Lydia's Lechon

Amazing that this iconic Pinoy brand is  more than half a century old !

Outstanding as well that behind its success is 74 year old Ms. Lydia de Roca, the eponym of the brand. 

Check out their LECHON-IN-A-BOX soon on September 1....

Celebrated our company Christmas party here last week. I have to admit, even they are already 50 years in the industry, it was just my second time to dine at their restaurants. Maybe when I was a child I have tried their lechon but I wasn't paying much attention. Lydia's is famous for their lechon. After having another one last night, it was really delicious. The meat is very tender, flavorful, and addicting, even if I am not a fan of them.

Aside from lechon, they also offer good Filipino dishes. We also tried Chicharon with laman, Chili Beef, Pork Binagoongan, Pancit Lechon, and Rellenong Alimango. I love the relleno best because it was made with generous crab meat. I also liked the Paella Rice. I was planning to order the seafood and lechon version but no one wanted to try it out, so I just ordered the spiced rice version. Surprisingly, their pancit is very good too.

A highly recommended place for parties and events. They offer good food at affordable prices. My staffs also said this was their best Christmas party ever because of the good food.

Only lechon (rib part) for me here and crispy skin in a soy sauce and kalamansi dip, nothing else.
They have discounts if u get there late.

I first noticed Lydia’s Lechon when I saw it at the SM Centerpoint food court when I was still in school. Ever since then, Lydia’s Lechon has been the default lechon brand I think about when I think of lechon. At the SM Food Court, it was easy to get just enough lechon as we needed, there was no requirement to order a whole pig, and the lechon was delicious!

As I grew up and learned to gallivant around the Metro, I saw the Lydia’s Lechon in Baclaran since a friend used to live near there, and realized that aside from SM food courts, Lydia’s Lechon also had a restaurant! The Baclaran branch is actually Lydia’s Lechon’s flagship restaurant.

LYDIA’S LECHON ROCES BRANCH

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to the Lydia’s Lechon Roces branch in Quezon City. This is at the corner of Don A. Roces Ave and Scout Reyes St. I was happy to see that Lydia’s Lechon now has several branches! This is great for those times when you want some lechon with friends and family, but don’t want the noisy food court atmosphere!

Lydia’s Lechon’s Roces branch is bright and casual, with a similar atmosphere as a fast food place, but serving home style dishes.

If you live around the area (near Quezon City), I recommend going to this branch because:

Free Parking! – parking spaces are available in front

The restaurant looks new or is newly renovated

and the most important reason of all, THERE’S A LECHONAN in that branch!

They have a lechonan at the back, so you’re sure to get newly roasted lechon! Other branches that don’t have their own lechonan have their lechons delivered to them, but if you go to a branch with its own lechonan, you will most likely get a lechon that didn’t have to wait around to be delivered! Fresh, hot and crispy!

THE FOOD

Aside from lechon, Lydia’s Lechon also serves other dishes, and here are some that we got to try:

For our meal, we had 1/4 kilo lechon (P205):

As expected, the lechon was awesome! The skin was crispy without being chewy (not makunat) while the meat was melt-in-your-mouth tender and well-seasoned. It smelled so tempting – how can I describe the smell of lechon? Crispy skin, combined with the smell of soft, melting pork meat and fat, mixed with spices and seasonings? 

Looking at these pictures just have me salivating!

The lechon wasn’t malansa, and that is saying a lot, because many poorly prepared lechons are malansa.

For me, lechon is better with a good lechon sauce, and Lydia’s Lechon sauce was very good. It was sweet, but good, and goes perfectly with the lechon! Did you know that Aling Lydia still makes the lechon sauce herself?

Lydia’s Lechon is definitely one of the best lechons in Metro Manila!

We also had the Beef Nilaga (P205). This was okay. The beef was tender, the soup was clear and beefy.

Bicol Express (P185) – this was thick with coconut cream, but for me, I prefer it to be cooked until the coconut cream becomes a bit oily. This was okay. The pork pieces were tender. It was not too spicy. 

Fresh Lumpia (P80) – this was lumpia ubod. 

Pork Barbecue (P75) – the next best thing aside from the lechon! Lydia’s Lechon’s pork barbecue is really good! It was generous with the meat. The meat was not tough at all, and was also very flavorful. It’s typical Filipino-style pork barbecue with some tomato sauce or catsup, sweet and just a little hint of sour, but this barbecue is done really well. It shot up to the top of my list for good pork barbecues in Metro Manila! Really very good with the accompanying vinegar. 

Buko Pandan (P47) – this was nice. I actually like this buko pandan better than the name brand buko pandan. This one is just simple – sago, pandan jello and coconut cream – nothing fancy, but it’s just good. And nicely chilled (not frozen). It tastes like something that would be served by your favorite aunt at a family get together. And it’s only P47! I must have been eating at expensive places, because lately, I expect a typical dessert would cost at least P100. So at P47 each, I think this buko pandan is so worth ordering! 

SUMMARY 

Lydia’s Lechon is the place to go when you are craving for lechon! Their lechon is tried and tested – they’ve been in business for 50 years!

I would also go for their pork barbecue – it’s pretty good, too! Their buko pandan is also something I will definitely order whenever I am at Lydia’s Lechon.

Price-wise, I think their dishes are very affordable, especially compared to similar establishments.

Lydia’s Lechon delivers whole lechon within Metro Manila. Note: they only deliver whole lechon. They don’t deliver other food.

More info on the blog!

I would've given them a 5 if it wasn't for the weird tasting lechon paksiw. It lacked the tangy kick characteristic of a paksiw dish. Of.course their lechon was da bomb and was moist, flavorful and you'd want a kilo all to yourself. ;p