Famous Food in Cebu: 10 Dishes to Try and Where to Find Them
What is the famous food in Cebu? Cebu is best known for lechon (whole roast pig), followed by puso (rice cooked in woven coconut leaves), danggit (dried rabbitfish), sutukil seafood, ngohiong, siomai sa tisa, tuslob buwa, and sweets like dried mangoes, otap and masareal. Most of them are easy to find in downtown Cebu City, around Colon Street, Carbon Market and Taboan Market.
Famous Cebu food at a glance
| Dish | What it is | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Lechon | Whole spit-roasted pig, seasoned inside, crisp skin | Main |
| Puso | Rice boiled in a pouch of woven coconut leaves | Rice |
| Danggit | Sun-dried rabbitfish, fried crisp for breakfast | Breakfast / pasalubong |
| Sutukil | Seafood cooked three ways: sugba (grilled), tuwa (soup), kilaw (vinegar-cured) | Seafood |
| Ngohiong | Fried spring roll with a spiced filling, served with sweet-spicy sauce | Street food |
| Siomai sa tisa | Steamed siomai from the Tisa area, served with chili-garlic oil and puso | Street food |
| Tuslob buwa | Bubbling pork-brain and liver sauce, dipped with puso | Street food |
| Chorizo de Cebu | Small, sweet red sausage | Breakfast |
| Dried mangoes | Cebu’s best-known pasalubong | Sweets |
| Otap and masareal | Flaky sugared biscuit; peanut-and-sugar bar from Mandaue | Sweets |
1. Lechon
Cebu lechon is stuffed with lemongrass, garlic, onion and spices, so it is eaten without the liver sauce used elsewhere in the Philippines. Order it by the kilo and eat it with puso.
2. Puso
Hanging rice, cooked in a small woven coconut-leaf pouch. It comes with almost every grilled meal in Cebu. Cut it open along the weave.
3. Danggit and dried fish
Fried danggit with rice, egg and vinegar is the classic Cebu breakfast. To buy dried fish to take home, go to Taboan Market, the dried-fish market in downtown Cebu.
4. Sutukil
Pick your fish or shellfish, then choose how to cook it: sugba (grill), tuwa (soup) or kilaw (cured in vinegar). It is a group meal, best shared.
5. Ngohiong
A Cebu take on the spring roll, spiced with five-spice and fried. You will find it at street stalls and small eateries around downtown.
6. Siomai sa tisa
Named after Barangay Tisa, where it became famous. Cheap, filling and best with chili-garlic oil and a squeeze of calamansi.
7. Tuslob buwa
“Dip in the bubbles.” A pan of sauce made from pork brain, liver and spices bubbles in front of you, and you dip puso into it. It is a true local street food.
8. Chorizo de Cebu
Small, sweet red sausages, usually fried for breakfast with garlic rice and egg.
9. Dried mangoes
The pasalubong everyone expects from Cebu. You can buy them in malls, pasalubong shops and the markets downtown.
10. Otap and masareal
Otap is a thin, flaky, sugar-dusted biscuit. Masareal is a peanut-and-sugar bar from Mandaue. Both pack well for the trip home.
Where to eat in downtown Cebu
- Taboan Market: dried fish, danggit and pasalubong. Taboan Market guide
- Colon Street and Carbon Market area: street food, puso and grilled stalls.
- Late at night: see our list of 24-hour restaurants in Cebu.
- After the Basilica: eateries around the Basilica del Santo Niño.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most famous food in Cebu?
Lechon. Cebu lechon is widely considered among the best in the Philippines.
What should I buy as pasalubong from Cebu?
Dried mangoes, danggit, otap and masareal are the classics.
What is a typical Cebu breakfast?
Fried danggit or chorizo de Cebu with garlic rice and egg.
Staying downtown to eat your way around Cebu? See our ₱999 hotel in Cebu City.
Eat your way through downtown
Stay close to Colon, Carbon and Taboan.
Southpole Central Hotel is on Junquera Street in downtown Cebu, close to the markets and street-food stalls. Come back to a clean air-conditioned room, with a front desk open 24 hours.
Rooms are ₱999 a night for two, or ₱1,388 with breakfast. 29 Junquera Street, Barangay Kamagayan, downtown Cebu City — five minutes on foot from Colon Street. Front desk open 24 hours. See Rooms & Rates
