Stay, Stray, Play and Feast: Caby’s Cabana: A View Deck to Translacion; Penafrancia 2104 Series 4

Caby’s Cabana
A View Deck to Translacion
(Penafrancia 2104 Series 4)

Caby’s Cabana may not be on my must dine
list and I have been a little unkind in my past

blogs on this restaurant (as I have always been

to most true blue, unmodified, too salty, too

sweet, too sour and grease laden Pinoy dishes),

…but my family has been returning to this

restaurant every year as it has been a perfect

view deck for the Penafrancia Translacion.

The restaurant is located right at the city center,

just across the historic Plaza Quince Martirez,

... and a block away from the

ancient San Francisco Church.

We stayed the whole afternoon while

waiting for the Translacion procession at

the Caby’s Cabana, and we had a chance

to dine with their light meals and snacks.

We ordered their very delicious Cassava Cake.

While it maybe true that almost all cassava cakes

taste the same, Caby’s Cabana version was perfectly

chewy, and with the just right degree of sweetness.

It was so delightfully gluey that it sticks in your palate,

making the creamy and heavenly goodness of this

delicious dessert linger much longer in your mouth

We also ordered Turon al Hillo, or banana fritters,
which is a popular Pinoy street snack fare. It is made

ripe bananas was wrapped in thin rice wafers, fried

to crispy perfection and sprinkled with sesame seeds.

The Caby’s Cabana’s banana turon comes with

a generous ripe langka (jack fruit) filling that

the tasty juicy strands oozes out in every bite.

It was so delicious that we decided to order

more and had them wrapped to take home.

I would not recommend the Cheese Burger

as the patty was very thin rubbery and tasteless.

I am a pancit lover and I like

their delicious Pancit Bijon,

…and the Pancit Canton as well.

After the Translacion, we decided to have a light

dinner as we were still full from snacking the

whole afternoon. But we had to eat to energize

as we would again be hiking from the no car zone

centro to Plaza Medica where we parked our car.

They have a lot of choices for their ala carte dining and

we ordered Pork Barbecue. It was served with Java Rice

and we found both the rice and the pork too sweet.

We also ordered Lechon Kawali, we found it a little

salty but it was okay but really nothing to rave about.

It was served with Bicol Express as a side dish.

I liked their Chop Suey, as the veggies were

fresh and crispy and tasted very delicious.

Their Crispy Fried Chicken doesn’t look inviting as it

was served as several pieces of unrecognizable breaded

chicken parts. It was crispy- and that was I all I can say.

The best ala carte dish the Caby’s Cabana could offer
I believe is the Grilled Liempo. It was perfectly grilled,
the pork was tender and succulent and had the right blend
of sweetness and tartness. Just like the other dishes, it was
also served with rice and Bicol Express as side dishes.