Lechon, hamon and queso de bola: Pinoys go shopping for noche buena

The perfect Pinoy Christmas, apparently, is also a cholesterol-laden party.

At least, the mobs of people lining up for lechon in La Loma, Quezon City, and hamon in Quiapo, Manila seem to think so. On Christmas Eve, GMA's "News To Go" showed separate reports on the last-minute rush for these staples of the midnight noche buena feast.

Fresh, newly-cooked lechon in Metro Manila's lechon capital of La Loma are now fetching P6,500 to P7,000 for normal-sized pigs. Larger roasts means shelling out P8,000 to P9,000—and the prices might go higher as supplies become more scarce.



By now, throngs of customers have gone through the three gates of the Quiapo shop also featured on NTG, where customers lined up before its 7:30 opening on Tuesday morning. Scraps of sweet-and-sour ham can be purchased for P500, while pandesal-friendly, flattish slices can be bought for P1,000. The quality of slices increase with the prices, though shoppers can expect a little extra if they ask nicely.

The same Quiapo shop also has queso de bolas in stock. Smaller cheeses can fetch P540, while bigger pieces can be bought at P900.



Divisoria is also filled with foodies trying to make a stab at a healthful meal in the midst of all the greasy, fatty goodness by stocking up on fresh fruit. Sales, however, are poorer than last year, with one vendor commenting that people are now buying in half-kilos than whole boxes.

Grapes of all kinds run the average price of P130 to P200, while apples and oranges remain at P25 apiece. For P50, shoppers can get three lemons, kiwis, pears, or fuji apples. Bundles of longgans can be purchased for P150 a kilo, and kiatkiats run up to P50 per kilo.



With all venues tightly-packed, security becomes a major concern. Thankfully, areas like Quiapo have marshals patrolling every street corner, with CCTVs watching crevices they could not reach.

"[N]asisiguro ko po na 'yung mga kababayan po natin dito na namimili po, nasa seguridad naman po," said Jack Austria, a security team leader in Quiapo. For the crowds clutching their wallets tightly as they plunge into the fray for that last hamon, that's one more thing they can be thankful for.  — Rie Takumi/BM, GMA News