Michelin Guide Just Put This Carinderia’s Linarang in Global Map with Bib Gourmand Award
Family-run Esmen Carinderia in Cebu has been serving their fish soup for 60 years.
Published on Nov 2, 2025
(SPOT.ph) Zenaida Garcia Paglinawan admits they’re still “overwhelmed” by the news, but things for family-run Esmen Carinderia are changing faster than they can process. They’ve had plenty of local regulars over the years for their linarang, a Cebuano dish of porcupine fish in a sour broth. But on Friday, October 31—the very day after it was announced they received the prized Michelin Bib Gourmand award—the dish sold out at 11 in the morning (versus the usual 1:30 p.m. when they close), thanks to the countless vloggers and other diners who made a mad dash to try their specialty.
“And dali lang naubos [nung] tinda namin dahil ang daming dumayo," says Zenaida, who co-runs the eatery with her siblings Teresita (the owner), Josefina, Felipe, and Nemesio Jr. (their main cook). Esmen was founded by their parents Nicolasa Genson-Garcia and Nemesio Q. Garcia Sr., who go by the nicknames Esing and Menie, respectively—hence the carinderia’s name. “We never expected this award. In fact, kaming lahat na-overwhelm kami. Lahat kami, na-shock. Until now, we haven't [gotten] over [the surprise of winning].”
Esmen Carinderia in Cebu
Located on F. Rallos Street, Pasil, Esmen has been serving the dish for six decades now, using the very same linarang recipe Esing and Menie had created and passed down to the younger generation. This has earned them countless repeat visitors, as well as recognition from the likes of Kuya Kim Atienza and FEATR’s Erwan Heussaff. Their customer base is certainly widening as we speak.
On a regular day, one can observe smoke emanating from large woks cooking over firewood by the open entrance, their linarang bubbling fiercely from the pot as it cooks away. Into every boiling pot, along with aromatics and other ingredients, go chopped-up pieces of fish caught fresh from Mindanao and purchased from the Pasil Market. They make the dish using different fish varieties, but the most famous is that made with tagotongan, also called Spot-fin porcupine fish—a species deemed poisonous for containing tetrodotoxin, a deadly neurotoxin in their internal organs, which earns it the title of being an exotic delicacy from some outsiders.
But those who’ve sampled the soup would likely agree it tastes anything but strange or exotic, and instead like home: it’s warm; a touch thick but still perfectly slurpable; sour and a touch spicy; and brimming with pieces of fish with tender bits of flesh tucked within its bones. All in all, it’s precisely the kind of hearty, soul-warming treat that goes great with mountains of rice.
While the eatery itself is no-frills and on the cramped side, with visitors digging into their bowls and plates from plastic tables indoors and outdoors, the food speaks for itself. At just P120 for a generous serving of their linarang with tagotongan and P100 with other fish—Esmen provides comfort and nourishment to folks from all walks of life. Not that they needed the foreign validation to be deemed worthy, but the newfound Michelin cred is as much a win for the family as it is for the dining scene of the Philippines, which is well full of gems on every corner.
Esmen Carinderia is at 10 F. Rallos Street, Pasil, Cebu. Read more about Esmen on the MICHELIN website. You can also check out their Facebook page.
For Trish, food is as much a source of pleasure and fuel as it is an outlet for creativity; a medium by which stories can be passed on; and a way to connect with others.