ZAMBALES | Food Trip ~ Where To Eat In Zambales

Thursday, April 04, 2019

Zambales Food Trip

My Zambaleño food experience was always about mangoes, freshly caught tunas, and delectable kakanin rice cakes. But the past Dinamulag Festival weekend introduced me to more than the usual table fares in the province, discovering the more metropolitan side of eating places in Zambales. From local dishes and Filipino comfort food, to street food and posh café offerings, I was pleasantly surprised at the variety culinary places in Zambales worthy of a side trip from its beaches and mountains.

WHERE TO EAT IN ZAMBALES
WHAT’S INSIDE?

• Sonsing Restaurant & Lounge
• Oh-Ben Baked Cafe
• LC's Stop & Chow
• The Bakery By S.E.

►FIND DISCOUNTED HOTEL RATES IN ZAMBALES

SONSING RESTAURANT & LOUNGE

ADDRESS: GOVIC HI-WAY, BANGANTALINGA, IBA | CONTACT: +63 (908) 819-7274 | OPENING HOURS: 9AM-9PM | GPS MAP: 15.341436, 119.970656

One of the go-to restaurants in Iba, Zambales when it comes to Filipino food is Sonsing. The restaurant is named after the owner’s father whose love of cooking was passed down to his son. They actually serve more than the usual Filipino favorites, their menu packed with everything from burgers, steaks, Japanese, Chinese, and Western dishes. During our visit, filled to brimming as our table was, it didn’t even reach a fourth of their offerings.

We were able to sample their pinangat na labong sa gata, salmon sashimi, California maki, black fungus soup, crispy pata kare-kare, Zambalyete, insarabasab (Ilocano roasted pork), kalderetang kambing, binagoongang lechon kawali, and one of their special rice to pair it with, tinapa fried rice.

Their pinangat, a house specialty from the Bicol Region, stood out among the rest along with their crispy pata kare-kare (really peanuty and the pork, real crispy) and served with a really good bagoong. I was also intrigued by their Zambalyete which seemed to be sautéed cubed tuna with a helping of bagoong, topped with tartar sauce and thin strips of mango—it was definitely very Zambales. And let’s not forget the tinapa fried rice and the soup, which actually brought everything together really well.

For desserts, two boxfuls of special cassava cake (regular and ube) sealed the final sweet notes. Delicious.

►BOOK DISCOUNTED ZAMBALES BEACH TRIP FROM MANILA

SONSING RESTAURANT & LOUNGE IN IBA, ZAMBALES

NACHOS WITH MANGO DIP | ZAMBALYETE ~ PHP 290.00

INSARABASAB ~ PHP 280.00

LARGE TINAPA FRIED RICE ~ PHP 230.00

PINANGAT NA LABONG ~ PHP 250.00

CRISPY PATA KARE-KARE

OH-BEN BAKED CAFÉ

ADDRESS: GOVIC HI-WAY, BANGANTALINGA, IBA | CONTACT: +63 (998) 549-4797 | OPENING HOURS: 8AM-9PM | GPS MAP: 15.341559, 119.970618

We need not stray far for our after-meal coffee fix. Right next door to Sonsing is the Oh-Ben Baked Café. Oh-Ben. Oven. Gets? Lol.

Operated by the same family, the café is geared more for the younger crowd with its black on wood interiors and coffee-ism wall quotes. Very hipster. It’s actually not open yet when we went, but we were able to try out their cinnamon buns, a few slices of cakes, and of course, their coffee—which was pretty good!

Oh-Ben Baked Café is set for soft-opening this coming April 8, with everything on their menu set on a 20% discount!

OH-BEN BAKED CAFE IN IBA, ZAMBALES

CINNAMON BUNS, CAKE, AND COFFEE

HAVING A CUP OF COFFEE AT OH-BEN BAKED CAFE

LC’S STOP & CHOW

ADDRESS: NATL. HI-WAY, LONGOS, CABANGAN | CONTACT: +63 (949) 155-1998 | OPENING HOURS: 7AM-9PM | GPS MAP: 15.144496, 120.052117

The LC’s restaurant in Cabangan was something I’ve always been passing by but have never tried. The old restaurant was just a hop away from my wife’s uncle’s house, but for some reason, I never got to enter their doors and try their food. It took a festival and a change of location for LC’s before I finally got to have a taste of their food.

Still located in Cabangan but on a more spacious lot of land (and a lot more stylish restaurant which reminds me of food places in Tagaytay), LC’s Stop & Chow is a legend in Zambales. The owners originally hailed from Batangas before transferring to Subic, then finally, Cabangan where they finally put up a restaurant. Their menu consists of Filipino fares with a dash of Batangeño flair. Guest their specialty? Bulalo.

And along with the two bowls of bulalo that came sliding down our table, we were served pans of pizzas, plates of pinakbet, kalderetang kambing, and the most beautifully fried crispy pata I’ve ever laid eyes upon. Their bulalo is reminiscent of the Mahogany Market bulaluhan in Tagaytay—which they aptly claim on their menu—and their pizzas, especially the Overload was indeed fully loaded. It was honestly one of the best pizzas I’ve ever tried. And the crispy pata, again, is one of the best, if not the best crispy pata I’ve had. The way they cut and fried it was simply genius, making everything crispy and lessening the hassle of knifing the pork into bite-sized pieces.

LC’s, why oh why didn’t I eat at your place before?!

THE NEW LC’S STOP & CHOW AT CABANGAN, ZAMBALES

PINAKBET & KALDERETA

BULALO ~ PHP 455.00 MEDIUM, PHP 570.00 LARGE

CRISPY PATA ~ 625.00

PIZZA OVERLOAD ~ PHP 415.00 & HALO-HALO PHP 85.00

THE BAKERY BY S.E.

ADDRESS: J.GONZALES ST. COR. MAGSAYSAY AVE., IBA | CONTACT: +63 (47) 307-2514 | OPENING HOURS: 10AM-12MN | GPS MAP: 15.326600, 119.978515

À la midnight snack, we went to the Bakery by S.E. in Iba before retiring for the night. The burgers are to die for, M—one of the organizers—kept on repeating. Alright, so burger it is! Plus, errr, a few helpings of cookies, cheesecake, pastas, muffins, and a huge bowl of soup on the side. Wait a minute, didn’t we just eat?!

But yes, The Bakery’s burgers are indeed to die for. Dubbed as the Mango Jalapeno Cheeseburger, it’s about eight inches high, loaded with multiple patties, sloppily lathered with mayo and cheese, and set with bits of mangoes and jalapeño chilies. It was incredibly good and also, incredibly hard to eat without making a mess. The combination of flavors work really well together, with the jalapeños bits giving an additional kick. Really, really good. I’d have to say it again; really, really good.

And not to forget about the other plates on the table, I’d also have to commend their carbonara and spaghetti—the servings were on the petite size, especially after the burger—but every forkful was well worth the calories.

►NEAR HERE: MAGALAWA ISLAND