At The Bedok Market Place, Cebu-born hawker Ritchill Allarce Giango, 44, who runs hawker stall Ritchill’s Lechon, offers a different take: an oven-roasted pork belly lechon roll, kinda like a Filipino-style porchetta, served with Cebu’s traditional spiced vinegar.
She first made it in 2014 out of sheer necessity, when she couldn’t get a whole lechon flown in from Cebu, which is considered the lechon capital of the Philippines, for her son’s baptism and decided to recreate it herself. It became such a hit with guests that she started getting orders for it.
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She’s a trained computer engineer
Food has always been part of Ritchill’s life. Growing up in Cebu, she helped her mother sell atchara, a family recipe of pickled unripe green papaya, on the streets. She also worked at her uncle’s restaurant.
It has always been her dream to start her own eatery, but she pursued a different path professionally.
A trained computer engineer, she moved to Singapore in 2008 to join her now-husband, a software programmer, and the couple married that same year.
After years of hopping between travel agency work and sales roles, she left the workforce in 2014 to care for sons, now aged 15 and 11.
Meanwhile, that lechon roll she created for her younger son’s baptism slowly turned into a steady stream of orders, especially during the pandemic when friends craved comforting home-cooked food.
She returned to corporate life in 2023 as an admin staffer, all while juggling her growing lechon requests. But after nearly a decade of refining her recipe using a small home oven, she finally took the plunge and opened her hawker stall on October 24, serving the Cebu-style flavours she grew up with.
“I loved my work but the kitchen was calling me, so I decided to embrace the fire within,” she tells 8days.sg. “Also, people kept asking me when I was going to open my own eatery.”
Cried when she heard about F&B closures
But taking that leap wasn’t easy. The wave of F&B closures in recent years had her seriously rethinking her decision.
“I was very scared. When I watched on Mediacorp that another one bites the dust, I cried,” she recalls. Even while tendering her resignation, she hesitated, knowing how risky the venture could be, especially after investing around $30,000 into the business.
But with encouragement from her husband, she pushed ahead.
Invited to serve her lechon at the ASEAN Gala
Validation came much sooner than expected.
Days after opening, a food blogger visited her stall and was so impressed by her lechon, he alerted members of the Philippine Embassy. They visited the stall, tried her food, and soon after, Ritchill received an invitation to serve her lechon roll at the ASEAN Gala at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel on November 10.
“I was so shocked and happy because we were not even two weeks old and we got this invitation,” she says.
“The flavours of each [ASEAN] country were featured at the event and I’m so glad that lechon was chosen to represent the Philippine food.”
Her proudest moment? When Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore, Albert Chua, came back for seconds.
“It was very fulfilling. I told myself, ‘Quitting my job was worth it,’” she laughs.
Business boomed after the event
The gala proved to be a turning point. After the Philippine Embassy shared its video of the event, word spread about her lechon. Business surged by about 70 per cent, says Ritchill, with locals and expats joining her already-strong Filipino customer base.
Some days, queues formed before she opened. Her daily production nearly doubled: from preparing five or six rolls a day in her first week to about 10 now, often large 4kg to 5kg ones.
“We were so overwhelmed,” she recalls. “People came and said, ‘Your business is getting so much attention now.’”
Besides the lechon roll, Ritchill is considering selling the whole roasted suckling pig as there are requests for it.
“If I do, they will be small piglets, like one or two months old. They are very tender and juicy,” she says.
The menu
Ritchill offers two types of lechon: lechon baboy, roasted pork belly roll stuffed with aromatics, and lechon manok, a roast chicken version. Priced between $7 and $13, these are paired with steamed white rice, mashed potato, aglio olio, seafood pasta or green salad.
She also offers sides and dessert like lumpiang (fried minced pork spring roll) and leche flan from $3, and weekend specials like beef stew and bam-i (fried noodles), both $10.
Lechon Baboy with Rice, $10 (8 DAYS Pick!)
The star of the stall is, of course, the lechon baboy. According to Ritchill, her stall is the only one in Singapore offering authentic Cebuano lechon, complete with homemade spiced vinegar made with chillies, garlic and other aromatics.
Most Filipino eateries here serve Luzon-style lechon, typically eaten with mang tomas, a sweet and savoury Filipino liver sauce, she says. But in Cebu, lechon is always paired with spiced vinegar with a squeeze of lime, whose sharp tang cuts through the richness of the meat.
Here, the pork belly is marinated with salt on both the skin and skin and underside for at least a day before it is stuffed with aromatics like fresh lemongrass, garlic and onions and slow-roasted in a combi oven for around four hours.
In true Cebu fashion, the belly is painstakingly sewn shut using a special needle crafted by Ritchill’s father, rather than tied with twine.
Each portion comes with a refreshing sweet-sour atchara (green papaya salad), made from her grandma’s decades-old recipe, and homely pork soup that reminds us of our mum’s corn soup. Customers can request for free refills of the soup.
Lechon rolls are also available in 3kg ($120), 4kg ($160) and 5kg ($200) sizes, with weights based on raw meat. Orders must be placed three days in advance.
Lechon Manok with Aglio Olio, $9
If you prefer poultry, there’s lechon manok (roast spring chicken). Like her pork version, the bird is stuffed with aromatics with the addition of spring onions, which she says gives Cebu-style roasted chicken its distinct scent.
The chicken is roasted until the skin turns lightly crisp, encasing meat that stays moist and flavourful. The drippings collected during roasting are turned into a simple jus, which she drizzles over the chicken just before serving for extra savouriness.
Each serving comes with a quarter of a spring chicken. Paired with a mound of al dente aglio olio, this makes for a hearty meal. The pasta is lightly garlicky, intentionally mild so as not to overpower the roast chicken’s delicate aromatics and smokiness. Also served with atchara and soup. A whole chicken (around 1.2kg) goes for $24.
Beef Stew, $10 (8 DAYS Pick!)
Offered only on weekends, the beef stew, known locally as kaldereta, is a Filipino comfort dish. Traditionally made with mutton in the Philippines, Ritchill switches to beef here because it’s more accessible and affordable in Singapore.
Chunks of beef are pressure-cooked in beef stock with potatoes, carrots, onions, and capsicum till fork tender. The rustic stew is rich and savoury, with a hint of sweetness from the vegetables. Add $1 for steamed rice.
Bam-i, $10 (serves 2-3 pax)
Also available only on weekends, this Cebuano noodle dish is a stir-fry of glass noodles and egg noodles tossed with cabbage, carrots, prawns, Chinese sausage slices and pork liver.
The noodles, seasoned with a light soy-based dressing, tastes a lot like chow mein. We like the mix of textures, from the slippery glass noodles to chewy sausage, but aren’t fans of the overcooked liver.
Leche Flan, $3
Made with eggs, condensed milk and evaporated milk, this Filipino version of creme caramel is rich and velvety. It’s undeniably indulgent, though it’s sweetness may be a little much for some.
Bottom line
We’ve never tried Filipino cuisine before, but after tasting Ritchill’s cooking, we’re now fans. Her menu is small but thoughtfully curated and her Cebu-style lechon — crisp crackling, tender, juicy meat and that punchy spiced vinegar — is the star here. The weekend-only dishes, especially the beef stew, are also worth planning your visit around.
Ritch’s Lechon is at #02-14, The Bedok Market Place, 348 Bedok Rd, S469560. Open Tues-Sun, 11.30am to 2pm; 5.30pm to 9pm. WhatsApp 9117 4682 to pre-order lechon rolls. More info on Instagram and Facebook.
Photos: Dillon Tan, Ritch’s Lechon/Facebook
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