Kapampangan Dishes | Cabalen Buffet Restaurant

5 KAPAMPANGAN DISHES | CABALEN BUFFET RESTAURANT

There’s always a festive atmosphere when dining in a buffet, eat-all-you-can set up where you see a lot of food then pick the choices that you prefer and eat to your heart’s desire.  This is the feeling you get when you go to Cabalen, a Filipino restaurant that specializes in Kapampangan and lutong tagalog dishes. Cabalen Buffet Restaurant started as a small pasalubong restaurant in 1974 in San Fernando, Pampanga. Years later, they ventured into an eat-all-you-can style of restaurant and opened their first branch in West Avenue, Quezon City.

Kapampangan Delights in Negros

Here in Bacolod, Cabalen Buffet Restaurant opened last November 23, 2015, and is located at the North Wing of SM City Bacolod. I have been to Cabalen in Manila and they serve almost the same food though I have noticed that Cabalen SM Bacolod does not offer exotic dishes like the camaru and fried frog legs that the restaurant is known for.  Still, all the other Kapampangan favorites are lined up for diners to try.

Negros Bloggers in Cabalen

I was at Cabalen recently to have lunch with my fellow bloggers.  We were excited to try the dishes we saw upon entering the restaurant. An array of main courses, two kinds of soup, steamed vegetables, inihaw goodies, and native desserts were displayed attractively. Mr. Anton Espanola (Store Manager) said that they see to it that the food is freshly prepared and that they have local suppliers who ensure the quality and freshness of the ingredients.

The dishes are rotated daily except for Kare-kare and Dinuguan which are house specialties and mainstays of Cabalen Buffet Restaurant.

Kapampangan Dishes | Cabalen Buffet Restaurant

After that gastronomic experience, I can say that the following are My Top 5 Favorites :

1.) Kare-kare– I call this “pang –fiesta” food because this is usually prepared for parties and family occasions.  Beef and oxtail cut cooked for hours until tender, with eggplant, pechay and string beans with special Kare-Kare sauce (made of ground peanuts) make up for a very satisfying dish!

2.) Dinuguan– Chopped pork meat, liver, and innards are cooked in pig’s fresh blood with spices. It may sound exotic to foreigners but for Pinoys, it is a homegrown meal perfectly paired with puto.

3.) Liempo– Cabalen Buffet Restaurant ‘s Crispy pork belly chopped, seasoned with salt, pepper, and spices and then deep-fried. Sinamak (spiced vinegar) with soy sauce and chopped onions is a recommended dip for liempo.

4.) Caldereta– Chopped beef shanks cooked in tomato sauce with chunks of carrots, potatoes, and grated cheese. This is a Filipino all-time-favorite dish.

5.) Sampelot– after the hearty lunch, I rushed to the dessert table and had this ginataan (coconut milk) based concoction of sliced bananas, sago, bilo-bilo (malagkit rice) and camote slices. I had 3 servings, it’s really yummy. You should try this too.

Other food choices that Cabalen Buffet Restaurant offerS are ginataang labong, ginataang Suso, Pinoy spaghetti, chopsuey, pinakbet, lumpiang hubad, inihaw na isda (tilapia, bangus), chicken inasal, pritchon, lechon paksiw and more.

Enjoy all the above at a reasonable price of P298++ (P333.00) for the eat-all-you-can buffet with no service charge. For inquiries, you may call: (034) 436-5922/0922-217-1009

Kapampangan Dishes | Cabalen Buffet Restaurant

OTHER POPULAR RESTAURANTS IN BACOLOD CITY:

• Must-Try Dishes at Vikings’Carving Station
• Gerry’s Grill Bar and Restaurant
• Korean Grill
• Vedge Health Hub
• Bones and Belly
• Scarborough Seafoods
• Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken
• Izumi Authentic Ramen
• Tyrol Restaurant
• Sharyn’s Cansi House
• Recados
• Kix Place
• Das Burgery
• Rau Ram Cafe
• Fogo Mexican Restuarant
• Ribshack