Thursday, September 7, 2017

First Bite: Charlie's Pritchon

One of the things I love about the Philippines is the long celebration of Christmas. As our Facebook and Instagram pages become filled with Jose Mari Chan's face and recycled memes, I only think of one thing... lechon. Though lechon is a staple in all kinds of celebration, it is more associated with the festive Christmas where the crispy roasted pig is shared by the whole family (and more). And Christmas sure came in early when I was invited to sample Charlie's Pritchon. 

Hello, Charlie's Pritchon
I can't believe that I've never heard of Charlie's Pritchon till two weeks ago. The foodie favorite brand has been around for decades. And you could tell from the faces of those present during the Pritchon - Craft Beer Pairing session that they are all big fans of the deep-fried lechon.
Highlighted dishes were the Charlie's Pritchon (PHP5,800, whole with pita, serves 25 | PHP4,300, half with pita, serves 12 | PHP5,300, whole without pita | PHP3,600, half without pita | PHP8,800, grande with 200 pita, serves 60)  wraps with five different sauces to choose from -- White Garlic, Chili Tagalog, Liver, Hoisin and Honey Mustard. 
I played it safe and went with Hoisin. 
And it was great! The lechon meat was juicy and the lechon skin was crunchier than usual. The Hoisin sauce gave it extra flavor that made me crave for rice.

I also tried Charlie's other dishes namely the Charlie's Pritchopabo or deep-fried turkey (PHP5,600 serves 25), Norwegian Salmon with Pesto (PHP3,900, serves 20), Charlie's Tuyo Pasta (PHP2,500, serves 25) and Seafood Paella (PHP3,500). 
The Pritchopabo was served just like the Pritchon, only, it was not as sinful. It was also a tad drier given that it's turkey but I liked it too. 
And it made me feel less guilty. 
If you are not fond of overly flavorful dishes, you'd most likely fancy the tuyo pasta which had a light taste thanks to its oil based sauce.
The Paella was not your authentic Spanish version as it lacked the tangy taste that I like. But the generous serving of seafood and chorizo made me enjoy this dish. Just
I fell head over heels in love with Charlie's Baked Norwegian Salmon. The fresh fish topped with generous serving of pesto and lemon wedges was a scene stealer. In fact, I liked this more than the pritchon! 
I would marry this huge fish! That's how much I enjoyed it. Then again, I could be biased here as two of my favorites, salmon and pesto, were combined in this majestic dish. 
To cap our meal, we had some Fruit Salad (PHP1,500, serves 25). It's your straightforward made with love fruit salad. 
Throughout our meal, we sampled some of Pedro's craft beers and I was surprised to like most, if not all, of them. I'm not a beer person but the slight sweet taste of some of its beers make it very easy for me to finish a bottle. And it went well with the dishes served to us that night. 
I can't wait to get more of that baked salmon. With Christmas just around the corner, I think I found one of the best dishes to serve for dinner spread. 
For orders and reservations, contact them at (02) 921 0405, (+63) 919 912 8851, (+63) 9052318851 or at inquiry@charliespritchon.com. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram @CharliesPritchon for updates.

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