Famous Noche Buena picks for Filipino families

Lechon | CDN Digital File photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines— It is 10 merry days before Christmas and families around the country are starting to list down the dishes they will be feasting on for Noche Buena.

Food is what really anchors the families on Christmas, yes, food, and a little percentage goes to the gifts.

But you all know the drill, you go get something to munch on first before we head on in unwrapping those gifts.

Let’s have a quick rundown on some of the known Filipino dishes served during Noche Buena.

Lumpia | Libre Inquirer.net file photo

Lumpia— this dish is present in almost every Filipino occasion and for sure on this big day of the year, it is there as well. You decide on what kind of lumpia you want to have, the traditional lumpia with pork or a healthy alternative with veggies inside. Either way, this is just one of the scene stealers this Christmas.

Embutido— a Filipino style of preparing meatloaf. This one is also hard to ignore. Mixing all the ground pork with raisins, carrots, cheese, eggs and all the herbs and spices, this Filipino style meatloaf is perfect for the season.

Lechon— what’s a Christmas celebration without this famous Cebuano dish, right? Well, you don’t have to go and buy the whole thing, there are a lot of places where you can get it per kilo. Lechon is prepared by roasting it over charcoal for hours, and to make the skin extra crispy, they brush it with oil from time to time. Now, this is making all of us hungry!

Salad— okay, this is not all Filipino, but every Filipino family has their own twist in making this dessert their own. Some families would like their salads with chicken, macaroni or the famous fruit salad. Ahhh! Can you imagine after eating all those sumptuous food you’ll end it up with this sweet delight?

Quezo de bola | Inquirer.net file photo

Quezo de Bola— this is really the star of the night. This red ball is usually placed in the middle of the dining table. This is just one of the many Christmas traditions each Filipino family has. And after all the unwrapping of the gifts, you can then munch on the Quezo de Bola paired with bread or a good glass of wine.

Christmas is the heart of the year because of all the exciting things that can happen like family reunions, family vacations and most importantly celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

And with all these merriment what better way to celebrate our Savior’s life then by feasting on some of our fave Christmas dishes. /dbs