If you ever find yourself wandering in Baguio, don’t forget to include the BenCab Museum in your itinerary. Aside from a huge collection of beautiful artworks, visitors can also take a leisurely stroll in the garden and farm nearby. The museum also invites its guests to dine and unwind at Cafe Sabel, a quaint café at the ground floor of the museum. It was named after a (if my research is correct) beggar who inspired the talented Ben Cabrera and later became his muse.
This tiny café offers a variety of salads, pastas and rice meals at reasonable prices. The greens come from the Ben Cab farm so it is guaranteed fresh! Items on the menu are prepared in small quantities though so don’t be surprised if the servers tell you that some meals are no longer available for the day.
And now, the food!
If you like to eat on the safe side, you can order Cafe Sabel’s Adobo Rice. True to every Filipino’s favorite adobo, the pork is perfectly cooked in a salty and sour sauce. It is paired with brown rice with salted egg and kamote fries on the side. My Dad, Mom and Jao ordered this and they seemed to enjoy every bite!
Jaybee ordered their Chicken Cacciatore. The name sounds fancy but it is really just deep-fried Chicken fillet with salsa, cheese and herbs. It is also served with atchara and rice. According to my good friend Wikipedia, cacciatore is Italian for “hunter.” Alla cacciatora therefore means a meal prepared “hunter style” with tomatoes, onions, herbs and sometimes wine.
I wanted to try the Cacciatore too but the chicken strips were only good for one order so I got the Cream of Mountain Rice instead. Before you judge, this meal isn’t really as fattening as it sounds (or looks). Okay, maybe it is. But you’ll forget all about calorie count once you dig into this rice cooked in a rich creamy sauce topped with fried pork and mushrooms. It is quite filling but because the sauce is too rich, the overall taste of the meal may be cloying. I enjoyed the cream of mountain rice but I wasn’t able to finish it so I gave about 1/3 to Jao.
The Frosted Honeydew isn’t something I’m used to seeing on menus so I decided to give it a try. It was very refreshing but I was expecting it to be served in a tall glass. Masyadong konti for 100 pesos!
Overall, it was a good dining experience. We loved the ambiance and the view (overlooking the garden and the farm). If I find myself back in the museum again, I will definitely come back for the pasta and the desserts!
Cafe Sabel is open daily except Mondays, Christmas and New Year’s Day from 9am to 6pm.
It is located at the ground floor of the BenCab Museum, Km. 6 Asin Road, Tadiangan, Tuba, Benguet Philippines.
Logique du Coeur 
Mikee! I really like reading your travel/foodie articles. Mag-sideline ka na :P
WHAT? Feeling foodie nga lang ako eh. Paulit-ulit lang yung adjectives ko. Haha. But thank you, I’m working on writing better (feeling) foodie and travel blogs. >:D<
Paano malike ‘to? Hehe
There’s a like button below the post! But I’m not sure if non-wordpress users can like it :))