We love buffet style restaurants because we get to taste a wide variety of dishes while taking control of the ones that we want to have more of. And in our experience, most of the time, it was worth the price. So, we’ll be featuring more eat all you can buffet-style food places here, like Cabalen restaurant.
One weekend in June, our family was out for a whole afternoon of food trips and we were scheduled to watch a flick around 3pm. So, we had a lot of time to spare for lunch. I’ve been wanting to eat at Cabalen for the longest time so we decided to head on there to try their eat-all-you-can buffet.
Cabalen’s buffet in Trinoma features Filipino and Asian dishes. The price is Php 468 per adult, Php 270 for kids (4 feet and below). This buffet is available only at their branches in SM Clark, SM Mall of Asia Glorietta and SM Megamall. Their other branches only feature Filipino dishes.
It was easy to get a table even though the place was a bit packed. We only waited for about five (5) minutes. After we were seated, there were about 3 more tables that were emptied.
Our parents were the first ones to hit the buffet so we already had an idea which we should try first. I was browsing the whole buffet spread and got my eye hooked on trying their Kare-kare.
I was a bit let down by the number of dishes they were serving. There weren’t a lot of main dishes. I was expecting some Filipino favorites like Adobo, Sinigang, etc. Pictured above are these dishes: Kare-kare, Ginataang Kuhol, Bopis, Dinuguan, Kalderetang Baka, and something else I can’t remember.
There were also other dishes like Pancit Bihon, sushi, and some dimsum. On the other side of the buffet area, there’s Pinaputok na Pla-pla, Bangus with Tomatoes, and Inihaw na Hito. They also had Pritchon and Sizzling sisig that you can order and will be served upon request. Sadly, we only got to try their Pritchon and not the sisig (Ken’s favorite) because we were waiting too long and no one was manning the area.
So, we decided to go for desserts. You can make your own halo-halo. They had Ginataang Alpahor (some call this Ginataang Bilo-bilo), Palitaw, fruits, and a chocolate fondue, which Ken completely enjoyed. He always looks for a choco fountain whenever we’re at a buffet restaurant. 😀
That’s Ken at the chocolate fountain. 😀
You might be wondering why else I’m disappointed with Cabalen in Trinoma. First was I was expecting a wider variety of main dishes. Second, the dishes were all bland for our taste. The only ones I enjoyed was the Bopis and Pancit Bihon. The rest were lacking in flavor. Even their Ginataang Alpahor was flat. Their beef in their Kaldereta was tough, the fried chicken was overcooked. *sigh*
If you’re thinking of bringing friends or your family here for lunch or dinner, make sure you’re all not too hungry or that the place isn’t that packed. The dishes aren’t that bad. We know how difficult it is to maintain an eat-all-you-can buffet style restaurant, but we’ve had better food at Lola Maria’s. I guess they should’ve stuck with fewer but flavorful dishes if they were having trouble maintaining the quality of their dishes.
The service crew was also slow at refilling the servings. We, along with a couple other diners, had to follow up 4 times to refill the Tempura and some of their other dishes. Ken even had to wait for about 10 minutes before they can refill the marshmallows for the chocolate fondue! Seriously?! 😀
After this, Ken and I both agreed that dining at Yakimix, although pricey, was more worth it than our experience in Cabalen. We’ll willingly add Php 300 more per person for a wider variety of dishes and better dining experience. I guess you can say you get what you pay for, eh?
We’re giving Cabalen in Trinoma a rating of Just Okay, with 2.5 out of 5 stars. I wish their other branches offer more flavors and better service.
There are other eat all you can restaurants you can try that’s more worth the buck. Click here to read our reviews of the ones we’ve already been to (we’ll have a special section for this once I’m done with the new theme). Feel free to share your recommendations too at the comments section. 🙂
Cabalen Eat All You Can Restaurant
2/F Trinoma, EDSA cor. North Ave., Quezon City – 10am to 9pm
Website: http://www.cabalen.ph/
Contact #: (02) 901-3602
We went to Cabalen in Robinson’s Place Manila and the buffet is the best. Parang lutong bahay na babalik-balikan mo 🙂
Good for you. Basing it on the rest of the comments here, I say their Trinoma branch needs to work on the quality of their food.
yakimix is the best for me! ^^
I had a better experience at their MOA branch, prompting us to reserve for a reunion. I have to agree though in refilling the empty serving plates. They’re slow. That pulled my rating to “just okay” 🙂
It seems that their MOA branch serve better quality of food than their Trinoma branch. It all boils down to poor management.
I think variety is very important when it comes to EAYC/buffet, so I guess I’ll pass on this one. I agree with you Mhel, a little addition to the price isn’t that bad if you’ll get varieties to enjoy. Thank you for sharing this post 🙂
Korak! ^_^
BUT, other foodies commenting here said their MOA branch serve better. Though I’d still pass on Cabalen after this. There are a ton more restos in MOA worth trying. ^_^
Home to filipino dishes talaga sa Cabalen . I had a great dining experience sa megamall branch nila pero that was 2years ago. Sana mapuntahan at makakain ako ulit one of these days
I hope you’d have a better experience than what we had. Not thinking of coming back after this, even to their other branches.
I have not been there in a long time, all I remembered from before was subs standard food and service
I thought the food here was at least slightly above average considering other people included Cabalen as one of the buffet restos we should try. I guess we’d better off exploring on our own or checking other foodies’ (like you) recommendations. Hehehe. 😉
Cabalen has lost its thrill for me. I remember I used to go there just so I can wolf down the crispy kangkong amongst others but now, it’s just a disappointing spread so I never go there anymore.
*sigh* I was really disappointed ’cause I was expecting really flavorful Filipino dishes here. @_@ I can’t even think about checking out their other branches after this.
been to Cabalen’s at MOA., I really luv their desserts,,,
When my BF came to Manila to visit me, I took him to Cabalen Robinson’s. He really loved it! Aside from being inexpensive, he liked how the food offered, esp the crispy kangkong and the crablets.
 I read this post earlier, but only gotten time to comment. Anyway, gone are the glamour days of Cabalen. It was at its peak when I was in High School I think, favorite reception place for events. Then came other Filipino Restaurants – I looove Sentro! (sharing my post: http://ruthilicious.blogspot.com/2011/11/balikbayans-love-sentro-1771.html)
Sad but true, Cabalen died together with Barrio Fiesta and Dad’s/Kamayan! 😀
When I saw your post feed, I thought you were promoting Cabalen – and I thought, what happened to Certified Foodies?! LOL! So I immediately checked the post and got relieved. Hehe. See you soon!
Hahahaha. It’s a review. :)) We try to be as constructive or positive as we can in our reviews and features here, but I can’t really say anything notable about our experience.except for the negatives. ^_^
People were recommending Cabalen when I asked for suggestions on where to go for a family buffet. That’s why I usually trust my known foodies like you and my gut (pun intended). ^_^
I didn’t know cabalen also offers asian foods. It’s been decades since we last ate at the place because my family is not fond of eating filipino eat all you can. Â Seems, we didn’t miss much anyway.Â
Maybe the other branches will fare better. Once lang kami nakakain sa Cabalen in other branch and that was okay naman but that was 4 years ago.Â
Yep, according to the other foodies who left comments here, their MOA branch offer better food and service. That’s why I indicated this one’s for their Trinoma branch. Though this experience won’t make me visit their other branches.
I’ve been in Cabalen twice and for both visits, mediocre lang ang quality for me. Siguro it comes with the inexpensive price. For 4 pax though (like on our last visit), parang mas sulit pa ata if we just used our money elsewhere.. >.< Btw, have a wonderful 2012 Mhel and Ken! May we have more food and restos to try next year 😉
The thing is, Lola Maria is offering an eat-all-you-can buffet for almost the same price but their food are all very flavorful and their staff are accommodating. The whole resto is well-maintained, so I don’t really think the price should be an excuse for Cabalen in Trinoma to offer such service. They lost me as a customer, definitely.
Happy new year, Sumi! Too many restos and food to try!! Hehehe. ^_^
I’ve experienced the same thing at Cabalen that is why I’m not going back there. I’ll try Lola Maria’s next time..
Hi! i love reading your blog! can you please write a review for dad’s/kamayan/saisaki? Â — i agree, yakimix is way better than cabalen. 😉
Tried SM MOA and SM Clark, forgettable, but my friend who’s a virgin at buffets enjoyed it at SM Clark.
We had our Easter dinner at Cabalen Trinoma, and i’m sorry to say that it was one of the worst dining experiences we’ve had so far. The place was not packed which is why we cannot imagine why the employees took too long to respond to guests’ requests and inquiries. There really wasn’t much of a variety to choose from among the food offered that night (which was pretty much leftovers) but we didn’t complain. It bothers me so much that we had to call their attention every time there is a need to replenish the food on the buffet table. It’s not like they’re busy entertaining other guests at that time or something. From what I saw when we entered, some of them were just sitting and chatting at a corner of the restaurant. Some of the crew answered immediately when we asked for refills on the buffet table but some, especially the guy whom we were told to be Christopher Sevilla, were very rude. When asked for lechon skin and other lechon parts, he answered in a crude way that the lechon will be taken out later. We’re not making a big deal out of a small thing but we’ve seen better service from other buffet restaurants. I hope this reaches Cabalen’s top management, it seems there is a need to check and remind your staff of their obligations as crew of your restaurant. We pay good money for excellent food and service wherever we go, we expect nothing less from Cabalen Trinoma. Thanks.
Kahapon nagcelebrate ang mother ko ng birthday sa cabalen trinoma binigyan ko sya ng party for celebrate her birthday and also reunion ng aming family dahil sa wala nga Ako at sa akin mga narinig na shock Ako dahil d man lang Ako nakarinig na masarap ang mga pagkain at imbes na tuwa ang Narinig ko sa aking mother ang Narinig ko panghihinayang dahil sayang ang binayad ko dahil sa imbes pagpapasalamat ang natanggap ko narinig ko ay puro daing lang sana d nakayo nag buffet at eat all you can dahil d naman ninyo alam I big sabihin nyan nakakahiya kayo dyan sa cabalen trinoma .buffet sya maraming mapagpipilian putahe at dahil sa halos wala na ngang mapagpilian ayaw pang maglabas ng mga bagong putahe bakit pa kayo nag buffet eat all you can wala na nga ma eat dahil d kayo naalalabas nagpareserve kami sa inyo pero tama ang bayad namin pero d kami nakuntento sa mga serbisyo Ang nakakasama ng loob sa first time ko binigyan nang celebration ang nanay ko expected ko matutuwa sya sa binigay ko pero dahil sa CABALEN TRINOMA napangit ang serbisyo dapat lang kami mag reklamo at Sana kumalat ang mga sinusulat namin para tuluyan na kayong magsara nakakahiya kayo sa serbisyo nyo walang kwenta
I ate at Cabalen’s a year ago and never came back. Lousy food.