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Cebu City, Philippines

Top food to try in Cebu City

6 dishes to eat in Cebu City, what is in them, and where they belong.

Last updated 2026-08-09

1. Lechon

Lechon
Photo: PaulGorduiz106 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Cebu's spit-roast pig is widely held to be the country's best — stuffed with lemongrass and herbs, needing no sauce.

2. Sutukil

Sutukil
Photo: Wide Awake! · CC BY 4.0 · source

A method rather than a dish: pick your seafood, then have it sugba (grilled), tula (soup) and kilaw (raw in vinegar).

3. Puso

Puso
Photo: Prussiakira · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

Rice woven into palm-leaf pouches and boiled, sold hanging in bunches — the standard accompaniment to street barbecue.

4. Dried mangoes

Dried mangoes
Photo: Arian Zwegers · CC BY 2.0 · source

Cebu's best-known export, sold by the box everywhere.

5. Ngohiong

Ngohiong
Photo: RM Bulseco from Davao City, Philippines · CC BY 2.0 · source

A Cebuano spring roll with five-spice, fried and eaten with a vinegar dip.

6. Balbacua

Balbacua
Photo: Ilongga's Kitchen · CC BY 3.0 · source

Slow-cooked oxtail and skin stew, gelatinous and rich, eaten for breakfast.

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