Capampangan- Style Christmas at Kabalen
Capampangan- Style Christmas at Kabalen
By Jennilee Austria
The Pampanga region is known for its culinary talents, and their dishes have often defined Filipino cuisine. And at Bathurst and Wilson, one restaurant is intent on making Capampangan food famous in Toronto: Kabalen.
In Tagalog, Kabalen means “Kababayan,” which is the perfect name for the bustling turo-turo restaurant. Owner Jonald Quinto says, “It’s heartwarming that we’ve had good customers who support us. We are so blessed to serve Filipinos.” He loves seeing the many families visiting his restaurant to gather over Capampangan food.
KABALEN’S KARE-KARE
While Kabalen has been open for only two years, Quinto, 32, has been in the food industry since childhood. When he arrived in Canada at 10 years old, his mother was a caregiver, and his father became a dental office driver, but their passion for Capampangan food led them to open the Pampagueña Bakery on Bathurst and Eglinton. After his classes at Vaughan Road Academy and George Harvey CI, Quinto spent all of his spare time helping his parents.
The training paid off, because today, he manages Kabalen. With its shiny countertops, spotless tables, and chic lighting, he is proud to offer a cozy, inviting space. The focal point of the restaurant is a quote on the wall that reads, “Amana ke iti king indung ibatan,” from the Capampangan song, “Atin Cu Pu Singsing.” For Quinto, this lyric means that everything that he knows was learned from his parents and ancestors.
When Quinto immigrated to Canada at ten years old, he arrived only nine days before Christmas. He missed the family that he had left behind in Lubao and in Angeles City, particularly his beloved Lola Pining, who had given him his first cooking lessons. After moving to Toronto, food became his way to remember her. “Since I was a kid, talagang cooking ang hilig ko,” he says, remembering his hours spent in his lola’s kitchen. Today, he proudly serves his Lola Pining’s prized kare-kare recipe to customers, and recommends it as Kabalen’s favourite Christmas dish.
Kabalen’s Ube Maja de Fruta
Kabalen’s kare-kare features oxtail, tripe, and peanut sauce with baby bok choy, long beans, banana blossoms, and eggplant, with a side of bagoong shrimp paste. The large size serves up to 40 people ($90), the medium serves 25-30 people ($45), and the small serves 10-15 people ($35). This warm, peanut-based dish would be a perfect special order for any gathering. Or, of course, Quinto laughs, people are welcome to buy a single serving, if they’d like to keep his beloved Lola Pining’s kare-kare all to themselves.
For dessert, Quinto recommends the Ube Maja de Fruta. This dish features maja flavoured with powdered ube, macapuno and assorted fruits, and topped with baked coconut. At $28, the party size serves 10-15 people, while the smaller $6 size would feed a group of four.
For Quinto, the strong culinary reputation drives Capampangan chefs to uphold high standards. “Capampangans take food very seriously,” he says. “If an ingredient is missing, that means the plate is not complete, so we won’t serve it. We have a passion for preparing great food, and that gives us our reputation for being great cooks.”
Quinto’s wish to uphold the tradition of great Capampangan chefs is so strong that he even promises, “People should try Capampangan food. If they aren’t satisfied, we will even refund their money. That’s how much we believe that they will like the food at Kabalen.”
With Lola Pining’s kare-kare and the delectable Ube Maja de Fruta, Kabalen has two special dishes to make your Christmas meal perfect, Capampangan-style.
Jonald (owner of Kabalen)
Kabalen Food Counter
(Photos courtesy of Kabalen)
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