Lechon, stuffed turkey, smoked duck or roast chicken?
Let’s face it: some people are so busy during the holidays that they’d rather enjoy the convenience of ordering cooked food. And there are some people who do not like to cook at all. If you fall under either category, what are your options?
The first item is always the most important: the centerpiece of the noche buena table — the main dish, the main attraction, the one that cannot be second rate. Probably the most popular choice is lechon. If your family is large, a regular sized lechon would be ideal. Otherwise, a lechon de leche might be more appropriate.
You won’t run out of choices from La Loma and chances are you’ll be able to buy a lechon there without pre-ordering if you come early enough on Christmas Eve. But how will your lechon taste by midnight if you buy it that early? You might as well serve it as paksiw. When we order lechon for a party, we go to Lydia’s not because we think it’s the best but more because it is the nearest decent lechon outlet from our place. We used to buy from Elar’s (Speaker Perez Street, Quezon City) but know that there is now more than one Elar’s Lechon and one is not the branch of another. The two Elar’s Lechon are competitors and I am not sure which is the original.
If you’re not a lechon person, there’s stuffed turkey. If you’d rather not cook the turkey at home (although it’s not as complicated as you may think — see my rice-stuffed turkey recipe), Vieux Chalet (Taktak Road, Antipolo; landline is 6970396 and the cell phone number is 09178565175) accepts orders for roast turkeys (whole or half at P880/kg) that can just be picked up and taken home. A 50% downpayment and 7-day prior notice are required.
If you have a small family and you like Oriental cooking, there’s smoked duck from Shuin (Araneta Avenue, Quezon City). A duck is good for 4 to 6 persons but if served as just one of many dishes, as much as 10 people can enjoy it. Shuin’s smoked duck has to be pre-ordered.
Then, there’s roast chicken. They’re available just about everywhere. But if you really want something special, chicken relleno is a great choice.
View all the articles in the noche buena section.
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