Located in the heart of bustling Cabanatuan city, this quaint restaurant boasts authentic Filipino food. Upon entry, you'll definitely see traditional Filipino touches from the surrounding layout to the native decor. We came at the height of lunch hour and the place seemed pretty busy.
As usual, we opted for family style service and selected traditional dishes I typically don't eat or cook in the states. We chose pinakbet, pancit canton, pork bbq, and grilled tuna belly. Pinakbet or Pakbet is a dish indigenous to the northern region of the Philippines that usually has a variety of vegetables and usually sautéed with shrimp paste and has pork or shrimp as protein. Different regions have their own variations but the usual vegetables commonly seen include bitter melon, eggplant, squash, and okra that have been cooked down until tender. As with every meal, this "ulam" or dish is usually paired or eaten with white rice.
Pancit or Pansit are any variety of noodles served during birthdays or special occasions. Canton, short for Cantonese, is the Chinese influence that is present in this dish because of the lo mein style egg noodles used for the recipe. The noodles are usually sautéed with cabbage, carrots, onions, celery and has shrimp, chicken or pork as protein component. And if you've even been invited to a Filipino gathering, you know that it's never a party without the pancit in the house.
Being that it was 100 degrees out, I really wanted to have some halo-halo but we were already full from lunch. We could've tried other dishes like Kate-Kare or Adobo but wanted to keep it light. Overall, the food was good and the ambiance was welcoming. read more