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| Cabalen welcomes guests with a smile. |
Whenever one thinks of going on a food rampage,
Pampanga food always tops the list. Capampangans are known for not scrimping on
ingredients. Known for being skilled cooks who spend a great deal of their time
preparing dishes and sharing sumptuous meals with relatives and friends, it’s
no longer a surprise when their province was hailed as the culinary capital of
the Philippines. So I was thrilled when I got an invite to try dining at
Cabalen—an Eat-All-You-Can Buffet restaurant noted for serving authentic
Capampangan dishes and other Filipino specialties, originating from Pampanga.
As I stepped inside Cabalen, it reminded me of
a childhood memory set in my grandma’s
Bahay na Bato in Taal, Batangas. Dining at Cabalen feels like coming home to
your grandma’s ancestral home in the province where you get to taste a plethora
of food choices (some specialties can only be found and enjoyed here). The
interior itself seemed to breathe a new life into old stuff with some modern
twists especially the chairs being used as well as the chandelier gives off a
vintage vibe. The result is an eat-all-you-can Capampangan restaurant that
feels intimate and personal, a quality that’s not usually present in large
buffet resto in the metro.
