Where to eat in Pampanga: Abe's Farm in Magalang

The last time I visited Abe's Farm in Magalang, Pampanga was almost 6 years ago.  No wonder when my friends from Manila were asking me for directions on how to get there, I couldn't remember a thing.  So during our food trip there this weekend, I was also a tourist just like them. Haha...

The reason why I never thought of coming back to Abe's Farm for a long time is because the food there is typical Pampanggo (which I grew up with and still enjoy with my mom's cooking) and its menu is similar to Fely J's in Greenbelt 5 (where I also occasionally go to because I have a set of friends who love Pampanggo food).  The food is really good but distance-wise, it's still about an hour's drive from our house in Pampanga so between Abe's Farm and Fely J's, Fely J's is more geographically-accessible to me when I'm in Makati. 

But I was glad to be back in Abe's Farm because other than the yummy Pampanggo food,  I like the place.   Here are some shots inside the restaurant.  I am guessing the beautiful furniture and woodworks are from the talented craftsmen of Pampanga.

Check out this daybed - super conducive for a power nap after lunch.  Haha...

And here's where all the action happens - the kitchen.

For lunch, here's what we had  -

Paco Salad

Adobong Kangkong

Baby squid in olive oil

Crispy Pata

Pritong pla-pla with buro and mustasa

Buco Juice! My favorite juice.

For dessert, we had "Sikreto ni Maria" (but I forgot to take a photo since we were too excited to dig in.  Haha...).  Sikreto ni Maria is suman with ripe mangoes topped with ice cream made from carabao's milk. Ok, I am just guessing that it's made from carabao's milk since it's super good.  :)

Anyway, while at Abe's Farm, please don't forget to explore the grounds.  There's a swimming pool.

If you want to get a massage, you can also pamper yourself at Abe's Farm.  Prices range from Php400 to Php950 depending on the type of massage and duration.  Please book your massage appointments early on because in our case, by the time we decided we wanted to get a massage after lunch, wait time was already 2 hours. 

Enjoy your massage in huts like this.  You can also rent similar air-conditioned huts if you want to stay overnight at Abe's Farm.

But if you prefer a more exotic stay, you can rent an Ifugao house like this.

Overnight room packages range from Php2,990 (Ifugao house) to Php15,000 (air-conditioned family room rate). 

More touches of Ifugao.

There are also a lot of resting nooks like this gazebo - 

Here's inside the gazebo -

Perfect for siesta! Haha...

Here's another resting hut with chairs that could easily lull you to sleep! So many areas conducive for sleeping, er, relaxing.  :)

But my favorite was the swing at the back of the house. I spent some time on this swing.  The seat was made from plain bamboo.

And it swung from this giant tree! 

 Fun, fun, fun! :)

We also visited the nearby E. Aguilar Cruz Museum - still within the compound and walking distance from the restaurant.  Entrance fee is Php30 per pax. 

The house is is a 1930s house from Magalang, Pampanga, which LJC and an architect friend acquired.  They intended make it the restaurant but unfortunately, upon inspection, only a fraction of the house was usable.  LJC's family, together with the architect friend, eventually completed the project a few years ago in honour of both Abe and LJC.
Here's a sneak peek inside the house. 

An antique hat rack by the main door.

A waiting area by the entrance. The glass windows bring some nostalgic feel to the house.

The kitchen

Check out these treasure troves by the window.

More antique jars. The antique wooden tools and brass jar at the center are used to make tsokolateng batirol.  

Antique wooden horses

        A collection of antique flat irons

It must have been difficult to iron clothes with this because it's just plain weight against fabric.  

This iron allows you to put charcoal. It looks so bulky and heavy though. Ironing must have been an intensive upper body workout then. :)

           An antique landline!

An antique radio

Another antique radio

Abe's painting supplies

 An antique typewriter

 An beautiful wooden work desk

A very inviting day bed.  Haha...

And inside the library, here's what I spotted -

"E mu ku Tagkilan" is Pampanggo for "Noli Me Tangere" by Jose Rizal.  Cool!

 But my favorite among all the museum pieces are these 2 antique GE electric fans!

They are still perfectly functioning. Wow.

Abe's Farm is located in Magalang, Pampanga and it's about 2 hours away from Manila.  For more information, just visit its official website at http://abesfarm.com.ph.