Johnna’s Liempo Haus (Balamban, Cebu): The Original Balamban Liempo (Plus the Food We Tried at the Balamban Food Park)

This article is part of my Cebu Food Trip 2023 series. Check out the installments so far: Abaca Baking Company (Bakery and Brunch) | House of Lechon | Parr’t Ebelle Tinola (Seafood)

I once read at Our Awesome Planet about the best Balamban liempo (pork belly). No, it’s not the Balamban Liempo, the take-out chain that’s popular across Cebu. Rather, it’s the origin, Johnna’s Liempo Haus.

Johnna’s Liempo Haus is located in Balamban, a municipality in west Cebu, which is more than an hour drive away from Cebu City via the Cebu Transcentral Highway. (We drove to Balamban at dusk and returned to the city at night. It was a challenging drive, especially with the fog, drizzle, and zigzags. It’s definitely one for the books! But I recommend you come at daytime.)

We arrived past 6PM and were concerned that the liempo has already been sold out. Thankfully, there were a few pieces left. But after we got ours, the remaining pieces were sold right away and the store immediately closed. It was a buzzer beater moment!

There was no place to eat at Johnna’s Liempo Haus. So we went to a food park nearby—Balamban Food Park—where we bought rice and sat down.

The Liempo at Johnna’s Liempo Haus

But let’s cut the suspense and talk about the liempo of Johnna’s. I will say it right away: It’s the best rotisserie liempo I have ever tried!

It’s juicy, tender, and flavorful. The spices used, which includes garlic and spring onions, give a nice herby flavor.

Look at that beautiful piece of *liempo*!

We’re content with the liempo and could go home from here. But since we’re already there, we tried some food items from the stalls at the food park.

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Here’s what we tried:

**Deep-Fried Tungol at Sho’s Tungolan & Adobo**

Tungol refers to the stomach of pig. It’s chewy and definitely organ-y. This is for innards lovers like me!

Drinks at The Barkista

I tried their Spanish Latte, which did its job waking me up for the drive back to Cebu City.

Left to Right: Spanish Latte, Cucumber Sparking Drink (back), and Raspberry Sparkling Drink (front)

We also got their sparkling drinks (cucumber and raspberry flavors). It’s refreshing but I can tell there’s artificial flavoring.

Grilled Items on Stick (Forgot the Stall’s Name)

It’s hard to miss out on grilled items on stick. We got Chorizo de Cebu (Cebuano longganisa or sausage), Dugo (coagulated blood), and Isaw ng Manok (chicken intestine). But the most fascinating is the Chicken Skin. I haven’t encountered a skewered chicken skin in Manila or elsewhere.

Ngohiong at Ling’s

Ngohiong is a popular street food in Cebu and a distant relative of the spring roll. It’s made with a mix of meat, singkamas (jicama), ubod (bamboo shoot), and, most importantly, Chinese five-spice, all wrapped in a battered rice paper.

Ling’s version has a pleasantly chewy wrapping. I also like the sweet and spicy sauce that comes with it.

Johnna’s Liempo Haus makes amazing rotisserie liempo. We skipped going to Carcar City, which has the best Cebu Lechon (roast suckling pig), for this, and it’s absolutely worth it. In my opinion, Johnna’s liempo is the only worthy alternative to Cebu lechon. I highly recommend it to you!

Address: Bus Terminal Road, Balamban, Cebu, Philippines | Operating Hours: Daily, 8AM-7PM