THE KAMAYAN QUEEN: Lechon de... ANYHOW

I've been witness and also participant of three grand family reunions, and probably around eight exclusive ones. An experience which should probably suffice enough to give my rambling on some insight...

THE star of any fiesta (provided that the host is nowhere near being stinjy) is a good roast. It doesn't really matter whether its beef, pork or chicken--- though there is always that percentage of the population who would beg to disagree. Choice has nothing to do with sophistication. By far the most sumptous of the three is the beef roast, delicately glazed with worcestershire. A more traditional selection would be a pork roast to be the center of attraction, while roasted chicken on the otherhand is more suitable and common as a lunch or dinner entree with plain or flavored rice.

We can never really trace the origin of this Filipino favorite. As a young girl, I remember hearing a story from my aunt that lechon began as an accidental discovery, and an influence of the Chinese. A man's house having burned down, with his pet pig not being able to escape the inferno. While in the process of this man mourning the loss of his friend, he lays his hands on the pig only to be scalded. His immediate reaction being to wring his hands, and impulsively licks his fingers so as to cool the tips. He finds himself amused by the flavor, and begins eating the pig.

In the local setting alone, there is a street in Manila dedicated to this art-form --- the notorious La Loma. The street is lined with famous names all with the single goal of serving to the public a solid piece of sublimely rich, fatty goodness. There are those who prefer it plain, its original seasonings of salt and pepper. Preferences of an endless line of dips beginning with the traditional sauce of liver and sweet spices, which we also know of its brown tint -- the ever-constant sarsa. We find in another saucer a simple preparation of vinegar, chili and onion -- believed to preserve the succulence of the meat while providing a light flavor. 

And for those willing to make the journey, there is the Lechon Cebu, deemed the original. It is also believed that the length of the journey adds to its flavor. 

So many names, so many renditions -- But Lechon is a universal language.

I am amused to share that people from the west relate to our love for this particular delicacy.

Robyn Eckhardt, in her entry on lechon in the September 28 issue of Wall Street Journal (2007) contains her reference to lechon as being synonymous with a spontaneous party, something best to be shared over bottles of a favorite drink. She had turned her exploration of lechon into a diligent miniature study, having provided her readers with a listing of great places at the end of her entry. 

But alas, this is the matter with words --- they limit the experience. 

In short -------

DINING is an affair.