I was going to write a proper review of Casa San Pablo* but, having spent the last week poisoning myself with food, alcohol and cigarettes (I just realized I only did Paleo TWICE last week) – and currently operating on next-to-zero hours of sleep – please excuse me if I can barely string two words together today. If you’ve “liked” my Desperate Measures’ Facebook page, I’ve posted an album-full of photos on there. Go and have a look.

Long story short, we had a fabulous time. Great company, wonderful food, an absolutely amazing experience.

The best lechon, for me, was the sisig lechon. I don’t tolerate spicy food very well but the chili gave the stuffing a nice little kick. I myself would have served a separate dish of real sisig to be sprinkled onto the stuffing to give it some extra crunch, but that’s just me.

Second runner-up went to Ms. France. The truffle rice pig. If it had been served with a squeeze of lemon and some parmesan shavings, it would have been a beautiful lechon risotto.

A close third was the “German” pig. Herbs, garlic bulbs and baby potatoes. Dedet preferred this stuffing for the main lechon because it was the only one that didn’t involve rice and didn’t detract from the main star of the show which was, well, the lechon. The best way to eat this is to layer. Start with some nice, crunchy pork skin. Top it with a succulent morsel of lechon flesh. Then smash the garlic and the potatoes together and scoop a bit of this mixture onto the top of your lechon skin-flesh layer and you’re on your way to heaven.

The Christmas lechon with the chestnuts was just so-so, for me. I’m not a big fan of chestnuts. Too make it more festive, I probably would have added chunks of Chinese ham into the stuffing.

The menu.

Among the starters, I loved the balut salpicao (- bravo to Dedet dela Fuente for using balut and finding creative ways to serve it!) and the squash flowers stuffed with anchovies and kesong puti (white cheese). Absolutely brilliant.

I probably wouldn’t have served a pasta dish though, especially a creamy one, seeing that the lechons by themselves were already heavy. A pako salad would have been a refreshing break from all that cholesterol. But if I absolutely had to serve a pasta dish, I probably would have gone with a garlicky longganisa pasta in its own oil, topped with fresh basil. Everything was already brown. A bit of longganisa red and basil green would have livened things up. Instead of using them on a pasta, they also would have worked with more kesong puti and some bread. A Pinoy bruschetta, if you will.

But I did like that overkill chicharon topping on the carbonara though. Loved it actually.

Among the sweet stuff, the sabachara (saba bananas, achara -style, or “pickled” bananas) wasn’t very popular. It might have worked for me had the bananas been cooked longer. Then again, maybe not. Dedet was most probably looking for something sweet and sour that would cut through the oiliness of the lechon. Perhaps a sweet tamarind dessert? Her calamansi sorbet certainly hit the spot. Something same-same-but-different would have been appreciated more.

Her Darna concoction was a big hit though. Yummy butterscotch-something (she wouldn’t say) with whipped cream. Divinely inspired.

All in all, a spectacular hit of a dinner. We were all very happy and satisfied. I would recommend it to anyone and would do it all over again. In a few skipped heartbeats.

I brought a ton of Tupperware with me to dinner and probably brought home the equivalent of one of the baby pigs. By the way, here’s a tip for leftover lechon: If you’re like me and aren’t into sweet savory food, a great alternative to paksiw is cooking the leftover lechon in a very sour sinigang soup. Skin included. Trust me on this.

Again, bravo to Dedet for using predominantly Filipino flavors to create a truly fantastic and unforgettable feast!

(I still would have waived corkage though.)

😉

*Casa San Pablo is now Pepita’s Kitchen.