Cabalen - All Filipino Buffet

Last Sunday (13th of March 2011) after strolling at Quezon City Circle Memorial Park with the kids, Me & Hubby went to Festival Mall for a scheduled dinner with Daddy, Mommy, Tito Effie & My Sis-in-Law. She was promoted to District Manager of South Power Mac Outlets and decided to treat us in Cabalen. Since Tito Effie already lives in Australia and only here for a vacation, Resto's with Filipino Dishes is the main choice.

Cabalen, which literally translates to a fellow Capampangan, is a group of casual - fine dining restaurants known for authentic Capampangan dishes and different Filipino specialties, originating from Pampanga. This province is known to food connoisseurs as the seat of sumptuous food and delicacies while the Capampangans are widely known as people with good taste and innate cooking talent. These factors contributed to the eventual birth of Cabalen, the Capampangan specialty restaurants.                                                  

 Cabalen family started in 1974 in San Fernando, Pampanga as a small Bahay Pasalubong Restaurant selling specialty food dishes, then grew into a restaurant called “Ituro Mo, Iluto Ko”. In 1986, the first Cabalen Eat-all-you-Can, Eat-all-you-Want Restaurant was opened in West Avenue, Quezon City that ushered the expansion .to more outlets. Gradually it became the most popular buffet restaurant in the Philippines.

Thanks Ma'm Elg for the Dinner
(Arnold, Effie, Me, Hubby, Mommy, Jay, Daddy, Aaron, Elg)

The dinner menu buffet that day consists of :

Soup: Sinampalukang Manok, Bulalo (only the broth)

Appetizer: Tokwa't Baboy, Crispy Kangkong, Lumpiang Hubad, Ensaladang Talong

Main Dish: Kare Kare, Bicol Express, Adobo, Inihaw na Baboy, Tapang Kalabaw, Bopis, Lechon

Dessert: Kakanin, Halo-Halo (Where's my Leche Flan?)

It's only my second time to eat at Cabalen, the 1st was in Cabalen MOA. Daddy was a bit disappointed because of the buffet's few menu choices, they don't even have my favorite Crispy Crablets and Sisig . Since Festival Branch caters only pure Filipino food, the choices are limited, unlike the branch in MOA which has Filipino and Asian food. Nothing extra ordinary on the type and taste of their food. I'm not into "Kakanin and Halo-Halo" which leaves me with nothing to munch on dessert ("good for my diet"). But in fairness, we love their "Sinampalukang Manok Soup" i consumed 4 full servings of it ("I'm a soup monster!") and the "Crispy KangKong with Mayo Dip" (recommended snack for health conscious pips). I'm not a Cabalen fan but it's really a big hit among Balikbayan folks.

If your craving for a home-grown-authentic-filipino-eat-all-you-can buffet for less than Php 400... why not try Cabalen ...

Prices:

Filipino Buffet            ONLY P 318.00 / head Vat inclusive  No Service Charge Kids Buffet P 140.00 / head 4 feet & below Fil - Asian Buffet (Glorietta 3, Trinoma, SM Moa) ONLY P 398.00 / head Vat inclusive No Service Charge Kids Buffet P 168 / head 4 feet & below

They also offer special occasion packages such us baptism where you can get this free item...