What to Eat in Cebu, and Where to Stop Looking

Cebu's food reputation rests almost entirely on one dish, which is unfair to the island and, to be honest, entirely fair to the dish.

Lechon, and the argument about it

Cebu lechon is seasoned inside rather than sauced outside, which is the whole difference and the reason people here will tell you it needs no sauce. They are right. The argument is about which town does it best, and the argument is not settled and is not going to be.

The best lechon in Cebu is from whichever town the person you are talking to is from.

— A rule with no known exceptions

What people eat on a Tuesday

Ngohiong — a fried spring roll with a spiced radish filling, sold from carts and eaten standing up. Puso, rice steamed in a woven coconut-leaf pouch, which exists because it travels and stays warm and is the correct thing to eat with anything grilled.

• Ngohiong, from a cart, before six in the evening
• Puso with anything from a grill
• Danggit for breakfast, if you like being woken up
• Torta from Argao, if you pass through Argao

The dish worth a detour

Sutukil is not a dish, it is a method: you pick the fish and then choose whether it is grilled, stewed in soured broth, or served raw in vinegar. Usually all three, from one fish, which is the point.

One thing to skip

Anything advertised as authentic Cebuano cuisine in a room with a sea view and a laminated menu. The good version of every dish on that menu is being sold two streets away by someone who has made only that dish for twenty years.