Holidays with the Lechon Diva
Bluewater Resorts give the Christmas staple, lechon, a toast
Two men rotate two roast pigs over two portable steel pits sitting on the empty beach. The red skin of the lechon de leche glistens against the orange glow of the ember. The crackling charcoal and the gentle waves lapping at the shoreline are almost playing a Christmas tune, as hungry guests marvel at the main course that’s on its last stages of cooking.
These were no ordinary lechon, however. Not, the traditional kind, at least. It was by Dedet dela Fuente of Pepita’s Kitchen. Known in the culinary world by her moniker, “Lechon Diva,” she created her special
lechon at Bluewater Resorts to celebrate the Christmas season. The resort group recently launched its “Pasko sa Bluewater” celebration in a span of two weeks, covering its three resorts—Maribago, Panglao, and Sumilon. The hospitality and leisure company tapped the Lechon Diva to help them usher in the Holidays. Pepita’s Kitchen is known for its stuffed lechon. Dedet stuffs her
lechon with a variety of stuffing such as, among others, binagoongan rice, sisig rice, and the most popular, truffle rice. This roast pig has even won several awards abroad, including the “The Tastiest Dish in Asia” by Chowzter Awards in London in 2014. In 2015, it was also one of the bestselling dishes at the World Street Food Congress held in Singapore, with people lining up just to sample it.
Dedet, who is based in Parañaque, had no formal culinary training but she started cooking at the age of nine when she attended Sylvia
Reynoso Gala’s cooking classes. “Sylvia Reynoso is such a nice lady. Most of all, she taught me to enjoy cooking. I also took lessons from
Reggie Aspiras. I also love to eat, I enjoy eating. I enjoy eating out with my friends. So whenever I eat out, I try to think how they made it and later I would try to make it on my own,” she says. She says that it took her three years to master the art of roasting
lechon. During the special “Hayop sa Sarap na Dégustation” dinner at Bluewater Panglao, she brought her signature dishes and some new ones. Dedet started her dégustation in 2012 at her home, by appointment only, and has brought it around the Philippines and different countries as well.
Held at the resort’s Aplaya restaurant, a few steps from its private beach, the dinner started with a cocktail called Gayuma ni Pepita’s. Served in a Martini glass, pure calamansi juice and lambanog are poured over sweet cotton candy. The result was a bright pink, sweet and tangy cocktail. Then came the amuse bouche, a trio of appetizers on a plate called Pica Pica ng Pepita’s. The plate was made of Lucban
kiping with squid ink aoili and Tarlac dilis, balut salpicao on a cracker, and lechon scone served with Mang Tomas butter.
The salad dish was a surprising play on texture and sweet and acidic flavors. Mixed greens were tossed with atcharang nata de coco from Pampanga, roasted cashew nuts, and cornick. Next was the Hiplog, short for hipon and itlog, the shrimp coated with a salted egg sauce that was served in a shell.
One of her newest additions to the dégustation is the Puso ng Cebu with Tuslob Buwa. Tuslob Buwa is an exotic Cebuano dish made primarily of pig’s brain, a stew-like dish with a thick soup-like consistency paired with pusó or steamed rice wrapped in coconut leaf.
“When traveling, I always make sure to watch out for new food that I have never tried or tasted and incorporate it in my dégustation,” Dedet explains.
Next was another new dish, Halang-Halang ng Bol-anon. It was chicken cooked in coconut milk and chilis and served with noodles. Then it was the very flavorful Sipit sa Sarap, crab claw in gulong-gulong sauce. The coconut milk-based sauce was flavored with different herbs and spices, similar in flavor profile to a Thai curry.
Before the main event, Dedet served ginger and calamansi sorbet palate cleansers in the form of ice candy. She tries to incorporate what she loves eating in her dégustation. So everything she stuffs in her lechon is a favorite.
Two types of lechon were served, one stuffed with truffle rice and the other with lumpiang gulay (another first on her menu). As always, the lechon meat was tender and flavorful, the skin crisp (and brushed with edible gold powder to make it extra special). The truffle rice did not disappoint and the lumpia was a fresh take on her stuffing, which otherwise usually involved rice or noodles. The lumpiang lechon was served with various sauces from sweet honey glaze to savory soy-based to hot and spicy. Both lechon were served with Pepita’s Kitchen signature Divalicious Labuyo Sauce, a must-try. To end the dinner, three very Pinoy desserts were served—super suman (rice cake with fresh mango, yema, pili nuts, and brown sugar), guinataang brulee (thick guinataang halo-halo topped with caramelized torched sugar shell), and buko pandan macaroon (buko pandan flavored coconut macaroon). In true Filipino fashion, Bluewater Resorts celebrates the holidays with local flavors and food fit for a grand Noche Buena.
Two types of lechon were served, one stuffed with truffle rice and the other with lumpiang gulay, a first on Dedet de la Fuente’s degustacion menu.