Located halfway along Newtown’s bustling Enmore Road, Sydney Cebu Lechon is a casual restaurant, serving authentic Cebuano Filipino dishes, with a native Filipino vibe. The menu here is slim but superb, inspired by the island region of Cebu – the birthplace of the people behind the restaurant. This includes the house specialty, Cebu lechon, a charcoal-roasted pork belly, full of flavour, with a distinct saltiness, as well as the braised soy chicken otherwise known as humba, a slow-cooked bird infused with vinegar, soy sauce, and other delights.
Filipino food is influenced by a variety of culinary cultures from around the world, taking cues from Chinese, Japanese and Spanish cuisine. But make no mistake, the dishes that are born and bred in the Philippines have a distinct deliciousness all their own.
For example, there’s the famous adobo (meaning ‘marinade’ in Spanish), a dish of either chicken or pork, marinated in a mixture of soy sauce and vinegar. And then, of course, there’s halo halo (meaning ‘mixed together’ in Filipino), a cheeky dessert containing ice shavings, evaporated milk and trimmings like sweetened beans, coconut gel and ube ice cream. And don’t even get us started on crispy pata – a perfectly deep-fried pork leg, served with a soy-vinegar dipping sauce – or sinigang, a delicious sour broth of vegetables and meat of your choice. The list truly goes on and on...
Lucky for you, we've shortened it to the best places to get your Filipino food fix in Sydney.