Vlad Bunoan

How lechon ribs became Ribchon’s signature dish

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Leah C. Salterio

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1770519901906586541685_1431944895607103_5329305572300230586_n.jpg" style="width:960px;display:block;height:auto" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Facebook/Ribchon</div>It started as a passion project built around an unconventional idea. But for couple Jose Ramon “Hamm” and Lucy Katipunan, Ribchon is that “eight-year-old start-up” that has become a Tagaytay favorite, whose catchy tagline “Lamon moderately” is plastered in its main dining room in white neon lights.Katipunan has been in the corporate world for two decades now.“Probably, I’m an entrepreneur by heart, but when I look at my role, I’m trying to think like an entrepreneur in a corporate setting,” Katipunan told ABS-CBN News.  Katipunan, who is admittedly on the heavy side since he was a kid, was nicknamed Hamm while he was in high school because he loves to eat and even cooks.“My classmates, all boys, christened me ‘Hamm,’ since Ramon [my second name] rhymes with hamon. The nickname stuck. I guess eating is a passion [for me],” Katipunan said. “I actually give credit to my wife, who challenged me. So Ribchon was a passion project for me.“It became an added work, but gave me an outlet to pursue my passion. I’m in my own world where I create and try to drive a business.”<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1770520080153IMG_2849.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Hamm Katipunan (center) with wife Lucy and brother Enzo </div>Katipunan carries a book &quot;Franklin Barbecue&quot; by Aaron Franklin and Jordan Mackay.“I was inspired and after I saw the book, I told myself, ‘This is what I want to do.’ I want to smoke meat for a living. But I will not just copy-paste what they wrote in this book. I want to make it Filipino. That led me to the lechon because the best lechon in the world is in the Philippines,&quot; he said.“So I asked myself then, ‘Will I open Hamm’s lechonan?’ There are thousands of lechonans in the Philippines. How do I differentiate my lechon? Me, after eating the balat, it’s the ribs that I attack. Inspired by the smokehouse in Texas, I was inspired to create my own smokehouse, but my play are the ribs of the lechon.”Katipunan attended business school at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) in 2006 and had his undergraduate Business Management course at the Ateneo de Manila University.“I had a professor at AIM, who told us, &#x27;If you think you have a bright idea, Google it&#x27;,” he shared. “You’ll be surprised there are 20 other people ahead of you thinking of the same idea.”Katipunan referred to chef Tristan Bayani, during his wedding at Splendido in Tagaytay in 2009. &quot;I think of myself as somebody who likes to eat and knows food,&quot; Katipunan said. &quot;Nagkasundo kami ni Chef Tristan during my wedding.&quot; Research and development was made by Katipunan and Bayani behind the scenes and they arrived at ribs of lechon. “We both agreed to do it,” Katipunan said.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1770520148995IMG_2873.jpeg" style="width:960px;display:block;height:auto" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Handout</div>In 2017, they opened Ribchon – short for ribs ng lechon – along Mahogany Road in Tagaytay City, that has an indoor capacity of 70 pax with a pet-friendly al fresco area of 20 pax. It is open daily from Mondays to Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., with an earlier opening at 8 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.Executive chef Bayani, who is part owner of Ribchon, is the one managing the restaurant in Tagaytay. “We managed remotely,” said Katipunan. “We visit as much as we can, but the expansion opportunities are also limited since we are both working. Chef Tristan and our parents are based here.”Bayani is the  the R&amp;D and executive chef behind Ribchon’s menu. He started his culinary journey with Filipino fusion dishes with chefs Ed Quimson and Heny Sison. Filipino dishes are Bayani’s line of expertise. He was a resident chef of “Umagang Kay Ganda” on ABS-CBN, with chef Tatung Sarthou.“I love creating menus,” said Bayani. “I create special dishes so people will come to you. I don’t want to offer generic ones. My favorite are the lechon ribs. Kami lang ang meron ng ganu’n. We use the taste of lechon Cebu on the sweet side. Texas honey barbecue.”Bestsellers are its succulent ribs ng lechon, which are slow-cooked and never boiled. The flavors are original, beer barbecue, spicy, breaded or fried. The beer-barbecue is prepared with Red Horse beer, for a change. They started offering that during COVID.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177052120595220260208 (4).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Ribs sinigang and Ampalaya with salmon. Handout</div>Among Ribchon’s classic specialties are Batangas bulalo, kansi, sisig, poqui poqui, chicharon bulaklak brittle basket, grilled chicken skewers, and lechon belly. For dessert, there’s bibingka cheesecake and ube ganache cake.The originals are baby back baboy ribs made with Ribchon’s own tanglad oil, Ribchon baka is smoked beef belly with kapeng barako rub, Ribsinigang soup, crispy tadyang with gotong Batangas, monggo sa bulalo, sisig sa puso ng saging, crispy dinakdakan, lechon mami and bulalo steak pie.Among the new items on the menu is the Ribchon Tower Surf n’ Turf. Every quarter, the Ribchon menu gets updated, although there are no hard and fast rules, according to Katipunan. “We add one or two new items on the menu every quarter,” he said.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177052123705420260208 (3).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Ribchon Tower Surf n’ Turf and Okoy bites. Handout</div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177052124949620260208 (5).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Bibingka cheesecake and Buko pie. Handout</div>Most customers who see the Ribchon menu for the first time are surprised by the prices. They abide by Formula 4-3-5 battle cry. “Four-star food, three-star price, five-star services,” said Katipunan.Ribchon’s drizzling, house-made sauces on rice are tanglad oil, kapeng barako sauce and spicy vinegar which are all specialty products of the restaurants and are sold for take-home.It has taken the restaurant nine years before deciding on any expansion plans. “I felt that we needed to prove ourselves first,” admitted Katipunan. “In our first year, we were experimenting on our ribs. It took us almost two years before we nailed the recipe. So we have a special formulation for ribs today.”“We don’t cook it direct in the water so as not to lose its taste. There’s still the bite and that’s our preference. The sauce should complement the meat. Our ribs are imported but everything else are from here.”

Slow-cooked, never boiled, and rooted in Filipino flavors, Ribchon’s lechon ribs didn’t become a signature overnight. This Tagaytay restaurant’s eight-year journey reveals how patience, experimentation, and a deep respect for lechon culture turned an unlikely cut into its calling card.

Slow-cooked, never boiled, and rooted in Filipino flavors, Ribchon’s lechon ribs didn’t become a signature overnight. This Tagaytay restaurant’s eight-year journey reveals how patience, experimentation, and a deep respect for lechon culture turned an unlikely cut into its calling card.

Tagaytay eats: How lechon ribs became Ribchon’s signature dish

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Tagaytay eats: How lechon ribs became Ribchon’s signature dish

Leah C. Salterio

Published February 08, 2026 11:32 AM PHT

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Updated February 09, 2026 08:53 AM PHT

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Tagaytay

Ribchon

Tristan Bayani

lechon ribs

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