Sydney Cebu Lechon, Enmore

I have fond memories of Cebu in the Philippines. Not only is the region and food great but so is their version of lechon (Philippine suckling pig). What sets Cebu lechon apart from other versions of lechon is that the meat is so damn tasty that you don’t even need any lechon sarsa (sauce). The unique blend of spices and herbs that goes into the stuffing takes the flavours of the meat to another level.

Sydney Cebu Lechon by the Mahusay family has been operating since 1991 as a made to order/catering lechon business in Sydney. In fact, we actually ordered the lechon for our engagement party from them way back and I remember it being the best lechon I’ve had in Sydney. Fast forward to 2016, Will Mahusay took over the family business and has also opened a restaurant in Enmore a few months ago. It’s a small casual restaurant with a minimalist type menu that highlights their main product, Cebu-style lechon.

Their signature Cebu lechon (charcoal roasted pig) is $18 for 200 grams and it comes with atsara (pickled papaya salad) and some vinegar soy blend sauce. The sauce is just there as an option but to be honest, the pork is already incredibly tasty on its own. The meat is tender, smoky, rich in notes of garlic and other spices, full of umami and very aromatic. The tiles of crisped crackling makes amazing shattering sounds with every bite.

Then there’s a dish local to the Cebu region called humba ($23.50). Only the chicken version was available at the time. It’s Cebu-style adobo that‘s heavily influenced by Chinese cuisine. It’s heavier on spices rather than being vinegary compared to other versions of adobo in other parts of the Philippines. The sauce is very close to an aromatic umami rich Chinese masterstock. So you get notes of garlic, star anise and other spices. The braised chicken was so tender that it easily fell of the bones.

There are also weekly rotating desserts available. We had ube cheesecake and frozen brazo de mercedes. The frozen brazo de mercedes was like almost like a meringue and custard flavoured ice cream in texture with a crumble-type base.

Besides the delicious food, the service was also excellent. As there are rotating specials on the menu, I would definitely go back to try them.

Sydney Cebu Lechon

Shop 4/80-80A Enmore Rd, Newtown NSW 2042

Ph: 0481 205 589

Opening hours:

Friday to Sunday 11:45am-3pm, 5:45pm-9pm

Mate Burger Shop - Mt Druitt

Mounty County has a new Sheriff in town! The team behind Mate Burger truck has now opened a new shop in the heart of Mount Druitt.

I’ve been a fan of my homie Henry Paraan’s work since I first tried his burgers at the Blacktown Aussie Night Markets 2 years ago. You can now get their American/Filipino fusion burgers from Friday to Sunday at their shop that sits up to 40 people. Henry is a Shake Shack fan like I am so you can expect awesome juicy flavoursome smashed patty burgers from this new joint too. The all-time favourite Mate offerings are also available like the cheesemate, ensaymada burger and adobo fries. Then there’s the shop exclusives like lechon rice bowl and the Hey Mounty burger.

Fries before guys folks!! Yes, they do have normal fries and a Cheese-cino fries ($10). The cheese-cino fries is a serving of large French fries loaded with melted cheese and tocino-style bacon pieces and Mate sauce. The tocino-style bacon had hints of garlic and sweet flavours. 

Their classic ensaymada burger ($13) consists of a juicy beef patty, smoked sriracha maple bacon, rocket, melted kraft cheese and a mayo based Mate sauce in a sweet fluffy buttery Filipino-style brioche bread with cheese. This burger perfectly exhibits how one can balance out sweet, salty and umami flavours.

The Mare (pronounced Mah-reh) burger ($14) is the first exclusive item on the menu. This is a must order when you visit the shop for the first time! Crispy deep-fried chicken thigh fillet with the Mate sauce, cheese, apple, chilli jam and lettuce in a soft milk bun. The coating on the chicken was crunchy with a texture somewhere between a doughy karaage chicken and Southern-style buttermilk coating. The meat was perfectly cooked and I love it went well with the apple and chilli jam.

The Hey Mounty ($14 for a single patty and $4 for an extra patty) is another shop exclusive. A massive classic “the works” style burger with beef patty, tocino bacon, cheese, mate sauce, onions, tomato and lettuce.

Mate stays true to it’s Filipino roots with a Filipino style Rice Bowl ($15)! Fluffy rice topped with succulent and crispy pieces of roast pork belly, atchara (pickled shredded green papaya), lechon sauce and banana ketchup.

Add ons to you burger like fries, bacon and drinks are also available. There are also plans of expanding the menu too, which includes the addition of the all-time Filipino dessert halo halo. Trading hours will also be extended soon (follow @MateBurger on instgram for updates). Congrats Henry, Rose and the rest of team Mate Burger!

Mate Burger Shop
1B Mount Druitt Road
Mount Druitt NSW

Trading hours:
Friday to Sunday
Fri & Sat 12pm to 8pm
Sun 12pm to 6pm

A-Team's Kitchen, Rooty Hill

Throughout my years of living in Sydney, I have not come across any accessible traditional OG Filipino food that gave me that “wow” factor until recently. Yes, there’s the high-end Rey’s Place that’s smashing it right now and I absolutely love them. But out here in Western Sydney only one Filipino shop has impressed me to date and that’s the A-Team Kitchen.

This humble eatery is located hidden on Weston Lane right in Rooty Hill’s core shopping area. The staff are heaps friendly but don’t expect anything fancy here. Yes, it can be loud and hectic but the food here is amazing even by your typical Filipino tito and tita (uncle and aunt in Tagalog) food critic standards. The menu is small but dude, every dish we tried delivered!

Let’s start with bar restaurant staple, sisig. You have a choice of either 1 serve of sisig, which comes with rice ($12), or a larger serving of sisig with 2 serves of rice ($19). Buttery and tasty broiled pieces of pork ears and cheeks came out on a sizzling plate with egg (to be mixed with the rest of the meat) and lemon for drizzling. It was textural, with caramelised crisps of fond, slightly sweet, slightly sour and it had lots of umami. Love the extra layer of sweetness an bite from the green onions and chilli. By far the most legit sisig I’ve had in Sydney.

The bbq pork skewers ($10 for 3 sticks) here are pretty good too. They use super tender pork neck mixed with some fatty parts. The flavour is slightly on the sweet peppery side.

I have never had Batangas lomi ($9.50) before. The soup base is like a thick Chinese-style egg drop soup that’s full of umami. It also had flat noodles cooked al dente, bits of pork meat and topped with chicharon (pork crackling).

The crispy pata ($20) here is insane! Not only is the crackling perfectly crisped with some soaked up flavour pre-cooking but the meat is juicy and flavoursome.

They also have that mouth-watering Cebu-style lechon belly that’s available for lunch most days!

They have some desserts available like taho ($5), which is silky tofu with caramel syrup and sago pearls. I highly recommend the special halo halo ($8) here, which includes the usual halo halo toppings with extra leche flan, ice cream and ube halaya.

Y’all need to visit the A-Team Kitchen whenever you are near Rooty Hill area. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed with how delicious the food is!

Tip: You will need to get your own spoon and forks near the counter.

A-Team Kitchen
4/52 Rooty Hill Road North,
Rooty Hill NSW
(02) 983293376
Hours:
Mon to Wed 9:00am - 5:00pm
Thursday 9:00am - 6:00pm
Friday 9:00am - 8:00pm
Saturday 9:00am - 5:00pm
Sunday 9:00am - 4:00pm