A Michelin (Not Starred) Restaurant in Cebu

For a last hurrah for the Stirlands, who have finished their 18-month temple mission, we went to the well-known and very popular House of Lechon for our weekly Saturday evening outing.  Fun people and good food.

The House of Lechon in Cebu City is not a "starred" Michelin restaurant but is a "Michelin Selected Restaurant," meaning that Michelin designates it as a "high quality" restaurant.  

I at first thought that the Michelin sign was a joke, which is why I took this picture of the pig head with "Michelin 2026."  But google says that for sure it is a Michelin Selected Restaurant.

Lechon is a popular Filipino dish consisting of a whole roasted pig seasoned with herbs and spices and spit-roasted over charcoal until the skin is crispy and the meat is tender and juicy.  We were lucky to see the whole pig, which had just come out of the roaster.

House of Lechon is huge, with many kitchens.  Fresh air blows through the kitchens and the dining areas.

Our plates are banana leaves on wooden dish.  Fun!  Just throw away the banana leaves when you're done.  Here are the returning home missionaries, Elder Krey and Sister Wendy Stirland, and Sister Beth Andreasen, who has a month to go on her mission.

Elder Joe Andreasen is helping Elder Torrie figure out what to order.  We decided to order family style so we could enjoy all the dishes.

Not sure we want to try Lechon Batchoy with its "pork innards," (click to enlarge so you can read the ingredients) although we have eaten interesting innards in Israel with our friend Yael.

Here's our lechon.  And it was very tender and tasty.  Filipinos love the skin, but I tried it and my teeth couldn't even tear it.  Maybe my teeth are too old for that kind of thing.  Love the mango shake that you can also see in the picture.  It's our new favorite drink.

Another yummy dish.  Can't remember what it was, but it was tasty.  Notice that they only give you a fork and a large spoon.  That's the way it is in most restaurants here.  If you need to cut, you cut with your spoon.

This woman entertains customers while they're waiting for a table in the House of Lechon.  She makes pouches by weaving coconut tree leaves.  And she weaves fast!  See video below.  Pouches are filled with raw rice and then boiled in water.  These cooked rice pouches are often served with lechon.  In fact rice is served with most every meal in restaurants in the Philippines, even at Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Farewell to Wendy Stirland, who left the Philippines two days after this photo was taken.  She has happy memories of her year and a half in Philippines.