Zubuchon Restaurant Update…

A PLEASANT BUT EXCITING NIGHTMARE. Is that possible? That’s what setting up a restaurant is like. :) Why so many people do it is beyond me; food must be a serious motivator indeed. It can’t logically be about profits, as some 80+% of restaurants fail or fail to make money at all in their first few years. As I announced in this post some 4-5 weeks ago, Zubuchon is opening two simple lechon restaurants where customers can enjoy our lechons sitting down at a table, rather than having to take them home to eat. Our simple objective is this, when people (tourists or locals alike) have a hankering for lechon and related dishes and they say, “where should we go to eat good lechon?” (without having to buy a whole roasted pig), we hope they will choose to come to us. For a city so famous for lechon, there aren’t that many comfortable restaurants where you can enjoy lechon as the main event, supported by a supporting or complementary cast of dishes. A secondary objective is to have a retail larder stocked with porcine delights. We hope to have frozen, chilled and dry goods section including ready to heat and eat portions of lechon, dinuguan, paksiw, local salads, etc. along with chorizos, tampalen lard, chicharon, etc. Who knows, in future we might find it useful to stock ready to cook bagnet, crispy pata, bacon, etc. A sort of epicenter of pork, for the pork lover in many of us… So the next time you visit Cebu, you can drop by to enjoy some lechon, then fill a few boxes with porky delights to bring back home with you. :)

Our first restaurant will be located at One Mango, a small sort of strip mall (actually several strips of restaurants) on Mango Avenue, fairly near the Fuente Osmena. We took possession of the space in early March, and were hoping to open for business by the end of May. But selecting an architect, developing the concept, detailing the plans, hiring a contractor, obtaining the permits, etc. took nearly 7 weeks total, and I am assured we moved at pretty warp speed. So despite our early hope for a late-May opening, it is safer to say we will likely open for the general public in late June 2011 instead…

Our first space is rather small at 50+ square meters, and as you can see in these photos, rather unremarkable. We are not setting up a high-end dining restaurant, more like a “fast meals” kind of concept, but we are totally gutting the space and starting from scratch, to get it just Marketman-so. :)

The existing kitchen was a bit scary, but it has potential. Not trying to make things simpler for ourselves, we and the architect/interior designer agreed that we had to move the one external door in the kitchen, and cover up a window as well.

The photo above is about 1.5 weeks into construction, and you can see the new door on the left in the back of the photo, and the window and door on the right will be cemented up and covered in fire bricks…

While all the planning, approvals, etc. were going on, we weren’t sitting around idle twiddling our thumbs. We were experimenting and trying to come up with an opening menu and list of larder offerings. Here, a truly unusual experiment, a brioche filled with sisig, done by the wonderful bakers of Artisan. It tasted okay, but I found the mixture of sisig with brioche to be a bit too unexpected, and I don’t think this is something that will make the menu… :)

Another idea we really liked were lechon “sliders” or sandwiches in small hamburger buns, served two or three at a time. In this particular iteration the lechon filling didn’t pass the “committee” so we have to re-think the filling, but the idea of lechon style sliders is something we are excited about.

A slam dunk hit for us were these large sisig stuffed pan de sals! Definitely going to be something we carry in the outlets. The more modern, pillowy and softer bread enrobes a well-seasoned portion of sisig in the center. I suspect a lechon paksiw version would be brilliant as well. We hope to sell these frozen or chilled as well so folks can take it home and heat it up again in their own ovens for merienda, breakfast or baon.

We are also very happy with our large pork belly roast, in a variety of versions that have seasonings from more western/Italian roots to more Filipino taste profiles. Sliced thinly and placed in a small baguette, these make for the best sandwiches I have had in a long, long time. Definitely going to be on the menu. And if you have a small party and don’t quite want a whole lechon and have to deal with the bones, head and legs, think about ordering one of these giant, meaty, festive porchetta style pork bellies instead. Tastier than turkey or a large capon, and probably much cheaper than a roast beef or leg of lamb. Half the price of the smaller lechons out there, but all belly meat and unctuous belly fat, without any bones whatsoever. :)

Our complement of 10 chefs, sous-chefs, cooks and restaurant managers have been on board for over a week now, and we brought them in at least 6 weeks before the restaurants are likely to open. They have been getting a feel for several of the dishes we plan to serve and have been experimenting. Each day we prepare 3-5 different dishes that they all get to cook/taste/tweak/critique to their hearts content. They assure me that they have never had this kind of experience in previous jobs. Let’s just say they are very well fed. :)

Once the menu, recipes, portions, etc. are nailed and priced, we bring in our waiters and other crew members, at least 4 weeks before we open for business. They will undergo service training and we want them to taste each and every dish on offer at least once over that period. We want them to be better informed than most waitstaff tend to be, even though this is nothing more than an upscale fast food kind of place. The time and investment to do this is major, and we are hoping it makes a difference once we open.

Not all of the dishes will be pork, but even fish dishes often have a link back to the pork thread. We experimented with a boneless bangus fillet deep-fried for a minute or two only in pure pork lard, then slathered with a bistek tagalog like sauce with onions and tampalen bits. It was wonderful, but still needs tweaking before we put it on the menu. We have several vegetable type dishes on the menu and I suspect a vegetarian would survive a meal here, but it is pretty pork-centric.

We have also been building our competitive information and have been ordering lechons from other purveyors in Cebu City. We check out the skin, the weight, flavor, etc. to see how they compare with our own.

A close look at the stuffing reveals a whole lot of green onions, tons of garlic and a strong hint of msg. Our own stuffing costs several hundred pesos more worth of ingredients, and we realize we have to emphasize that that is where the flavor ultimately comes from… our own stuffing has fresh lemons/lemon juice, fresh and dried herbs, organic lemongrass, onions (2-3 kinds), garlic, sea salt, peppercorns, olive oil, etc.

We have been practicing with small or fast meal portions, in convenient take out packages. We love these chinese style take-out boxes, but I have yet to find a reliable supplier of these in the Philippines. I bought this on restaurant row in Hong Kong a couple of months ago, and we have to decide if we have to place a bulk order for them from China.

And our second outlet is going to be in a brand-new extremely snazzy modern building on Escario Street, just a few steps from the provincial Capitol building and the Palace of Justice. Here a photo of the space, which is only 30+ square meters, or only up to where the guy on the ladder is. We won’t have a full kitchen here, so this outlet will serve a smaller menu than the other restaurant. But here we will also experiment with a little bit more esoteric dishes… my favorite so far? A sisig and fresh tomato pasta that is absolutely delicious. Yup, a sisig pasta. Wish us luck, we are getting super-crazed at this point and we hope to welcome you to our two small Zubuchon restaurants in about 6-8 weeks time. :)

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123 Responses

  1. I’ve been following your website for over a year now. No Filipino restaurants here in Australia so whenever I crave for some Pinoy dishes, have to cook it myself. Knew next to nothing about cooking but I have improved heaps since I discovered Market Manila. My husband’s Vietnamese and has never been to the Philippines, your restaurant will be tops on our list of “must-visit” place. All the dishes look yummy! Can’t wait! All the best with your new project Market Man. :)

  2. Yes! Convenient location for us taga- Banawa! :-) Looking forward to our next visit to Cebu (hopefully you’ll be open by then).

  3. Looking forward to all these :-) Please put me on the guest list on the opening day MM! Im just 5 minutes away from Escario :-)

  4. Earlier today,Travel Channel played the No reservation Phil.”The Best Pig Ever”It is awesome to see your passion for the Cebu Lechon..Now Zubuchon is calling!! with different pork offering,someday..Hoping it will be possible the frozen version of stuffed pandesal ,sisig ,paksiw na lechon and etc will make it here in Seafood City ..biggest Filipino Supermarket here in California,Nevada and Seattle.The restaurant look impressive,best of all the dishes look so good!! Wishing you ALL THE BEST MM!!

  5. i anxiously await for you to open an outlet in Manila.

    meanwhile my cardiologist is glad to hear your in Cebu.

    good luck MM and team. i’m sure you guys are going to rock :)

  6. Haven’t been to Cebu but this is just one good reason for a food lover to finally visit. Will you have outdoor tables like that shown in the picture? The carry out Chinese boxes will be a nice touch. Love the cute dancing pig in your logo :-) Best of luck to you & your Zubuchon team!

  7. A sort of epicenter of pork… a pork foundation if you like. I have a feeling this is going to entice a lot of people to plan their homecoming and visit Cebu.

  8. A sort of epicenter of pork… a pork foundation if you like. I have a feeling this is going to entice a lot of people to plan their homecoming and visit Cebu and will tempt and beckon to bacon fans nearby, say from around Davao and Negros.

  9. if only i lived in Cebu. no worries still, as i will definitely visit this if and when we do get to visit cebu. and i think that word of mouth is equally important, so will be mentioning this to folks i know who are based in cebu.

    an officemate saw me while viewing this post, and was impressed by the picture of the pork belly rolled and roasted. see, another newcomer to the site has been gained.

  10. Hi, MM! I’m very excited about this piece of news. My family is visiting Cebu around the 3rd week of June. I hope the restaurants are up and running by that time. :) can’t wait to try all the porky-licious delights!!!

  11. goodluck MM, dont forget to have an employment bond… or else staff training will be wasted if they get pirated hehehe.

  12. Many congrats and best wishes MM. Everything looks tremendous and wonderful! I’ll be eagerly awaiting for your Los Angeles branch to open once you expand your empire;)

  13. Thanks for the update MM and Best wishes. I sure hope that I get to visit Cebu to have my fill of Zubuchon. Kudos to you and your wonderful crew.

  14. Hi MM – Congratulations on the progress on your 2 restos! :) . Your blog post today looks like a direct lift from the show Restaurant Makeover! :). While I am happy that your resto project is going full steam, I am disappointed that you will still open in late June :(. Since you mentioned earlier that you were planning to open in late May, I have convinced my family to spend our summer vacation in Cebu (along with my visiting sister in law from Vienna) in late May (we bought the tickets this morning), with a visit to your restos as one of the main highlights (including hopefully, the opening day events!). Prior to this, I got permission from my doctors to be able to fly out of town (altho for a short flying time only and over a few days only out of Manila). So, now that I have convinced everyone that Cebu is it in the last week of May, your resto oipening have been moved to end June! :(. Oh well, I guess, I will just have to content myself on this upcoming trip to be able to just visit your stall in Banilad Town Center (hopefully, Artisan’s bakeshop is also in the same area? I am so looking forward to try his pastry products). I look forward to finally going to your restos the next time I am able to go to Cebu! All the very best and enjoy your restaurant experience! :)

  15. so exciting! im definitely flying to cebu to try your resto mm and visit friends as well. looking forward to june

  16. waaaaaah! I thought open na! I’m in cebu at the moment for a business trip. was planning to visit btc thinking the resto is there. good thing i checked marketmanila.com again. so i will just have to make an excuse to come visit sometime june when your resto opens. and it has to be a multi-day trip once again because there’s a whole menu of items to enjoy! di naman puedeng kainin lahat sa isang araw at baka di na ako magising :D. congrats, MM and crew and can’t wait to visit!

  17. How exciting! Can’t you go local on takeaway wrapping? Something organic like banana leaf cone-shaped by hand and wrapped with newsprint or manila paper, then bulk orders to be placed in baskets or tampipi to go?

  18. Is the pork belly charcoal roasted?
    Best wishes on your new enterprise!!

  19. Good luck!!! I am dying of envy of all Cebuanos right now! The photos and descriptions are making me drool!

  20. congratulations, hopefully next time we’re back home, we’ll finally have a taste of zubuchon, had to cancel our order last dec due to an unforseen event……anyways, there’s always a next time…all the best to you and your crew…

  21. woohoo! am in the middle of a major house renovation myself, and the moving-in date has been moved back three times already, and i still don’t see us moving back within the next 10 days, so i can so relate to your impatience…

    that photo with the chinese takeout box is shouting at me…that’s just my kind of lunch! can hardly wait to get to cebu!

    will you have two kinds of sauces (the tagalog liver sauce and the bisaya toyo-vinegar-onions)? for the sliders, i would not need any sauce. zubuchon is already very flavorful, and i would just rely on the lechon juices to flavor the bread, and maybe a lettuce leaf and a bit of pickled veggies like sincamas or ubod or both. dreaming yummy!

  22. Yehey, both locations are near to our office. Please announce the opening date MM! We will surely be there:)

  23. Great news. Goodluck MM. Please please consider opening a branch in Manila.

  24. CONGRATULATIONS! I HOPE THAT VERY SOON, YOU’LL FIND IT IN YOUR HEART TO OPEN A BRANCH WHERE I AM …

  25. Oh wow!!! I’m sure you’ll have a hit menu in no time! Congratulations!
    Wish I can visit Cebu soon and dine at Zubuchon resto :)

  26. Perfect Timing! My family (4 generations) will have our reunion 2nd week of june and several relatives from all over the world will be flying in. I now have a place to take those that have a craving for lechon!

  27. i would have loved to be one of the kitchen staff enjoying the experiments! that pork belly roast is genius! congratulations and more power, MM and crew! i will email friends in Cebu to give them a heads-up..

  28. Congrats!!! 2 outlets agad!!! now, i know why my trip to cebu get cancelled, bec zubuchon is not yet open!!!!

  29. Yay! I hope Cebu is just a few steps away from Makati or Taguig… Nakakainggit! :-(

  30. congratulation MARKET MAN sana sa bakasyon ko may branch na somewhere in manila.GOODLUCK.

  31. When I saw your site featured in Jessica Soho’s show, I’ve become an avid reader =)
    I super love lechon and now I’ve found a very good reason to go to Cebu – to taste zubuchon’s lechon! Come early july, I’ll find myself in Zubuchon, Mango Avenue branch =)

  32. will definitely go there the next time we are in cebu. Congratulations! im sure it will be a big hit.

  33. Will make sure that my first ever visit in Cebu coincides with a visit to any of these two restaurants! The preparation, coordination and logistics look like heck MM! I’m sure that this is going to be one helluva restaurant once it opens! :)

  34. i’ve been reading about zubuchon in other blogs as well. it’s going to be a resto, too! this a good reason to visit cebu. =)

  35. Just a random thought:

    How about displaying a very large fishpan in the premises as a restaurant in-joke for your readers?

    I hope I’ll have some time to visit and eat when you open.

  36. I don’t know if this has been answered already. But, since you mentioned that it is hard to operate a restaurant, I wonder why you decided to open 2 at the same time.

  37. OMG! I am salivating while reading thru the post!

    Now I am regretting leaving Cebu! I would definitely take a leave to anticipate your resto’s opening! This will definitely be a success MM!

    I wanna go back to Cebu! *waaaaaah!

  38. Wow! Cant wait to go home to cebu…..looking forward to that. Swerte naman ng cebu ko, for sure maraming out-of-towners ang dadagsa sa city namin. Yehey! Congrats MM and good luck!

  39. Congrats MM, im definitely sure these 2 Zubuchon restaurants will be a KNOCKOUT!! It’s time to book a flight to Cebu for June, July, August, September, October, November & December to get my fill of Zubuchon!!! Looking forward….

  40. never been to Cebu, if our plan pushes thru next summer, we’ll definitely drop by :) my pork-lover husband will surely have a feast : ) and a reminder for me to bring extra lipitor for the trip !!! haha

  41. Uy, Carol, looks like you and family will have an early Zabuchon restaurant soft opening, wink!.
    Anyways, congratulations and all the best to you, MM. This will be a big hit. This will also be a most requested pasalubong from Cebu domestically and internationally.

  42. congratulations MM and crew!!!

    is there anyway it will be open before 18th June?

    *btw not in Denmark, but where i am right now, our server is probably in or routed to Denmark :)

  43. God Bless You in your endeavors. A neighbor is going there this May-June. I will ask her to visit your place and maybe she can buy something for me to bring back here. Ano kaya yon? Anyway, hindi naman sa pagyayabang, I did try putting sisig in my pasta. Already cooked yung sisig na binili ko sa isang Pinoy Resto, and I just cooked my pasta with dried tomatoes and basil (with little olive oil). I also experimented stuffing my (own baked) pandesal with sisig, called it Pande-sisig.

    Have not been to Cebu; with your resto -I will have reason to visit. Who knows that your Foodblogging will lead you to be a Restaurant Proprietor.

  44. i second ‘sleepless in seattle’s comment – how about thinking of bringing your products, e.g., frozen stuffed pandesal, etc to the international market? exporting your products to seafood market is going to be huge for expats in this corner of the world. can’t wait to have these available on my table for a little effort of just re-heating in an oven.. seeing how meticulous you are with the logistics of your projects, i totally realize that this may take months in the making but please, please think about this, MM!! thanks.

  45. Yeah, Carol….LUCKY!

    Also, e-mail on the way…I apologize for the delay!

    Hay, MM, Congratulations! All the more reason now to go back and play in your Zubu kitchen…does the offer still stand?

  46. oh my that pork belly looks sooooo good! :) congrats MM, have been a lurker for years and that pork belly made me come right out of the hiding. :D

  47. I will come to Cebu just to visit these restaurants!! Grabe! What a great concept MM! I’m sure it’ll be a success :-)

  48. Travel channel was showing again, the Anthony Bourdain episode with you in it last night and I can’t stop thinking of how nice that lechon looked. Actually that whole set up looked good. Where was that and what else was on the table, I want to know. Anyway, I would have to really schedule a return visit to the Philippines and this time just fly straight to Cebu. And spend at least a week there just to sample the wonderful food you have to offer. Congratulations to you and your crew.

  49. Wishing you all the best, MM!

    Can’t wait for the headline “ZUBUCHON TAKING THE WORLD BY STORM” someday. :)

  50. Congratulations! I’m sure with your meticulous supervision and innovative ‘aha” moments these 2 restaurants will be (a) run away success!

  51. How exciting! I always wondered why there never was a decent “lechon” place in Cebu. It’s the one thing i will never miss when I am there. The lechon place I go to (ok we all know which one right) usually has nothing left at around 5pm…. and the the take out stall right at the airport never makes enough for take out. I only wish that you will one day consider an outlet in Manila!

    Goodluck.

  52. Hi Betty q. Good to “see” you here after a long hiatus. I received emails asking me for your award-winning chocolate cake recipe in time for mothers’ day. Unfortunately, I haven’t received any reply from you. I guess you were indeed swamped with emails when you posted your email address and my emails may have been placed in the spam folder. You will certainly make dozens of readers happy if the recipe is posted on MarketManila.

  53. we’ll be in cebu on aug 13-15. where exactly is this zubuchon restaurant located??

  54. It looks to me like you’ve thought of and did everything really really well for a business. This level of detail is admirable for a businessman to go into. Although it might just do the trick. Let’s see what will happen.

  55. Goodluck Marketman!
    We’ll be in Cebu on May 31 to June 2, super sad to know that you’ll open the Zubuchon restaurant on June pa pala :( … anyway, there’s a reason to come back :)

  56. Congratulations, MM! Now we can plan our trip to Cebu! Never have I loved pork so much! : )

    Thank you also for sharing your experience in opening a restaurant. Very helpful for aspiring entrepreneurs like me who dream of opening our own place soon. A real eye opener.

  57. “…. a small sort of strip mall….” hehehehe…. You had me there MM.

    Congratulations! Reasons to visit Cebu soonest keep piling up… and this restaurant is definitely in the list.

  58. I would make a trip to Cebu just to eat at your restaurant. It will be worth every penny! Congrats MM!

  59. I can’t wait to visit and eat in your Zubuchon restaurants. Joey, Lee, Millet, Joan, Edik and I are already planning a reunion in Cebu as soon as your restos open. The best of luck to you MM and your crew.

  60. Good luck MM! Can’t wait to go to Cebu and sample the offerings in your restaurants

  61. I so wannna be part of your restaurant staff, so I, too, can sample all the menu before your restaurant opens.

  62. The Tourism Bureau of Cebu should be so proud of you and should be thankful about your resto.. dahil you are promoting tourism to the city. Just by your bloggers alone, aba marami ng nag-i-schedule na pumunta dyan dahil nga everybody wants to try your food. Even my daughter who is no-no to pork, kakain yan ng lechon knowing what your pig eats and what you put in it when you cook it… hindi kasi siya pwede ng msg and prefers organic ingredients.

  63. hi mm, Would it be ok with you if I post this link article of ZUBUCHON in my FB?

  64. Maria, yes of course, thank you. Geez, so many folks haven’t been to Cebu… You really have to visit the city and surrounding islands/beaches North and South of the city… moni and the eyeball gang, definitely you need to do critiques early in the process… :) Rizza, we have a small takeout outlet at BTC mall if you would like to taste the lechon fresh… tet b, the restaurants won’t open till later in June, but for the moment, we have an outlet at Banilad Town Center for chopped lechon, though not a restaurant set-up there. Beatrice, I did a whole series of posts two and a half years ago that described the run-up, set-up, menu, experience when filming that episode for No Reservations, you may want to check those out in the archives. Manila branches are a long ways away. The production facility (lechonan) is in Cebu, and we haven’t even started to get a handle on the Cebu market, so Manila is not for a long while I think. Netoy and Sleepless, exporting food, especially cooked food to the U.S. requires a whole list of approvals from government authorities and investments in packaging, etc. For the moment, we need to focus on just opening our first two small restaurant outlets. And even that is a serious challenge… :) josephine, mail order, to France? :) denise, not likely, but maybe already in testing phase by then.

  65. yehey! so looking forward to this! it will definitely be a place to bring balikbayan relatives whenever they come to cebu and have a hankering for lechon, sisig and other stuff. congratulations! i just wish that someday you would open in ayala or sm?:)

  66. do u need a crew who will do the taste test? i’ll be available !! congrats again.

  67. sounds absolutely fantastic!! i see i shall have to arrange a personal trip to Cebu sometime soon. i hope you’ll have your takeout concept perfected by then–that and those to-die-for (i hope not literally) sisig breads would be perfect for picnicking on the beach. :D

    also, kudos on the extra emphasis on training your servers. you being Marketman, i’m sure the extra tips i’ll leave will be totally worth it. and this will serve as a great model for all the other places out there with crappy service. :)

  68. Will you be serving puso with the lechon? Lechon and puso is the perfect combination.

  69. denise… who knows, we may be lucky and practicing in one of the locations if our furniture arrives in time… terrey, yes of course, thanks. Bernard, not sure at this point in time. shiko, let’s see when it opens if there is a difference in service…

  70. Good luck with the store opening. the photos of the food for trials looks good.

  71. i’ll be in CEBU on first week of JUNE i wish you guys open your original plan and tried your resto.

  72. Most definitely a “must eat ” place next time we go to Cebu. All the best!

  73. Wow, another excuse for me to visit Cebu!! Though my arteries fainted when i read your menu. BTW those sliders look really yummy I might dream about them..hehe

  74. Good Luck MM hope when you are wll established in cebu next step is to bring it over here in manila…. can’t wait to try all you offer

  75. MM…kahit nakatayo ok lang! hehe :D and a really really good reason for a quick trip to Cebu as the others have said

  76. one of my previous kitchen experiments was canned sisig+white sauce over pasta. sisig with tomato pasta sounds very appealing. yum!

  77. Zubuchon at One Mango is definitely good news. Just a short walk from work and also closer to where I live.

  78. Congratulations!! MM. It looks like your restos are going to bring lots of tourists to Cebu City.
    I will certainly drop by when I get to Cebu.

  79. Oh MM! It’s nice to hear that I can still taste the “best pig ever” Zubuchon… I’ll add Banilad Town Center in our itinerary :)

  80. Good luck with the Restaurants MM. I will try them someday as a Balikbayan. I will go to Cebu for Zubuchon!

  81. I will be vacationing in Cebu on the week of 23 July. Zubuchon is definitely on my to-do list! Good luck, MM! Mingaw na kog lechon!

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