An American Love Story in the Philippines

 

The article below was published in Manila Bulletin last March 2017

10 places to get Lechon for your Noche Buena and New Year feasts

By Ana Valenzuela, InterAksyon.com · Wednesday, December 19, 2012 · 3:04 pm

Note: I am posting this article, as this was used as reference by the BIR http://www.interaksyon.com/business/78261/roasted--bir-uses-interaksyon-com-online-sites-lists-of-top-lechon-places-to-sniff-out-tax-cheats

In La Loma, Quezon City, roasted pigs are lined up by a lechonero for customers to select from. La Loma is said to be the lechon capital of the Philippines. Prices vary depending on sizes, one lechon costs Php4,000 and may rise especially as Christmas Day approaches. Photo by Krisken Jones, Interaksyon.com.

The centerpiece of the dining table every Christmas and New Year, lechon is the hands-down ultimate festive Filipino food. Nothing says holiday celebration louder than this “crispy on the outside, plump and juicy on the inside” roasted feast. Where to get them? As more and more gourmet roasted pigs are being offered by chefs and restaurants all over the metro, here’s our list of some of the country’s popular lechoneros.

1. Three Little Pigs
One of Cagayan de Oro’s finest lechon’s, Three Little Pigs prides itself with organic hogs.  “What makes our lechon unique is that our pigs are soybean fed,” says owner Nino Contreras who also runs a piggery with about 200 to 300 pigs in stock.

The lechon is grilled Cebu style. “It is well seasoned where in you don’t have to put anything. Salt is enough, so you don’t have to put lechon sarsa,” says Contreras.

Three Little Pigs accept Manila orders. Just order one day ahead, call (+63) 0917-7066143.

2. Rico’s Lechon
Google Cebu Lechon, and Rico’s lechon simply pops out at the top. For 13 years, this lechon place has been exciting the taste buds of those within Cebu, and even have Manileňos visiting to have a sample.

Rico’s lechon doesn’t just roast their pigs with bawang and dahon ng sibuyas, the way lechon usually is, they even offer spicy lechon.

For more information visit http://ricos-lechon.com

3. Ping-Ping’s Lechon
Started in the early 1980’s in the lechon capital of the Philippines, La Loma, Ping-Ping’s Lechon can be found right across the North Cemetery on A. Bonifacio Avenue.

Some say Cebu lechon is the best; well, the lechoneros of Ping-ping’s will disagree. “Cebu’s lechon is maalat andwalang sauce, while ours, we use liver sauce. Sa La Loma talaga ang the best na may sarsa,” says William Maca, manager of the Ping-ping’s lechon.

Maca shares, “In the ‘70’s La Loma lechoneros sourced their pigs from as far as Dumaguete, which is also a place where Cebu lechoneros also get theirs,” but now La Loma lechoneros source their pigs in nearby farms such as Bulacan, Quezon, Pangasinan, and Tuguegarao.

For deliveries and more information, (+632) 741-9995 or (+632) 741-6874.

4. Charlie’s Pritchon
Call it the lechon reinvented, instead of the pig being grilled under the usual charcoal, this time have your fill of the crispy skin, deep-fried. Here, a five- to six-kilos suckling pig is deep fried in a frying pan.

The entire deal comes with Charlie’s wraps and special condiments.  “We serve it with pita wedges and seven sauces,” says Cecil Barcel of Charlie’s Pritchon. Choices of sauces range from hoisin, white garlic, honey mustard, liver sauce, satay sauce, chilli tagalog and honey lemon.

Order two to three days ahead, call (+632) 921-0405, 921-0415, or 426-5501.

5. CnT Lechon 
If you’re visiting Cebu, you have to try CnT Lechon.  Winning raves as Cebu’s best lechon, this place is even recommended by the taxi driver you meet in Mactan airport and your resort receptionist.

CnT has been in business for 20 years and has six branches all over Cebu City.

The restaurant’s secretary Gemma Satinitigan only has this to share on what makes their roasted pig so good, “mayspecial timpla na nilalgay at saka dapat at least five hours of roasting sa uling.”

Unlike other roasted pigs that are best savored with liver sauce, the CnT lechon is best eaten with a vinegar and soy sauce dip. CnT however doesn’t deliver outside the Visayan city, so better have someone who would be willing to ship the pig for you.

For information, call (+032) 254-4249

6. Lydia’s Lechon
With 47 years in the business and 26 branches, there is no question that Lydia’s makes one of the best lechons in the country.

“The difference between our lechon and our competitors is the crispiness of our lechon balat and the juiciness of the meat,” says Criselda Tawacal, production and warehouse manager of Lydia’s Lechon.

There is no defined cooking time for the roasting. Instead, it is cooked depending on the size. Tawacal elaborates, “if it’s small-sized, we only cook it on charcoal fire for one and a half hours.” Truly, the quality is maintained with the years of service and the number of people coming back to have a taste of roasted pig and liver sauce.

Lydia’s Lechon accepts deliveries in Metro Manila and nearby provinces. For inquiries, call (+632) 939-1221, 851-2988, or 939-4664. Check out http://www.lydias-lechon.com

Sabroso's Lechon features the fragrance and flavor of lemongrass and herbs stuffed in the pig while roasting.

7. Sabroso Lechon
Sabroso’s Lechon prides itself with the succulent meat that they are able to produce. “Sabroso Lechon is best consumed without sauce so that you can savor the freshness and flavorful meat, especially the belly and rib part,” says owner Charlie Sabroso.

He reveals how the flavor is done, “We only roast selected free-range native pigs with lemongrass and stitch the belly stuffed with seasonal herbs from Western Visayan region.” Besides that, quality is ensured as each hog has passed National Meat Inspection Service to ensure quality.

The way that the pig is cooked also makes the skin crispy, “it lasts and stays hot or warm even when delivered, this is due to closed belly,” says Sabroso guaranteeing only the best lechon for the Yuletide season.

For deliveries and information, call (+632) 515-8259, 7250711, 5158253, (+63) 0922-8416220 or 0922-7921007

8. Jun & Jun’s Lechon
Innovating the lechon, Jun & Jun’s doesn’t only give us the usual experience of roasted meat and skin.

True that it is the best Cebu lechon here in Manila, it even offers spicy lechon. But, there is more to it than that. In fact, it even is more of a sit down restaurant that offers creative ways of serving lechon: lechon burger, nachos de lechon, Caesar’s Salad (with lechon crumbles instead of bacon), and a crowd favorite, Sinigang na Lechon.

What makes their product special is the way they do their roasting, “Cebu lechon is perfect in terms of taste, but in terms of skin, Balayan (Batangas) is still the best,” states Jun Quilicot, a former military colonel and owner of Jun & Jun’s Lechon.

“We do the Balayan way of doing lechon, as far as skin is concerned but we retained the Cebu way in terms of taste.”

Apart from that their lechon stands out because of, Quilicot shares, “the choice of raw materials, the way the pig is butchered the pig, the basting, our special seven spices—all these are trade secrets.”

They also have a special way of roasting pigs that Quilicot says is different from the others, which make the skin and meat more succulent, “there is a particular timing when it comes to roasting. Dapat na by that time perfectly closed na yung skin, and also perfectly closed na the belly of the pig,” he says. “There is a portion when we do it on slow fire, but it has to be very, very strong fire.”

For deliveries and inquiries on franchising, call (+632) 915-9540 (Fort), (+632) 706-2602 (Tiendesitas), (+632) 400-3749 (Tiendesitas), or (+63) 0918-9125798.

At Mila's Lechon, pigs are roasted on charcoal in spitfire.

9. Mila’s Lechon
One of the pioneers of La Loma’s lechon, Mila’s Lechon’s number of orders and the quality they maintain says it all.  The rows of pigs being grilled all at the same time and the number of hogs they have in stock—over a hundred—translates to the demand from clients across the metro, and even those from the provinces.

They offer four types of lechon ranging from the plain regular lechon, Cebu lechon, Lechon Visayas, and Lechon Paella.  “Usually, it’s the plain regular that’s ordered kasi masarap na masarap na ‘yon eh,” says its 80-year-old owner, Antonina Cesario.

“Ang lechon namin talaga is native,” says Cesario. “When you say native. the meat is lean. Iyun yung malasa, yun yung malinam compared with others na puti, na and you need all kinds of sauces para lumasa. Also, with native hogs, the skin stays crispy even up to 16 hours it is still very crispy.”

For deliveries, call (+632) 781-4406, 353-4026, 781-4117, or 741-5403 Check out their website: http://www.milas-lechon.com

10. Elars Lechon
Elars takes pride in having served Philippine presidents in their Malacañang residence during banquets, from the administration of Cory Aquino to President Noynoy Aquino.

“May spices kami na nilalagay. I do not know if that makes it different from the others, basta yung sa amin the meat really is special,” says Dolores Santos, treasurer of Elar’s lechon. “The meat is soft, the skin is crunchy, may kaunting taba pero hindi yung talagang taba.”

Elar’s has its own piggery in Montalban, Rizal and Santos’ father, Engineer Jose Lontoc, pioneered the electrical roasting of the pig. Santos shares, “the way we cook the pig is engineered especially in its timing. It is in the rotation of the machine that makes it well cooked.”

For orders, call (+632) 731-7551, 731-7552, 732-4116, 743-3657.

Link: http://www.interaksyon.com/lifestyle/10-places-to-get-lechon-for-your-noche-buena-and-new-year-feasts

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How does iPhone 5S Fingerprint Sensor compares with Galaxy S4 Face unlock

From http://iosbasics.com/apple-news/how-does-iphone-5s-fingerprint-sensor-competes-with-android-face-unlock/

This is for ODesk employer. 

Probably one of the most fascinating features of the iPhone 5S when it was recently released was the fingerprint sensor aptly called the “Touch ID”.

The Touch ID is a fingerprint reader that can be found on the home button of your iPhone 5S. The scanner can read any finger, be it your index finger or your pinkie, in 360 degrees.  This means that the app can learn multiple fingers and does not have to be oriented in a certain way.

Though this feature is optional, with this fingerprint sensor, passwords will be a thing of the past. The Touch ID may substitute the “slide to unlock” feature or the number passcodes that helps you to log on to your phone. This fingerprint sensor will also make shopping easier on the App Store, iTunes, or iBooks, as all you need after all will be your finger. It is all in a touch of a finger.  However, a little downside to this app is that it does not yet work with third-party developers. Now, you may only enjoy making purchases with these apps compatible from Apple.

According to Apple, the Touch ID can store up to five fingerprints.  The fingerprints are kept in a Secure Enclave in the phone’s processing chip, and according to Apple, this will never be stored on the Apple servers nor the iCloud.

Using the Touch ID may be problematic for those with scarred fingers, though they have the option to use their not so marked ones. Also, it may be a bit tricky for the sweaty ones, the use of a hanky might help. Well, if this does not work, backups such as the “slide to unlock’ and the passcodes are still substitute options.

The Touch ID gives iPhone Users security. This can be a defense from thieves, pickpockets, and would be hackers. With this, one thing is for sure, only I touch my iPhone 5S.

Android also had launched a fancy face unlock feature with the announcement of Galaxy Nexus and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Criticized over the lack of security, Google has improved it a lot over the time. It was very easy to fool the application by putting a photograph of the person how has locked the mobile. However, the latest release of Android Jelly Bean has addressed that problem by adding “Blink” option which is called “Liveness”. Which means once this option is enabled, you need to blink after your face is recognized by the phone. Only after you blink, the phone screen will unlock. Cool heh!!

Gimmicks apart, now the most important question, how secure these features are. Fingerprints, Retina Scans are unique to each individual. What about Face!!! Do you have duplicates, close resemblances!!!

 iPhone 5S’s fingerprint sensor does look bit secure given that it uses one of widely accepted bio-metric recognition methods. Though Apple needs to improve it further to enable it’s scanner to do a deep scan. A deep scan will make sure that wet, scared fingers do not affect the result.

Another relevant point – does your company offers a BYOD (Bring your own device) scheme and you intend to configure corporate email on your phone under any such scheme? Most of the companies does not recognize face unlock to be as secure as PIN/password lock. So chances are that face unlock functionality may be disabled by the installed security policy by your company’s network admin once you configure corporate email into your device. What about fingerprint scan then? Let’s wait and watch till it gets launched and we’ll come to know. You may let us know by leaving a comment here if your company’s security policy allows uses of face unlock.

10 travel destination deals at the 24th Philippine Travel Mart

Text by Ana Valenzuela | Photos by Rhoy Cobilla | Lifestyle Section, InterAksyon.com · Saturday, September 7, 2013 · 7:12 pm
http://www.interaksyon.com/lifestyle/10-travel-destination-deals-at-the-24th-philippine-travel-mart

Visitors check out deals at a travel agency’s booth at the 24th Philippine Travel Mart at SMX Convention Center, September 6, 2013. Photo by Rhoy Cobilla, InterAksyon.com.

The 24th Philippine Travel Mart Philippine, organized by the Philippine Tour Operators Association (PHILTOA) at the SMX Convention Center, is a traveler’s paradise. Hundreds of travel deals on airfare and hotel stays are available this year at the event, which is expected to have around 40,000 visitors from opening day, September 6, through its closing day on Sunday, September 8.

Even if you’re not yet in vacation mode, you just might change your mind when you see all the affordable packages and prices of top local destinations.

This year, the yearly travel fair racks up some must-grab deals. Air Asia and Philippine Airlines, for instance, are some of the airline companies slashing off their price. Cebu Pacific is offering 50 percent off for bookings made for travel date from October 1 to December 31, 2013, and a whopping Php1 fare (certain charges not included) for travel on June 1 to December 31, 2014.

Hundreds of visitors register on the first day alone of the yearly Philippine Travel Mart at SMX Convention Center, September 6, 2013. The travel bazaar offers special deals and travel promos for airfares and hotel stays. Photo by Rhoy Cobilla, InterAksyon.com.

Deals that you can only find in the Travel Mart, unexplored places that you will surely look forward to visiting, and more bounties worth uncovering are at the travel mart. Go ahead and make the Travel Mart your weekend part of your place this weekend. It’s ongoing till Sunday, September 8.

1. Puerto Princesa, Palawan for Php2,250 per night.
The underground river, glorious beaches, and an hour’s ride away from Manila, it is no wonder why this city is becoming one of the most popular destinations in the country. Stay in a small Pension house, resort or hotel and enjoy the sites of Puerto Princesa. The Travel Fair offers so many packages, you’d drown at how many flyers for Palawan alone you will get. You can find a good rate for as low as Php2,250 per person in a pension house accommodation with free breakfast (courtesy of Universal Planet). Package includes airport transfers city tour, and Underground River tour or Honda Bay Island Hopping with lunch.

High-end Puerto Princesa resort, Dos Palmas Island Resort and Spa offers beach villas for only Php5,850 for the Philippine Travel mart weekend only.  Rooms are good until end of May next year, regular rate of the villa Php6,500.

2. Allah Valley, South Cotabato for Php2,500 per night
Dubbed as the land of Dreamweavers, journey through South Cotabato and get to see the grand view cultural emblem which is T’nalak weaving. Get to meet the T’boli people, while trekking  in Lake Holon, crater of Mt. Melibingoy  and explore Allah Valley more. One place to stay is at the Farm @ Carpenters hill, which offers a room for as low as Php2,500 per night. For more travel information, contact Rels Rendje,  Tour Operator at (+63) 917-5378786 or (+63) 928-3443344

3. Island of Negros for Php388++ per night.
Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental are provinces that belong in two separate regions, Central and Western Visayas, respectively, and have separate identities. Oriental is known more for Silliman university and the dive site in Apo Island while Occidental gained popularity for its capital, Bacolod and the famed Masskara festival. Negros perks up the agriculture scene with organic farming and even offers seminars as well as samples of the produce in different model farms.

Go Hotels offers rooms for as low as P388 + vat per night, pension houses cost about Php550 per room. For tour information, contact Viaje Negrense, at(+63) 917-3000060.

4. Subic, Olangapo for Php4,000 per night.
Famed for its naval bases, Subic Bay has been turned into a crowd drawer with its duty free shops, water sports activities, and relics from the World War 2. PhilTOA got together a group of Subic Bay hotels and resorts, who slashed off prices for the Travel mart attendees. The Subic Yacht Club offers a Php4,000 gift certificate for room accommodation, usually worth Php6,500. The gift certificate includes gym use, Jacuzzi, and swimming pool use, while a two hour yacht cruise comes with additional cost. Grande Island Resort, a triple A resort in Subic, offers rooms for as low as P3,840 per night, published rate is P6,600. Have a laid-back day on the island or indulge in water sports activities like snorkelling and jet-skiing.

A mascot of this Subic beach resort adds cheer and fun at the 24th Philippine Travel Mart, September 6 to 8, 2013 at SMX Convention Center. Photo by Rhoy Cobilla, InterAksyon.com.

5. Siquijor for Php650 per night.
The mystique island,  once called the Island of fire, as it was believed that fireflies lit the city at night is full of wonderful beaches, historical sites, and love potions and herbal products to boot. There are many paces to stay which offer rates as low as Php650 per night.

6. La Union for Php6,853 per night.
Tagged as the Surfing Capital of the  North, La Union lets the rolling mountains come across the glorious waves of the sea.  Yet, there is more to this province than its ultra fine beaches, as it presents eco-trail, botanical garden,  silver craft, and many more. The Travel Mart racks up amazing prices, yet nothing can compete with Thunderbird Resorts’ deal of Php6,853 (originally Php8,900) for the weekdays, and Php7,315 (Php9500) for the weekends.

7. Leyte for Php5,485 per night.
Where did General Douglas MacArthur return when he vowed to do so? Nowhere else but Leyte. Apart from a monument to MacArthur and the San Juanico bridge, other visitor spots of these Visayan province includes the Lake Danao, the virgin islet of Kalanangaman, and Tabuk. Whole day trip be from Php1,865 to Php5,485 (depending on the number of persons). For more travel information contact, (+632917) 321-7966.

8. Naga, Bicol for Php18,888 for three days.
An excursion of sorts is the best way to describe a trip to Naga, Bicol. Explore the heritage sites, go on a pilgrimage, or even dive into the ocean as all these can be done when in Bicol. Not enough? Then try three days at Misibis Bay for only Php18,888 net per person. Package includes breakfast and city tour.

9. Cebu for Php3,500 per night.
Find out more about Cebu, beyond its famous lechon and mangoes as you stay in a first-class hotel. Travel Mart offers the best prices at Waterfront Hotel Cebu, which offers a room for as low as Php3,500 (originally Php 4,000) and a double occupancy room for Php3,800 (originally Php5,000). Marco Polo Plaza Cebu also offers a room for as low as Php3,000, while Movenpick, the newest five-star hotel in Cebu, gives its guests a three-day stay in a deluxe room for only Php27,000.

10. Boracay for Php2,380 per night.
A lush stretch of white sands, and as the sun comes down the island dares to party—complete, of course, with bars, clubs, and fire dancers. Boracay has taken over the title summer capital long ago, and its time to rediscover why. Travel mart offers discount rates for as low as Php 2,380 per night (courtesy of Travel Universe Cafe). If you are looking forward to world-class service while in Boracay, Fridays, a triple A resort provides great discount, book a suite or deluxe room for Php8,000 per night.