Great food from the Philippines: Lechon Manok

Lechon Manok from The Philippines
Lechon Manok from The Philippines

Lechon Manok from The Philippines

By quite a long shot – Lechon Manok is my favorite food from the Philippines. I can smell the bbq chicken stalls from streets away. You can’t miss the stalls as they are usually jammed with rotating skewers of whole chickens. All coated in light seasoning, and stuffed with garlic and lemon grass. It’s truly mouth-watering to the carnivore.

Slow cooked chicken over charcoal. The best time to pick up a Lechon Manok is just before it gets dark, or after about eight in the evening. The earlier birds have been cooking for a while, and the later ones are fresh after rush hour. Soft, tender and full of flavor it’s a must try.

To make matter even more delicious many Lechon Manok stalls also serve Pork as well. Which if you are lucky may be barbecuing above the chicken and dripping down onto the bird below. This brings about the elusive Red Lechon Manok!

Lechon Manok in foil
A full Lechon Manok in foil

Lechon Manok: the best take away meal in The Philippines

While you can eat the manok in the diner, if there is one, grabbing a take away back to your hotel is a great option. It’s wrapped in foil and often comes with a bag of soy sauce, calamansi, and some chili.

As a solo traveler it’s probably best not to eat a whole manok in front of everyone. In the Philippines a whole manok would often feed a full family, so eating a whole one in front of others would seem like gluttony. Do it in your room instead ;)

Prices vary, 120 pesos to 200 pesos is about right. Though there are some really small manok’s for around 60 pesos.

This is an additional post and one of a series highlighting Filipino food

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3 Replies to “Great food from the Philippines: Lechon Manok”

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