Summers at Cabangan start at the beach. Sprawling sandy shorelines fringed by native agoho trees, kids running across the burning sand, massive rolling waves, dogs lazily sleeping along the shades of fishing boats, and fiery colorful sunsets.

My adopted province, it is where my wife spent a very sunburnt childhood, and it’s where we’re making our son spend his. Cabangan is situated right in the middle of Zambales Province—the West Philippine Sea on its west and the Zambales Mountain Range on its east.

Staying in the sleepy town of Cabangan means you’d have to eat there too. However, most food places in the province aren’t really located there—it’s far from being the food capital of Zambales—still, there are a handful of unique places you can dine in when in Cabangan. And during the past years, as tourism started to bloom in town, the number of places to eat in Cabangan started to grow too. 
   
Here are a few of the most interesting food places in Cabangan. These range from roadside stands and food shacks to swanky cafes and full-blown restaurants. These made the list because they’re somewhat unique, have good food, are institutions in Cabangan, or simply because I’ve personally tried them and found them to be worthy.

My Zambaleño food experience was always about mangoes, freshly caught tunas, and delectable kakanin rice cakes. But the past Dinamulag Festival weekend and recent family visits 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.

Cabangan is one of the thirteen towns that make up the province of Zambales. It sits right in the middle of the province, bordered by the towns of Botolan on the north and San Felipe on the south. Its western side directly opens to the West Philippine Sea. It’s about two hundred kilometers from Manila, which would take around four to six hours travel time.

It was once a laid-back town with just a handful of resorts and tourists, with residents mostly farmers and fisher folks. Within the last couple of years, resorts have started to mushroom all over its beachfront and tourism started to pick up, due probably to the booming surfing scene at the neighboring town of Liwliwa.

Even with this, Cabangan is still pretty laid-back. If you’re looking for a beach getaway with not much tourists, Cabangan may just be the weekend getaway for you.

The province of Tarlac in Central Luzon is really not known for tourism. In fact, some people even dub it, jokingly, as the toilet stop of Luzon—the area being frequented only by motorist needing to relieve themselves on their way to another province. But my visit to Tarlac opened my eyes to its many tourist spots and food places unknown to most travelers in the country. Tarlac has a lot of tourism potential—it has historical places, museums, adventure parks, religious destinations, hiking and biking trails, waterfalls, and gastronomic places. With this travel guide, allow me to help you to get lost in Tarlac.

Nueva Ecija is a land-locked province situated at the central plains of the Philippine’s Luzon island. Located about 180 kilometers from Manila, it is dubbed as the Rice Granary of the Philippines due to its vast plains of rice fields. Tourist attractions are few and far between across its five cities and twenty seven towns, but worry not, there are still places to visit in Nueva Ecija. It may not have any beaches, but it has an abundance of rivers to explore, a few waterfalls, and a lot of historical places.

Although Palayan City is the provincial capital of Nueva Ecija, Cabanatuan City is the more commonly associated one with the province and is easier to access than the former. I would be basing this travel guide with Cabanatuan being the point of destination.

“Are you okay, A?” I asked my son as I haphazardly pedaled a pedicab around a rough patch of dirt road. And that said tri-bike is intended more for a twelve-year old kid rather than an adult my size. Riding it was extremely challenging, to say the least, more so with the terrain we’re traversing en route to Cabangan Pier.

“What’s your order?” My wife asked as we sat down on one of the wooden benches at Mami Madz in Cabangan. It was almost evening and we’ve just been to the San Isidro Beach—our clothes still wet from the sea.

“Uhm. I’ll have a bowl of mami and goto each, please.” I replied.

“What?! Are you sure?” My wife incredulously asked.

“Alright, two bowls of mami and one goto, then.”

It was midday when we arrived in Dapya River. The road going to this popular riverside destination in Cabangan, Zambales isn't exactly made for Sunday driving, in fact, the paved road literally disappeared about halfway to our destination.

As of last count, there are no less than seventy accommodations available along Cabangan Beach in Zambales. Dotting the twelve-kilometer long beach, these stretch from the barangays of Mabanglit, Felmida Diaz, Arew, San Isidro, Sto. Nino, Camiing, Lomboy, and Laoag. And these range from bare camping grounds where you can pitch your tents for a fee, basic no-frills lodgings, boho-inspired accommodations, whole home rentals, rustic hut getaways, social hostels, and swanky beach resorts.

Name it, Cabangan probably has it now. This lesser known corner of Zambales has transformed from being a quiet, zero-tourist town to a now relatively busy beach town. I say relative, since Cabangan, for the most part, is still the quiet town I’ve known for more than a decade.

For those wanting visit, I compiled a list of eleven unique and interesting beach front resorts in Cabangan—the best resorts Cabangan has to offer, if I may say so myself.

►CHECK OUT: CABANGAN TRAVEL GUIDE    
   
A disclaimer, I haven’t personally stayed in any of these resorts--basing my info on their photos, websites, and Facebook pages. I will make a more detailed reviews of these resorts once I actually stayed on their premises.

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The three of us walked along the foreshore of Cabangan Beach as we always did during the afternoons. The waves, warm and gentle, lapping against our bare feet. My son, holding tightly onto my hand on his left, and her mother’s on his right. And the sun, slowly lowering itself on the horizon—fierce and fiery, seemingly unwilling to let the summer days of Zambales to end just yet.

PASTEL SKIES AT SAN ISIDRO BEACH IN CABANGAN

Like most people in the metro, it has been years since we’ve seen the sea. The Pandemic did that. And when the cases finally slowed down, we decided to go. To my wife’s hometown we went—the sleepy town of Cabangan in Zambales.

Am I really in Zambales? That was the thought that was running through my mind as I wandered across the island of Magalawa—my feet sinking into the soft white sand, the sea breeze gently ruffling my hair. Across the horizon, boats the size of matchboxes, slowly parted the sea. The water was calm, extremely calm, the total opposite of what I thought the waters of Zambales are. It almost felt like I’m on one of those islands somewhere in the Visayas, famed for their beaches. Am I really in Zambales? I pinched myself. I really am!

SUNSET AT MAGALAWA ISLAND IN PALAUIG

It was with extremely full tummies when we headed off for the beach. We just finished a table-full of dishes plus some as part of our Zambales food trip. The province of Zambales is laid out along the shores of the West Philippine Sea, and is slowly working up a name for surfing. And then there’s also Anawangin and Nagsasa Cove, two of the most beautiful beaches readily accessible from Manila. But we’re taking a different route, we’re going to Magalawa, an island that’s relatively off the radar from the weekend tourist crowd.

I have previously wondered about the heritage churches in Zambales, or more accurately, the absence of them. I knew that the Spanish conquistadores have definitely reached this part of the Philippines, but every time I visit my wife’s (Blissfulguro) hometown of Cabangan, the churches I pass en route are all modern ones. This province is old, founded in the 1500’s, but where oh where are its massive stone churches?

It was only recently that I finally got a glimpse of the Spanish colonial churches in Zambales. It turns out, I need to go past the sleepy town of Cabangan to finally see these old behemoths. Out of the thirteen municipalities of Zambales, four of these has old churches (it’s worth noting that all of these are located on the northern parts of the province), and of these, one even has a seal of being a National Cultural Treasure. Not really a lot, and I’m really curious as to the reason why, but still a good enough collection worthy of a Visita Iglesia pilgrimage in Zambales.

The glittering yellows worn by the dancers shimmered, reflecting the hot afternoon sun. Drumbeats rumbled across the asphalt road fronting the natively dressed capitol building as Zambaleños cheer the festival queen holding a basketful of ripe golden mangoes. Her contingent, intricately dressed in gold and greens, gyrated and jumped as they parted the crowd—the queen twirling, her unwavering smile beholden to her audience.

GETTING READY FOR THIS YEAR’S DINAMULAG FESTIVAL IN ZAMBALES

Zambales is a province I've visited countless of times, but witnessing the Zambales Dinamulag Festival was a first for me. And what a first it was.

The waves weren’t as strong as I remember it to be, yet there were still a few bodies paddling across the darkening waters of Baler, hoping to catch one last swell before calling it a day. On the horizon, the silhouette of the Sierra Made mountain range was capped in wispy clouds, and above, a hue of pink glowed across an overcast twilight. Us, we were happy just to be here, sprawled on the sand, with spicy chips on one hand and bottles of beer on another.

BACK IN BALER AFTER FOUR  YEARS

It was my third time to visit Baler in Aurora Province; the first time was with office friends, the second, a tour. This latest one has a much more meaningful purpose—we were here to do a coastal clean-up of Baler’s famous surfing spot, Sabang Beach.

In between visiting the giant lantern makers of San Fernando City, we also went to numerous restaurants where we lunched, snacked, and snacked some more. And yes, we do have an excuse for our food binge—Pampanga’s title of being the Culinary Capital of the Philippines. We’re uncovering the province’s little gems, one plate (or two) at a time.

SUSIE’S CUISINE’S AIRCONDITIONED INTERIORS

One of the interesting places we visited was Susie’s Cuisine in San Fernando. Located at an air-conditioned building along MacArthur highway, you wouldn’t really think much of it. At first glance, it looks like any ordinary restaurant, that is until servings of their famous pancit luglug and tibok-tibok were plunked right in front of us.

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The landlocked province of Nueva Ecija isn’t really the first thing that would come to mind when one plans for an out of town trip. Heck, what can you even do there? That’s the usual thing I get when asked about my home province. And to be fair, I can’t really give a big-ass concrete answer. My mom’s home province is so laid back that until you really try and probe its farm-filled landscapes, you’d be hard-pressed to come up with any interesting things to do.

But yes, I just found out that there are more remarkable places to visit at Nueva Ecija besides those I’ve already listed on my Nueva Ecija Travel Guide. The next time you pass by the province en route to popular tourist places like Baler, Banaue, Sagada and Tuguegarao City, try to stop, spend a night and see what this quiet pastoral province is all about.

A sprawl of houses with stone bases, wooden upper floors, and red clay roofs greeted me behind sliding capiz windows as I went sauntering along a narrow hallway once used by alipin sagigilid, a type of Spanish-era servants who were not allowed into the main halls of these stately homes. I caught a shimmering glimpse of the past behind a façade of the present. A time where carriages carried the rich illustrados, powerful friars, and gobernadorcillos across cobbled streets; an era which is arguably much more regal and opulent than our present.

JOINED A GUIDED DAY TOUR OF LAS CASAS FILIPINAS DE ACUZAR ON FOOT

I was at the much talked about Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in the town of Bagac in Bataan. It gained popularity among the masses and equal parts infamy for heritage conservationists with the way it restores old houses from across the Philippines.

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During the old days, when the sky is clear, you can see the cross of Mount Samat from the roof of our house in Malabon, recalls my mom as I told her I was going on a trip to Bataan. That’s a long way off, about fifty kilometers way off. To step on the cross near the apex of Mount Samat had always been a dream of mine ever since having a glimpse of it from a window of a speeding bus during my high school years.

THE PEAK OF THE CROSS, 555 METERS ABOVE SEA LEVEL

Dubbed as the Dambana ng Kagitingan or Shrine of Valor, the 73,665-hectare park built in 1966 is dedicated to the fallen heroes of the Second World War. The site itself is part of bloody battlefield where the Philippines’ last stand against the Japanese Imperial Forces took place.

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The peeling white-plastered walls of the St. Dominic Church in the town of Abucay tell a lot of stories. To be honest, I wasn’t really as impressed by its façade until I came to know the history that these silent walls have borne witness to.

TWIN DORIC COLUMNS FLANK THE EMBOSSED DOUBLE DOORS OF THE CHURCH

Our group arrived at the church’s courtyard just as the sun was about to set. Too bad, it was descending right behind the edifice and it wasn’t too keen on giving off any drama that day.

The church doors, which was embossed with figures of a bull, a man, an eagle, and what appears to be a jaguar, was closed. We thought then that that was probably it and started heading back to the van right after taking a few posterity shots.

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