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.

And if the mangoes are what stay with you after the Dinamulag weekend, there are carabao mangoes from Filipino growers you can order online long after the festival ends.

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.

“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.

►BOOK DISCOUNTED BEACH TRIP FROM MANILA TO ZAMBALES

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.

She stood tall against the silhouette of trees, one arm clutching a gun, the other holding on to a nearby branch. Her eyes, masked by camouflage, scanned the dense foliage of the forest—on the lookout for fellow tributes. A rustle of leaves on her left made her turn; her stance on the defensive as a barrage of water came shooting at her. She screeched, launching a water balloon at her nemesis, trying to stun the assailant while grabbing his life ribbon.

Welcome to JEST Camp’s Hunger Games.

We emerged from the forest of Subic Bay, trying to apply—and failing hard—the survival tips given by the Aeta guides as a prelude to the JEST Camp Hunger Games. Our stomachs on the other hand have a different Hunger Games in mind, what it wanted was lunch, a pretty heavy one. Good thing JEST Camp has prepared just the right one for us, a boodle fight at their Kawayan Kitchen.

HOW KAWAYAN KITCHEN COOKS THEIR MEALS

During our two-day stay at Subic’s JEST Camp, most of our meals were cooked using buho or bamboos. The camp practices what it preaches, almost all of dishes—including our rice—were prepared using the method the Aetas demonstrated to us the first day we arrived.

► SEE: PAMULAKLAKIN FOREST TRAIL JUNGLE SURVIVAL

Logs and kindling were piled, and hotdogs with soft marshmallows were skewered on thin bamboo sticks. Twilight has set a few hundred feet above Subic Bay. From a frame of tree branches, we can clearly see the city below, alive and twinkling; its electric hues illuminating the darkening sky, reflecting on the dark bay. With a flash of flint, our bonfire whooped into existence. We basked in the glow of the fire, mesmerized with its intensity, ready with our hotdogs, stories, and bottles of beer.

JEST CAMP ENTRANCE ARCH

MAGAUL BIRD PARK’S GIFT SHOP

We were at Subic’s JEST Camp. It was my third time to visit this place and it has definitely changed since I last set foot on it. Together with a group of friends who share the same passion for traveling (and drinking beer), we went here to witness the opening of the Magaul Bird Park’s Wings of the World and test our friendship with the JEST Camp Hunger Games.

The Smashing Pumpkins rumbled through the chorus of Today on my iPod as I climbed the final steps towards the viewing deck of Mount Pinatubo. I was panting a bit, not really used to hiking for hours. I stepped towards the chasm and looked out upon the crater that has caused so much trouble to people of Central Luzon. I suppressed a gasp.

Everyone knows what a cliché it is to have a view take one’s breath away. But you won’t care about that once your eyes lay upon Mount Pinatubo’s emerald crater.

►CHECK OUT: TARLAC TRAVEL GUIDE

Travelers all over the world abide by a single mantra—travel light.

While I try to follow these two words most of the time, it’s not always possible. Consider my case—I’m already a camera enthusiast even before being hooked to traveling. Bringing one compact camera on a trip is like diving without gear.

Or so I thought.

Lights trail right outside my bus window as it sped towards Zambales. It was the last few days of the year and I was visiting a good friend in the town of Cabangan, spending some days in her hometown before ending the year back in Manila.

Six travel bloggers wouldn’t have a standing chance against the adrenaline-filled weekend activities set up by Subic Homes if not for the food they generously provided us. We got to taste a plethora of dishes that three of Subic’s premier restaurants laid down before us.

Before doing the Subic’s Treetop Adventure, we got to have lunch at The Aristocrat. I remember seeing branches of this restaurant in Manila when I was still a kid but have never set foot inside their premises. Begging your pardon but my food preference then mostly consists of Chicken Joys and Yum Burgers.

Visitors were already milling through the spacious safari-inspired lobby at one of Subic’s main tourist attractions. Our weekend getaway was almost over but we have one last stop before we let Monday gets its way. We tied our imaginary boots, donned our khaki vests and put on our helmets; Zoobic Safari here we come!

The first thing I noticed while waiting for our tickets to be processed was the tiger cub near the entrance. Little did I know that we’re gonna be having a pretty close encounter with this cat a few minutes later. Like children, we were herded into his den, handed a milk bottle and sat a few away from the little tiger.

We were ready for anything after the adrenaline rush of the Subic Tree Top Adventure. Our next activity however turned out to be much tamer than the previous one, we would be visiting the JEST Camp which was just a few meters away from our current location.

JEST or Jungle Environment Survival Training is a lot like the Subic Pamulaklakin Trail I visited a year ago where locals teach visitors the essentials in surviving in the forest by properly and efficiently utilizing its resources with minimal tools on hand.

Since the afternoon was getting late, we however didn’t get to try their survival training. What we were able to do was visit their Bird Discovery Center, the Finches’s Fort and their Maze of (Mis)Fortune, or at least that’s what I think it’s called.