LIST: Craving humba? Here are some Pinoy restaurants with comforting versions that are worth fighting over
Humba has been the talk of the town and, uh, you must be living under a rock if you don't know why.
With several humba posts all over social media, many of us found ourselves craving the beloved Visayan dish with some Chinese influences.
Humba is made with fatty pork belly, slow-cooked to perfection in mouthwatering spices and ingredients like soy sauce, vinegar, black peppercorns, banana blossoms, garlic, bay leaves, and black beans. It's completed with muscovado sugar for some sweetness.
The Pinoy offering is a lot like the crowd favorite adobo, though the former has more sugar while the latter distinctly has more vinegar.
If the online discussions got you craving some humba today, here are some restaurants with delicious takes that are absolutely worth fighting over.
George and Onnie’s (P695)
Founded by Wildflour Group CEO Ana Lorenzana de Ocampo and award-winning chef Margarita Lorenzana-Manzke, George and Onnie's is known for its modern twists on Filipino classics that don't completely do away with the comfort that tradition brings.
With their mouthwatering version of humba, the Lorenzana sisters let us into their childhood home by using the recipe of their beloved mother.
Just like its other dishes, their humba is made with so much heart—with the usual pork belly, soy sauce, banana blossoms, bay leaves, peppercorns, and muscovado sugar. However, this one in particular gives off a rich umami taste with its oyster sauce as well as a hint of smokiness with the meat's doneness along with its retained tenderness and added sweetness, thanks to its fresh pineapple juice.
Abé Restaurant (P465)
Abé Restaurant offers traditional Pinoy food with a focus on Kapampangan cuisine. Since the dining spot (founded by Larry J. Cruz) is dedicated to his late father Emilio “Abe” Aguilar Cruz, a huge chunk of the menu was inspired by Abe's trips across the globe.
One of them is humba, which features an added taste and texture from its pork and chicken liver stewed for hours.
XO46 Heritage Bistro (P575)
XO46 Heritage Bistro, the brainchild of Andrew and Sandee Masigan of The Advent Manila Hospitality Group, is known for preserving Filipino cuisine from the look of its restaurant all the way to its menu offerings.
It shines through in its Humba ng Tacloban that showcases some of the dish's Chinese influences by serving it with some steamed bok choy on the side. Their version is also finished off with huge chunks of saba banana for more sweet hints on top of banana blossoms.
Rico’s Lechon (P528)
Up for a delightfully sinful version?
In its take on humba, Rico's Lechon—a hit lechon brand established by Enrico “Rico” Dionson—puts the spotlight on pork pata that takes its flavors to the next level, resembling the iconic pata tim that likewise has Chinese traces more than its adobo, humba's known counterpart.
Pamana Restaurant (P405)
At Pamana Restaurant, chef and restaurateur Happy Ongpauco-Tiu spotlights a century of comforting Filipino recipes passed down through generations.
Part of its "Pamana Espesyal" is Leyte's Humba, the Sunday special of Happy's grandmother Mama Chit. This dish is their family's staple food, featuring a melt-in-your-mouth pork belly slab with a sweet spiced mixture from the tausi's salty hints and the banana blossoms' sweet taste and aroma.
Instead of rice, it's served with mantao as well as hoisin sauce and carrot and cucumber slices to keep every bite flavorful and exciting.
