Not too long ago, BF’s family threw a surprise party for his mom’s and grandma’s birthdays. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend. When I heard there would be lechon there, I asked BF to take some pictures of the party food.
I always enjoy his family parties. He has a lot of relatives in the area, and so his parties are festive, full of a lot of yummy food, and there always seems to be an endless amount of kids. Since all the kids in my extended family are all grown up, I like attending his family gatherings so that I can be around a lot of little kids and babies.
First and foremost, the lechon! Lechon is a roasted pig that is often eaten by Filipinos, especially during special occasions. A whole lechon can be quite pricey. I’ve had lechon a few times. The best part of lechon is the skin, which if made right, is very crispy. BF said the skin was the first to go, but he managed to save me some. It was still crispy when he brought it back. Yum.
Here’s some more food. BF doesn’t know the name of most of the dishes, so this post is mainly pictures.
Pancit:
Vegetable dishes
Lasagna:
BBQ chicken with some sort of rice:
Grilled fish:
Not sure:
Dessert
The fruit salad had bits of nata de coco (a chewy jelly substance), which I love, and some beans that I usually see in halo halo.
Cakes
BF was able to take a lot of pics thanks in the beginning thanks to the fact that almost everyone arrived late! When I first started dating BF, I was introduced to the concept of “filipino time,” meaning that the stereotype is Filipinos are always late, often a few hours late, to events. We debated whether this would apply to his mom’s surprise party. I said yes, he thought no. But when his mom arrived..only he and his brother and one cousin was around! Everyone else showed up late.
BF was kind enough to bring me back a plate of food. Everything I ate was delicious. I wish I was there. I would have just sat around and eaten for hours.
hi kirbie
i actually plan to show my mom this post (since we’re going there on xmas day) so she can identify the dishes. they look familiar to me but I’m not sure the names of them either. 🙂
BF said he is going to bring his camera, which still has the pics, and ask what the dishes are too. =) I think maybe some of them may not be filipino dishes because a lot of his aunts don’t know how to cook.
was the lechon dry at all?
No. It was very moist
Lechon is so so good. I’m planning on making Roast Pork Belly for dinner on Christmas Eve so I can eat some crackly skin!
Wow, I’ve never made my own roasted pork before. Is it hard to make to get the skin right?
hi kiribie
great looking lechon there! my parents got me one for my college graduation party (years ago) and when my daughter had her christening…it is definitely a special occasion type food. and yes, the skin is the best part!!!!
one of the dishes looks like hominy – they look corn “kernelly” (haha i just made up that word). i’ve never had that before at a Filipino party – maybe it’s a regional thing. the fruit salad is very Filipino – canned fruit cocktail with cream and nata de coco,macapuno strings. as kids, we would fight for the cherries!
Thanks for the info! I asked bf what the dishes were but he had no clue. I figured you would know a few =) If i was at the party, I’d ask for the names of each one. hehe. I do that whenever I go to the turo turo places. This was my first time with the fruit salad! I was picking out all the nata de coco and cherries.
How is the lechon different from the Chinese Roast Pig people eat at weddings? Just curious.
I think they are pretty similar. Though when I eat the chinese version, it’s always sliced out rather than served roasted whole. Also a lot of times, I’ve seen the lechon purchased from chinese restaurants. So I think it’s just a name difference.