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| Filipinos are really fond of repeating everything |
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| wish they had this at a smaller bottle |
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| Mix and match bin where you can buy small items of each kind |
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| Thought this was a nice idea especially if you're not sure that you want a big bag of a particular product |
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| and more! |
Definitely if I go back to Cebu, I'll try to find some more unusual pasalubongs to bring home.
ONE MANGO AVENUE BLDG.
Gen. Maxilom Avenue, Cebu City - (032) 2395697
ESCARIO CENTRAL
Escario Street, Cebu City -
(032) 2540247
MACTAN MARINA MALL
corner Airport Road and ML Quezon HIghway, Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City - (032) 2661310
PRE-DEPARTURE AREA
Mactan Domestic Airport -
(032) 5110005
ZUBUCHON IT PARK
The Walk, IT Park, Lahug, Cebu City - (032) 2368256
Belen & Titings
Taboan Market
(032) 2611797
Islands Pasalubong
Lahug
Across Golden Cowrie
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