Kapampangan Cuisine in Tacloban City

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Hello fellow food lovers!

Today, I'd be featuring Cabalen, a Filipino buffet restaurant, which means "a fellow Kapampangan". We had our lunch there few weeks ago.

This place is known for authentic Kapampangan dishes that originated from the culinary capital of the Philippines - Pampanga. According to Wikipedia, Cabalen has been around for more than 30 years, and has already opened an international branch in California last 2013. It all started as a small "pasalubong" store, and later on expanded because of Maritel Nievera's (Cabalen's founder) love and passion for food.

They recently opened a branch here in Tacloban sometime in November 2017. You'll get to enjoy their food at ₱298.00 + VAT (this doesn't include drinks yet). I don't remember how much we paid in total because it was a treat, but I guess it was around ₱330.00 ($6). For the drinks, they have juices, sodas and shakes which are ranging from ₱50.00 - ₱100.00.

I think, the buffet is at a reasonable price considering you'll have 50+ meals to choose from. And of course you'll definitely enjoy the Kapampangan cuisines because we all know how great they are when it comes to preparing food. Sulit promise! 😉

They're very famous for their Kare kare, but I'm not a fan of this dish so I haven't tried it yet. But I've been reading positive feedbacks about it, so if you're a Kare kare lover, I'm sure you'll enjoy this place.

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Pritchon

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This one's my favorite. I remember when I first tasted it few months ago, I couldn't forget how delicious it was that I really told myself that I'd definitely go back for this. So here I am, trying again their Pritchon!

I was craving for seafoods when we went there so I couldn't count the number of times I kept coming back to their buffet table for their clams and mussels.

I also tried a little bit of these:

I wasn't able to take photos of the food because I didn't plan on writing about Cabalen, then again after having a really nice dining experience for the 2nd time, I decided to go around and take some photos before we go home.

One of the staff approached me and asked me nicely why am I taking shots of the food. She was probably thinking I'm going to pirate their food or use the photos for something. Haha. I'm definitely a food lover but cooking is way beyond my interests. It sure is a fun thing to do, but naaah I'm good with my specialty already - noodles and pancit canton! Haha. So, I politely told her that I'm going to feature this on my Steemit account, showed her the site, and even told her that they too can join and start earning. Haha. How I love Steemit so much! I noticed how I sounded like a network marketer everytime I talk about this site - "Yayain ko sana si Ate magkape, kwentuhan ko sya about Steemit. Tanungin ko kung open minded ba sya? ☕️". Haha

I'm planning to bring my DSLR next time and make sure I have photos of all the food. Also, I'll let the staff know first to avoid confusions. Haha

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I also tried their rice with bagoong, (I'm not sure if it was bagoong though. Haha) it was very appetizing.

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I also want to try this. I think this is the Cabalen's version of Shawarma. I have't noticed this when we were there, and I realized they have this pala when I was browsing and editing the photos for this blog. I'm a Shawarma lover, and had I seen this section, I would have tried it. This one's a top priority on our next visit.

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For advocates of healthy living and who's not with me in devouring the Pritchon, this section is for you.

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Noticed how they prepared variety of sauces and dips to choose from. We Filipinos can't live without this and how it is a very essential part of our meal because "Food is important, but sawsawan is importanter"! 😅

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This is the dessert section. I loved the gulaman. And my Aunt loved their puto and bilo bilo. I was already too full to try it.

By the way, I also enjoyed these:

Yep, because I'm such a kid at heart. 😋

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I'm not sure, but some site says this is the same with Fresh Lumpia without the wrapper, but it doesn't look like that way to me because the food is just too orange. Haha. Maybe because this is Kapampangan's version of Lumpiang Hubad. I'll find out how it tastes like next time.

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I was too focused with their Pritchon and their Clams and Mussels that I missed a lot of dishes including their Tofu Sisig. I really wish my tummy can accommodate all the food. Huhu

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Cabalen is open between 10:00AM to 10:00PM and is located at Level 1, Robinson's Place Marasbaras, Tacloban City. You can dine for free if its your birthday. The interior brings out an authentic Filipino vibe, it is well lighted and less crowded.

Tacloban has a very few options when it comes to buffet restaurants, glad they already have a branch here , so just in case we'll be craving for delicious Filipino dishes, we'll have some place to go. 💚

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