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