Lechon Republic brings Filipino charcoal cuisine to prospect.
Opening last Friday on October 8, Lechon Republic offers Filipino charcoal dishes which all stem from either pork or chicken. They offer authentic dishes as well as offshoot dishes which are “traditional with a twist”, according to the director Froilan Lacar.
The diner is named after its star dish ‘Pork Lechon’.
“Lechon is our main dish,” Froilan says.
“It’s the unofficial national dish of the Philippines. Lechon is a rolled pork cooked over charcoal.
“All our dishes stem off chicken or pork. All the meat gets used into all the other dishes we offer.
“We are trying to make the most off the meat – once it’s fresh off the charcoal grill, we chop up the meat and try to use all of it.
“We turn them into dishes that all use that meat and each one has a different personality.”
Along with the traditional grilled meats, Lechon Republic offers other dishes such as burgers and BBQ skewers as well as traditional deserts including ‘Halo Halo’ which has beans!
“The inspiration for our menu comes from our authentic dishes which still has their traditional flavours but we’ve tweaked other dishes from this and given them more value by adding layers of flavours into it,” Froilan says.
“For example, we’ve got a dish called the ‘Classic Pork Adobo’ which is traditional in that it consists of four primary ingredients – soy sauce, vinegar, bay leaves and black peppercorn.
“What I’ve done with that dish is incorporated cinnamon, orange juice, carrots, star anise and lemon grass.”
Froilan was born in the Philippines. After managing a number of restaurants over the years, he decided to open his own.
“I’ve always loved cooking and challenging myself with the Filipino cuisine,” he says.
“There’s not a lot of traditional Filipino food in Australia. It’s one of the most misunderstood cuisines. It’s right in the middle of the pacific, categorised with typical Asian flavours but its cuisine is unique and distinct in its own right.”
Froilan describes Lechon Republic as more of a diner rather than a restaurant or café, because of its small space and strong focus on takeaway.
“it’s like slow fast food; cooking takes a while with 4 hours of slow roasting but dishing up takes minutes.”
Lechon Republic is located at 101a Prospect Road Prospect, SA, Australia 5082.
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