Are You Ready For The Ultimate Marketmanila Lechon Eyeball 2008???

eye1

Yup, it’s time, I think. But it’s an eyeball with a twist. And this is only the trial announcement, to see if there is enough interest to pursue this whacky idea… So read on and leave a comment with your thoughts.

WHEN?

The second or third Saturday of November, 2008. Lunch at around 12-1pm.

WHERE?

Cebu City, Cebu. Yup, this is a Cebu Eyeball. Why? Because that’s where the lechonan and my part-time lechoneros are located. It will be on a large fenced-in empty lot, just a minute or so from the Cebu Capitol Building (on Escario Street corner Osmena Boulevard). The location on a low hill has a view of Cebu City and the sea, as well as the nearby mountains. This is going to be COWBOY and COWGIRL style. No fancy socialite’s back yard or fancy ornamental plants. Just some large trees, an area cleared for lunch, a few tents and tables. Chi-chi it is NOT. But there are proper bathroom facilities for men and women. And a functioning kitchen in addition to the lechonan.

MENU?

At least 4 different lechons, two of which at roughly 30 kilos each, we will roast ourselves. Two other lechons, probably smaller, will be ordered from various commercial makers in Cebu with good reputations. All timed to come off the grill within minutes of the lunch “bell” being sounded. Each guest will probably have MORE than enough skin and meat than they can handle at one meal… We will also have grilled seafood and delicacies native to the area. Full menu to be announced closer to the event, with last minute alterations as market forays change our minds… but at least 4 lechons is the main attraction. You will not leave hungry, I promise. Think of the recently described lechon feast times say two or three…

WHO?

I am hoping to have roughly 40 guests at one long table, a meeting of Marketmanila readers… Hopefully some 20 of the guests would be Cebu or Visayas based. Another 20 from Manila or even elsewhere on the planet. Of course all (there a couple of exceptions, I think…) are welcome, but when and if this pushes through, it will be done by reservation only, and only up to the number of slots available. At this point, I am just trying to check if there is enough interest to pursue the idea. I extend a special invitation to the following who would make the lunch much more interesting for other readers, I think… Apicio and Bettyq, I know you are on North America and timing, distance, cost are outrageous, but you would have opposite ends of the long table if you managed to make it as my guests of honor. Linda from Australia, such a long-time suki, would you happen to be in the Philippines then? How about Sha from Greece? Then of course there is Lee, the vegetarian, from Bacolod, Millet from Davao and Toping from Leyte. The folks in and around Metro Manila are too numerous to mention but frankly, it would be great to have as many of marketmanila’s readers as we can manage to host…

TRANSPORT/ACCOMMODATIONS?

Those in Cebu have an easy time of it, just show up before lunch time! If you are in the Manila area, the cheapest tickets advance purchase on Cebu Pacific are PHP 2,736 per person (best I could find on-line today), or on Philippine Airlines at PHP 4,005. I can arrange rooms at a five-star hotel property at roughly PHP4,200 for a standard double per night, with breakfast. Or at a nice pensionne or converted home of a well known Cebu family at roughly PHP1,900 for a double, and this is just 5-10 minutes from the venue by taxi. If you decide to do this, I suggest you make a weekend trip to Cebu, with the eyeball as just one of your activities… Transport in Cebu is up to you…

COST?

I am thinking this is going to cost roughly PHP1,000 per person for all food and drink. However, I was possibly thinking of making the fee a minimum of PHP1,000, and any amount that you give above that would be donated to the supplementary feeding program Marketmanila has sponsored since last year for undernourished school children at the Banawa Elementary School in Cebu. In other words, if you chose to give PHP3,000, then PHP2,000 would go to the feeding program. Also, if I have any excess funds from the PHP1,000 charged per person for the food, I will also give that to the feeding program.

So what do you think? Again, I am not taking names yet, I just want to see if there is enough interest to pursue this eyeball. If you would like to join the eyeball, leave a comment, noting where you will be coming from, or if you are Cebu based, and if you will be needing a room or you will be staying with friends or family. I have no idea what the response to this post will be. Let’s see. :)

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest

Marketman

Marketman is a well-traveled management consultant who loves buying, cooking and eating good food. Read more »

103 Responses

  2. A food trip in every sense of the word. Seriously considering blocking off other commitments so I can fly to Cebu

  3. Oh I would have gone, if I was still in SE Asia. I’ve flown in to Manila twice already from Singapore and KL for two blink-and-you-would-have-missed-me 36-hour weekends. Alas, Philadelphia is just too far for a quick weekend trip. Hope you see this one to fruition! =)

  5. Hi Marketman. I am game for this. I’ve always wanted an excuse to go to Cebu, and this would be it.

  6. ayyy… methinks will have to wait for the manila edition in case marketman decides to have one regardless if its a lechon eyeball or not… :(

  7. I’d love to go MM! Unfortunately, I’m due by December, and I don’t think the airlines will let me travel w/ my huge belly…=(

  8. This is a great idea… too bad i will have to miss it, though… it would have been nice to be able to go to my first EB since discovering Marketmanila and take a trip to cebu at the same time but *sigh!*… will just be too busy that time of year…

  9. MM,have you got a new camera? I can see you have got it back to front,you took a picture of the eye,but not the scenery:) Just kidding!

    The EB sounds exciting and meeting “The Honourable MM” would be such a privilege.I would really love to come,but unfortunately I’ll be in Melbourne at that time.I’ll gladly donate my share+ for your feeding programme so please let me know how I can do that.TY!

  10. oh shocks MM, this i have to miss. just have to wait for the next eyeball in manila

  14. Won’t be going home till December, huhuhu. will miss out on this one. But it is a really great idea and would have been there if I was in Manila. Will still pay for my share of the fun, please let me know how I can do this?

  15. Well count this as the first time I’m sorry I live in Hawaii and not back in Guam where a weekend trip to Cebu would have been feasible. :-(

  16. why oh why? we were home in Manila for a year and a half now, and I have been waiting on the sidelines for any EB news, but we’ll be gone by then… sayang!

  19. count me in MM, if it were to be held on the fourth saturday of november then it would be like one huge lechon-birthday party for me! hahaha seriously, i’d grab this opportunity to personally taste your accuchon. i’ll even donate 50 pcs. of yummy, buttery silvanas for dessert! (heaven have mercy on our cholesterol count!)

  20. MM, I can’t go but I would like to send my donation. How do I do it? Maayo gid ka nga tao! God bless you always!

  21. Aw, I was hoping I would be able to attend this year. I’ll be in Cebu in December pa.

  22. Sigh… it figures. After just a week of coming back to Seoul, MM you do this! Waaaah. And I was just boasting to my hubby how beautiful your lechons were. If I was still there in the Philippines, I could have swung by for that weekend and stayed at my mom’s friend’s house in Cebu. Aaaah, the tragedy.

    Oh and kudos to all MM readers who want to chip in donation even though they cannot attend the lechonan festivities. There’s still hope for us Filipinos with all your example.

  23. Okay, 3 months from now, I think and I hope I can save money for my “airfare”. Sana sa Manila naman ang susunod na EB!

  27. this is a great idea MM… it’ll be an honor to have a taste of your lechon and to be in the company of MM readers… finally my miles will be of good use. I’m interested and will be looking forward to this event.

  28. Pls. pls. pls. arrange an eyeball near Christmas, (even if it will be a logistical nightmare! we will help you!) anytime between the 2nd week December-1st week of January. I think that’s when most of your overseas readers will be in Manila.:)

    Or maybe a HK EB for SE Asia-based readers? Is that wistful thinking? :)

    I hope this Cebu one pushes through, though, even if I can’t make it. Consider me there if I were in Manila. I would have loved to taste all that lechon and the silvanas from Mary Joan too. (My dad’s from Cebu and his family gets the best silvanas from there).

  32. oh wow, I’m going to be in Cebu for a wedding on Nov 22! I hope it’s on the same weekend and the wedding’s late in the afternoon!

  33. please count me in. i reside in Leyte so I’m just a two-hour fastcraft trip from Ormoc to Cebu. i’d like to get the name of the recommended pensionne so I can book a room myself. thanks marketman.

  35. Whoa MM!! This is going to be some eyeball!!…..and to add to our cholesterol, we can have bulalo from the famous Marjo’s capitol site eatery, which is just a stone throw away from your lechonan. Also, there is a decent pensione a couple of doors away for those in need. Can’t wait…..

  37. why now Marketman, why? now that I’m leaving MNL and won’t be back for two years! wwwhhhyyy???

  38. Wow, this is amazing!!! :)) I’d love to be there!! is this on the 15th? My Lola’s 94th birthday is on the 23rd so i’m really scheduled for a trip :D

  39. wow! what a good idea! an eyeball with MM and his readers, a a lechon foodfest, and a fund raising for the feeding program. kudos MM for another such a noble idea. I would love to join but two things are stopping me from joining:

    1. I am in North American and vacation in the Philippines is not in the schedule for now :-(
    2. I am now a vegetarian so I may not have anything to eat at the eyeball

    I’m sure everyone will have a wonderful time. I can’t wait to see the photos!

  40. Would love to go but no more vacation leaves from work in Manila. Will be in Cebu Aug 23-25 for a bit of family reunion! Let me know how i can make my small donation for your feeding program.

  42. i would love to be there but my vacation falls in december. i am sure that this will be a great event if it ever pushes through.

  43. Seriously thinking about it. Im from sydney but i also reside in manila. I will be broke from spending all my money (on food) in paris this summer but on my return back to manila if there is a way (budget)… count me in!

    I don’t even eat meat, but hey…When in rome! Plus if ever I’m going to try Lechon….THIS IS THE LECHON I WANNA TRY! Cebu is quite the trek (for pig)…. of course manila or surrounding areas would be easier, but lets see how your feedback spans out. I’m excited just of the thought though, more about learning how to roast a pig, pinoy style!

  45. argh! i can’t make it again as i won’t be back in the philippines until december. ikain nyo na lang ako :( but i’ll gladly make a donation, just tell me how.

  47. This would be the best Thanksgiving ever for Fil-Ams like myself! Whoever ends up being the final 40 will be very lucky indeed.

  48. I’m tempted to bring MM to the nearest salon and have that eyebrow threaded! :)

    Will there be a Manila EB too?? :) Would love to join that one!

  49. Wahhh..hindi pa schedule and Ministry Mission trip ko till next summer (2009); kung nandyan ako, kahit na very busy yung ministry ko, I will set-aside a time para maka-sama. I have been wanting to go Cebu. And with all these seafoods that you have been posting.. sus… naman. Ang daya.

  50. i am 100% bisdak but am now based in north america so i cant go. vacation wont be until next year yet (hopefully). so sorry to miss this one again :-( i hope this will go through for the sake of the readers from the visayas-mindanao region who missed the previous EBs. and as always, i’ll be waiting for the pics.

  54. if i win the lotto, count me in—i’ll spring for the alcohol and other beverages…seriously, i feel so bad i can’t make this one.

  56. I don’t go home to often being that my family is here (I’ve been home twice in the past 25 years). With no plans to go home this year, it’s safe to say that I wouldn’t be able to make it.

    I’m sure there will be loads of food & great company. I would have loved to attend something like this! Maybe next time? For now, I’ll have to live vicariously through all the attendees and will wait for the pictures.

  57. if i may observe, this sounds like a real “pig-out”. i think i’ll pass though. i’m aiming for a week’s vacation a little farther south.

  60. MM is it possible you can put the event in youtube or through Yahoo Messenger probably those who have excuses and whining that they can not come can share the EB play by play moments on their webcam at home. my clan whose living in different areas of metro manila can converse with us here in different part of the states . . . live for free!!! Please show us where we can remit $$$ for your great cause. Mabuhay ka, MM!!

  61. I’m right now not unlike the aging nun responding to the rouge who asked what ever was taking her so long to answer “your life or your honor?” Yeh yeh I’m thinking it over.

  66. What a wonderful idea! Haven’t eaten meat in ages but I could be persuaded just this once… Ay the chance to meet MM and other foodie readers! But huhuhu a holiday in November is just not possible! For those on a budget, you may want to try the Mayflower Hotel just a stone’s throw away from the provincial capitol. Rooms with T/B are just 800 pesos. I was particulary impressed by their tiny, yet incredibly lush garden. Newly renovated, too. Maybe you can google for their contact details.

  67. I love this idea. My husband & I always travel together. In this case, can he come with me too? The 1k donation per person is ok.

  68. Inggit naman kaming manila-based. =( You folks have fun, enjoy the food and company and eat for us who won’t be there! Don’t forget your lipitor now, wontcha? ;)

  69. November..December…January…Cebu…Manila…Batanggas..If Apicio goes, then I will go!!! …OK, Silly Lolo – it’s TIME to wake up and come out from HIBERNATION!!! Can you just imagine guys …with Silly Lolo, Lee and CecileJ there, we will just have STOMACHACHE BIG TIME from laughing sooooo hard!!!!!!

  70. Have never been to Cebu. Would love to go ! Lemme ask the hubby if he can arrange his schedule ;)

  71. I am considering flying to Manila during the thanksgiving holidays–should it push through, I would love to go to cebu-but i’ll be a week late! Any chance of having an EB in North america?

  72. Although from Cebu myself, I’m sorry I cannot make it to this marquee event, MM. However, since you say that 2 lechons will be sourced from reputable lechonans in Cebu, I was wondering if you’ve tried Rico’s lechon based in Mandaue? This is our family’s suki because the lechon is so incredibly lean, we always wonder where Rico gets pigs that have such low percentage of body fat. A little on the salty side but not overpoweringly so. Like any true Cebuano lechonero, Rico does not provide sauce because his lechon is best savored au naturel.

  73. Gina, Rico’s is on the “short list” of sources, but I plan to order the commercial lechons blind, so they don’t know they are ending up in a taste test of sorts… that’s the most objective way to do it…

  74. We are planning a trip for November, but if schedules work out and if two trips in one month is not too painful on the pocket, then we will surely be part of the lechon screening committee. :-D

  76. Once you nail down a date, I will probably be able to go :) Got my sister’s couch to crash on, and I might just bring her along with me…

  77. Hi Marketman,

    If I may suggest what about a charity raffle open to all Manila based readers? Up for grabs would be two seats in your feast, plane tickets for two, two night hotel accommodations for two. You could give shirts, totes, and bottles of jam as consolation prizes. Charge a Php 1000 a ticket with the excess proceeds going to your feeding program. The grand prize should be transferable since the event is on a definite date. If you need some extra consolation prizes I can donate some cookbooks from my collection.

  78. hmmm i think i will be there. despite of the fact that i rarely eat lechon! maybe i could try eating some on that occasion.

    maybe a good cooked gabi should be there?

  79. Oh, I forgot, MM…don’t want to have to have to fly back to Manila on the same day so would it be to much to ask if you could send me a number I can call to make reservations for accommodations? I prefer the bed and breakfast one…sometimes, here the owners are sooo nice that I end up working with them in the kitchen exchanging recipes and yapping with them …most of the time it ends up like a hands on demo with other guests…I think it’s a pretty good deal …we learn from each other!…it is sooo much fun!…can’t do that in the 5 star hotel!!!

  80. if only i was in cebu at this time!!!

    for accommodations i’d suggest casa escaño. the escaño family converted their home into a bed and breakfast and it’s lovely. i stayed there last year and the staff was very attentive, reasonable prices and the included breakfast was to die for. i booked through their website. casaescano.com

    it’s walking distance from escario and the capital building.

  81. bettyq, if and when this pushes through, I will post details of different options for accommodations… Casa Escano, Mayflower Inn and the Marco Polo Plaza are the three choices so far… Edik, will try to have a vegetable/seafood option as well… APM, a great idea, but I think logistical nightmare after last year’s experience… :) Geez, so many responses so far, I have to do a head count…

  83. Wow, I would definitely love to attend that. Will check with hubby if he would be in the mood to have a lechon and silvanas feast (I think I would not have any violent reactions :P). We are based in Bacolod and it would be a fast trip via Cebu Pacific or PAL express. It had been ages since my last visit to Cebu and I have found the perfect excuse to take a round 2 :).

  84. sounds good. with some schedule tweaking i just might be able to swing it. if i am able to manage it, i’ll bring the wife. she’s the one who cooks. i just eat and comment.

  86. MM i work in Cebu Marriott and although i can’t discuss rates here on your page, i can offer you room discounts or “something”. do give me a call just in case you’re interested. by that time, our newly refurbished and trendy rooms and pool will be open to guests!

  87. Marketman, thank you for choosing Cebu!! Hope you decide on including kinilaw in your menu!

  88. MM
    I get my schedule on the 16th of every month. Will October be too late for a reply? I need to make request for days off before the end of august, hopefully you have finalized The date of the EB before then, I would love to be there.

  89. I hope its in Dec. I’m on vacation Dec 14 and will be in Sta. Rosa, Laguna till the 18th of February. I’m here in Cape Canaveral, Florida. No I’m not flying the shuttle but work and cruising again.

  93. Very nice gesture MM!!! I will have to pass this one. Will await the Manila edition. Enjoy!!! will look forward to the photos.

  94. It’s a YES for Uyab and I, MarketMan! Hopefully with the bed and breakfast accomodations, as we plan to stay the weekend there. Just let us know which Saturday of November it will be (November 8 or 15.. the 22nd would even be OK too just in case ) and we are SO there.

    It will be mine and Uyab’s first time in Cebu. It will also be a good way to gauge how good (or bad) my Bisaya still is. *LOL*

  95. am out of town right now..would looooove to join. will check my calendar and make travel plans as soon as i get back to davao, MM…..i’ve some PAL mileage expiring in December, and what better way to use it all up than my first EB ever….lechon pa gyud! am excited, excited!

  98. WOW! I can imagine the eating frenzy!!! anyway, I went to your site to find out if you had anything on Cebu lechon or lechon de leche which you can recommend and which I can get in Manila. I need one for this Sunday Lunch Sept. 7!!!

  100. sounds like a really cool idea! unfortunately, i can’t make it to cebu on november. i’ll just wait for the post and pics :)

  101. Was away from this site for so long that I almost had a heart attack when I read that there was going to be an EB! (But when I found out the date and the place, naku, double heart attack with cranial stroke on the side!!!!) MM, bettyq, apicio and lee, I wish I could be there to see you all. But work on my side of the Pasig River is hectic about that time as The Boss is going to attend a meeting abroad. SAYANG! (Silly Lolo, we miss you!!!!)Bettyq, if you are in Manila, maybe we can have a small mini-EB? Would love to meet you.

BLOG CATEGORIES

Categories

MARKETMAN ON INSTAGRAM

Subscribe To Updates

No spam, only notifications about new blog posts.

    • Related Posts

    ZUBUCHON ON FACEBOOK

    ZUBUCHON ON INSTAGRAM

    FRESH OFF THE OVEN

    POPULAR POSTS

    · Copyright © 2024. WordPress Website Design by Squeesome ·
    Instagram