THUNK THUNK THUNK. It’s the sound of a cleaver chopping a big hunk of crispy pork belly into smaller hunks. I find comfort in its rhythm. It’s my idea of ASMR. Whenever I hear it, I know I’m in the kind of place where the thing to order is cha siu, siu yuk, or a mahogany-skinned duck hanging in the window.
But this, my friends, is not a Chinese BBQ joint (there’s no duck or cha siu). It is a lechon manok specialist, the Filipino analog. But that same comforting chopping sound and the promise of a good meal is also here.
The specialty of the house is a beautiful rotisserie chicken that gives Costco’s a run for its money. But the purpose of my visit to this walk-up window is the lechon kawale, deep-fried pork belly with luscious layers of meat and fat, and a noisy, crunchy skin that rattles my skull when I chew—CRACKLE CRACKLE CRACKLE.
It’s an even better ASMR sound than that chopping cleaver.
Kiko's Lechon Manok
18915 Norwalk Blvd.
Artesia, CA 90701
