I love to feast on a bustling buffet, with lots of variety from different world cuisine but this time I am giving my heart to my native cuisine...
It's time for a Filipino Buffet!
In my opinion, I think many are still not familiar with the Filipino cuisine, even I myself is not fully knowledgable where the influence on our cuisine came from except the pre-Hispanic era, which most people would Filipinos would say the same thing.
There is actually a broad narrative in Filipino cuisine that I wish I learned at school, if only I paid attention to my history class.;p
The Filipino cuisine was originated from the Philippines neighboring countries of Southeast Asia, Oceania, and East Africa, which is also called Austronesian. Adapted and enriched the culture with the influence of several cuisines; Chinese, Indian, Spanish, and American. The traditional dishes are very simple and not kind of food you'll usually devour on fine dining but to be rather enjoyed feasting with family and friends!
Dining area
Last month, my sister and I went on a food binge and I had her chose the restaurant that she wanted to eat. This is where we dined in...
It's called Cabalen Restaurant. Am sure some Filipino Steemians already tried this place, since it's popular because it's affordable for all you can eat Filipino food.
Grill Station
Appetizers
Salad bar
Soup & Porridge
When we arrived at the restaurant, there were only a few people inside, so I was able to take some photos without the people hustling to get their food but just after about twenty minutes, a big group people arrived.
I had crispy kangkong for appetizer, it's dipped in egg and flour then, fried in very hot oil.
I like that the kangkong wasn't oily or it didn't have any after taste of vegetable oil. Some frying oils just leave that weird taste in your mouth and I hate that after taste, especially the used oil. So I got more of this dish on my second plate. ;)
I also tried; pork humba (sweet and salty braised pork dish uses fermented black beans, banana blossoms, as signature ingredients), pork caldereta (pork stew cooked in tomato sauce), pancit ( noodles), garlic rice and plain rice (must always have rice on the table if you eat Filipino food ha), kinilaw na ampalaya, (bitter gourd ceviche) and last viand is the famous chicken adobo.
All of the dishes I mentioned above were better than I expected. For some Filipinos, we crave for that simple Filipino comfort food and I think that's what the restaurant delivered.
I tried the fried pork and tofu or called 'tokwa at baboy' in Filipino but I am not fan. The pork was very dry and the tofu was rubbery so I had to give it a thumbs down.
Some of the dishes I didn't eat because they use shrimp paste and unfortunately am one of those people who love shellfish but can't enjoy it because I get really bad allergy! The rest, I wasn't on the go for it.
Dessert... Dessert... Dessert!
Chocolate fountain, not your typical Filipino dessert but I had to try it. The milk chocolate was way too sweet though and only have marshmallows but it didn't look appealing to me. Am not sure what's the white powdery stuff on the outside of the marshmallows. Although I appreciate that they have offered a few desserts for the price of the buffet. I look around and I saw the bananas. Aha! This is probably the best invention ever! Bwahaha! I got some bananas instead to dip in the chocolate.
Halo-halo Station
Last dessert, halo-halo! A very popular cold dessert in the Philipines. I remember when I was a kid, my siblings and I love this dessert so much that we would go on neighbors and stole some empty cola glass bottles and sold it at the store in exchange of some coins then will buy some halo-halo with it, bwahaha! You can't really mess up with this dessert, it is up to you to adjust the sweetness level to your liking and add any available ingredients in your cup.
Overall, you get what you paid for, food was simple, it was like dining at your own home. I think trying if you're into budget eating but want to feast at the same time this place isn't that bad.
My sister and I spent over an hour at the restaurant, laughing and chit-chatting, it was a fun day indeed and that's what most important. ;)
Photos are taken using my Google Plx phone.
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