Now Open: The Team Behind Newtown’s Sydney Cebu Lechon Opens Australia’s First Filipino Karenderia in Blacktown
Words by Pilar Mitchell · Published on 03 Oct 2023
In the Philippines, a karenderia (or carenderia) is a roadside eatery serving comfort food. “If your karenderia is near workplaces, that’s ideal,” Sydney Cebu Lechon owner Will Mahusay tells Broadsheet. “Construction workers, taxi drivers – they can stop by and have a quick meal. It’s very affordable; probably the cheapest type of meal you can get. Ours is the first karenderia in Australia.”
Mahusay recently closed his Newtown restaurant, Sydney Cebu Lechon , and reopened under the same name as a karenderia behind the Blacktown space he runs as a production and catering kitchen. As in the Philippines, there’s no menu. “There might be three or four pots sitting on gas burners, and you can lift the lid and take a peek to see what’s in there. We cook everything before lunch or dinner, and we serve it until it sells out.”
The offering consists of ulam – or main dishes – plus a handful of sides. There might be osso buco bulalo, a slow-cooked, clear beef broth with cabbage and potatoes; chicken adobo (tangy braised chook); beef caldereta, a tomato-based stew with gravy and beef slow-cooked for hours until tender; inihaw na liempo (grilled pork belly); or grilled chicken inasal, with a sweet-sour-salty marinade that includes annatto oil, giving the meat a red colour. Sides include house-made longganisa (sweet pork sausage), pan-fried until caramelised; inihaw na baboy (grilled pork skewers); and sinigang, a sour tamarind-based soup.
Mahusay’s lechon – rolled and roasted pork belly with plenty of crunchy crackling – is a constant fixture on the menu. It’s served with rice, achara (pickled papaya) and sawsawan, a vinegar and garlic dipping sauce that cuts through the richness of the meat.
During a period where the cost of everything is rising rapidly, Sydney Cebu Lechon karenderia’s prices seem to come from another decade. Most ulams are $10. Halo-halo – an elaborate layered shaved-ice dessert that includes jellies, fruit, sweet beans, leche flan, milk, ice-cream and ube (purple yam) – is $15, and a substantial meal of lechon with rice and sides is $20.
Opening in 2019, Sydney Cebu Lechon was a pioneer of the local Filipino food scene. Rather than open in Blacktown, a suburb with a high Filipino population, Mahusay deliberately chose Newtown to expose non-Filipinos to the cuisine.
Leaving Newtown was purely about business: costs went up, and a King Street lease no longer made sense. Blacktown is a new chapter for Mahusay as a champion of Filipino food and culture.
“Running Newtown for four years, appearing on SBS’s The Cook Up , founding the Filipino Food Revolution with [recipe developer] Christine Caisip and Kenneth Rodrigueza [Donut Papi], I feel I’ve played my role in promoting Filipino food. It was something I did not out of obligation but out of love, and while I’m still involved I think it’s time to pass the torch to the next generation.”
Sydney Cebu Lechon
4 Kerry Road, Blacktown
Use rear entrance
Hours
Fri 5pm–8pm
Sat & Sun 11.30am–3pm, 5pm–8.30pm
(Or until sold out)
About the author
Pilar Mitchell is a Sydney-based writer. Her work spans hospitality, design and culture.
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