What scare? TIME goes ga-ga over RP's lechon

MANILA, Philippines - As pork lovers worldwide worry over the spread of the deadly swine flu, the Filipinos’ favorite roasted suckling pig has been listed by TIME magazine as the best Asia has to offer. TIME magazine hailed the Philippines’ lechon in its annual Best of Asia list as the "best pig ever." "It was just a matter of time before the rest of the world found out," TIME said. According to the magazine, it was No Reservations’ TV chef Anthony Bourdain’s visit to the Philippines that paved the way for the underrated lechon to gain international stardom. When Bourdain went on a gastronomical tour to Cebu last November, he declared that he had finally found the holy grail of all pork. [See: Anthony Bourdain visits the Philippines] Bourdain, who was convinced by a Filipino fanatic to visit the Philippines with him, raved about the country’s fiesta staple. He rated lechon as the best he had ever had, followed by other pork dishes that he tasted in Indonesia and Puerto Rico. “It can now be said that of all the whole roasted pigs I've had all over the world, the slow roasted lechon I had on Cebu was the best. This puts the standings in the Hierarchy of Pork as follows: 1. Philippines, 2. Bali, 3. Puerto Rico," he wrote in his blog. TIME magazine too, drooled over the Filipinos’ porcine pride. “You could call it the Platonic ideal of a pig, but it's doubtful if Plato, or even an entire faculty of philosophers, could have imagined anything so exquisite," they said. - GMANews.TV