Don Lechón @ Grandlink Square 511 Guillemard Rd

It all originated from having a theme of "suckling pig" and then to choose a place that has it for our monthly dinner gathering. Hence, Don Lechón came up as an option plus its online review was really good, so we just got to try it for ourselves. Thank you Ivan, Kris and Alvin for suggesting the theme, the place and for making the reservations, respectively.

Don Lechón is on the left side of Grandlink Square's main entrance and you'll walk pass a Vietnamese place before reaching Don Lechón. It's a good sign when you see the signage of a hog in tuxedo smiling right back at you. Lechón is a Spanish word referring to a roasted suckling pig.

Signage

There are outdoor seats and there are indoor seats. The place was bustling! We opted for indoor seats within the cool confines of the air-conditioned area. The order counter is a small area and there was already a queue formed.

queuing to order

The menu is simple and all are stated on the menu board. Prior to that we already had a good idea of what we wanted to try (from online reviews!). Payment is by cash. The boss himself, Mr Krisanto Bibal was manning the counter with the help of two other lovely ladies, and can also be seen serving the customers. We queued for about 20 to 30 minutes to order.

After ordering and making payment, you'll receive a number tag and food will be served to your table. There are only a few types of canned drinks and bottled mineral water available and all are priced the same at $1.80. The drinks are located in a fridge just right outside the order counter entrance. There's also a cabinet for mugs and a small container for ice-cubes. So please help yourself.

colourful mugs

As there were just 5 of us this time round, we opted for 3 items from the rice set meals and added extra orders of two rice and ala-carte order of half a kilo of chopped lechon.

We tried the Lechon Sisig, Bopis and Lechon Sinigang. These seemed to be the perennial favourites of a typical Filipino meal, yes?

Lechon Sisig @$9.50

Sisig Lechon

Sisig is said to be a Kapampangan dish, typically made from parts of pig head and chicken liver, but nowadays sisig is more of a cooking process rather than a dish. Hence, sisig can be anything. The typical seasoning of a lechon sisig dish would be calamansi juice, soy sauce, onion and chillies and with chopped lechon tossed in. Garnished with a sunny side up.

The size of the Lechon Sinigang pot really surprised us. Is this meant for 1 pax? Wow! Served piping hot, this huge serving of appetising sour and savoury soup was enjoyed by the five of us and yet, we couldn't finish it all. The sour taste of the sinigang is often associated with tamarind. In comparison, to paksiw, which is another type of stew but uses vinegar instead of tamarind.

Lechon Sinigang @$11.50

In the soup, there were sliced brinjals, kang kong (water spinach), radish and thick cut lechon (about 5 pieces). The sourness hits you well enough to keep awake and overall, this tangy soup was really appetising. The version here seemed thicker than other sinigang that I've tasted though.

Lechon Sinigang

There was one item that I insisted to try, and that was the Bopis. The rest were unsure and perhaps with a tad of fear factor? Only $5.50 per set, this was a really affordable tasty meal. You could also opt for the ala-carte and it has two sizes. I found that the smaller portion will do as a side dish to share. Even with the 5 of us, we could barely finish this portion that came as a rice set meal.

Bopis @$5.50

Bopis is a piquant Filipino dish of chopped pork lungs and heart sautéed in tomatoes, chilies and onions. Loved the springy texture and the overall appetising taste of the dish. Not too funky and just delicious with that mouthful of steamed rice.

The heavyweights of the meal would have to be the much awaited lechón. Simple, expertly roasted, well seasoned lechon, chopped in a thick cut manner.

Chopped Lechon @$20 per half kilo

The skin was a clear winner. Crackling and crispy. Sink your teeth into those luscious fatty meat and be swayed by its tender flavorful flesh. Breathtakingly good.

Served with a brown sauce of unknown origins. Ok, it was because I didn't ask what sauce it was. Had tried it with the sauce but for me I'd prefer it without, as the meat itself was already that good!

It was a good introduction to Filipino cuisine at Don Lechón and am glad I was able to share it with Alvin (@o_oican), Ivan (@ivan_teh_runningman), Kris (@msginginly) and Tiara (@tiara_star).

Don Lechón 

Address: 511 Guillemard Rd, Singapore 399849
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/DonLechonSingapore
Contact: 9778 9737
Business Hours:
Daily - 5pm to 11pm

Lechon Pinoy @ Lucky Plaza

Was around Lucky Plaza area, so had lunch at its Asian Mall Food Court. Many stalls offering Philippine's food such as Lutong Pinoy, Lutong Pinoy 2, Tapa King, Jollibee and Lechon Pinoy.

Previously had tried Lutong Pinoy and had their Porksilog. This time round, ventured to Lechon Pinoy and ordered their boneless lechon.

Basically, it's a mound of white rice and some chopped meat. Three types of sauce. The brown one that is sweetish, the vinegary chili and the dark sauce. 

Boneless Lechon @$8.50

closer view of the skin

It was pretty good. With some parts of the meat very tender and soft, and most parts with a chew but not too tough. The skin tend to have quite a bit of fats stuck to it and some parts crispy while most are chewy. Plenty of oil from the meat! Take more of the brown sauce and chili that's more vinegary than spicy. Actually it was not spicy at all.