The Greek Experience

I had always wanted to try Mediterranean food, most especially Greek food, since it's always been described in my favorite romance pocket books.  My sister warned me that it might not really suit my taste, but I was quite insistent so off we went to the nearest place where we could get Greek cuisine: Cyma at Trinoma

The Bottomless Lemonade

 Caesar Salad

We just had a salad, and just to be on the safer side, we chose a simple Caesar salad.  It was good enough to share for the two of us, although it was stated that it was a solo serving.  It was good.  What really drew me was the taste of the vegetables, since they were all so crisp and very fresh.  I was thinking whether they were organic or not, but I never got to ask.  As for the sauce?  It was the typical dressing, maybe a bit lighter than what I usually have.  

 Flaming Cheese

This was our appetizer, and before it was served the cheese was indeed put on fire as all the waiters cried "Oppa!".  It was great!  The cheese I think was a mix of parmesan, mozarella and probably cheddar which was cooked in olive oil.  It complemented the grilled garlic bread just fine. 

 

Baked Macaroni in Greek Style

Lastly, we had baked macaroni.  I know it's not a Greek dish, but I just wanted a taste of how Greek prepared their food essentially and due to my sister's misgivings about what she tasted before we settled for this.  How should I describe it?  It was good, but the beef tasted a bit off to me.  I guess it was due to the herbs which were part of the dish.  Also, I had a hard time finishing my part.  We took a "to share" size of serving and we got more than we bargained for.  I got a bit tired of the taste as I tried to finish it.  It was a bit overpowering for me.

 Chili Oil

Overall Summary:

I quite enjoyed my appetizer as well as my salad, but I have to admit the main dish disappointed me a bit.  It was a good thing the chili oil was there as the spice went well with the flavor, but I still was unable to finish my meal.  If I had had the macaroni in a smaller serving I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more than I did.

That aside, I can not really say that this is a good review.  As I said, I did not really eat authentic Greek cuisine, just food which was prepared in Greek style, I am in no position to say whether the food is good or bad.  So here is just my take on what I ordered, and sadly I think the taste may not suit me.  But I still have hope, maybe on my next visit it will be better.

(All of the food had their Greek name counterparts, but for simpler understanding I just wrote the usual names)

Isaw! (Barbequed Innards)

Yum! I know other people may think it's carcinogenic, dirty and a whole lot of other things, but for me good food is good food and I like these!  The 4 pieces below are chicken intestines while the 3 above are pork intestines.  They are cooked by a neighbor of ours so I'm quite certain of their cleanliness (I've never suffered from diarrhea after eating this!)

Underneath the barbeque is the sauce in which I dip the barbeque in, which is composed of vinegar, onions and some chili peppers.  It's a bit hot, but it's also good and it matches the barbequed innards well.  Perfect match with alcohol, don't you think? :)

Fancy Cakes and Crepes

I didn't actually expect to eat here since I just stopped by to pick up my Battalia Royale ticket.  However, when I went inside, the display of cakes were so tempting that I knew I had to get something from there.  Since my companions and I were still planning on going somewhere after this, we just got 2 crepes.  Here's what we got:

Banananutella
As in the name, this crepe was composed of bananas and nutella.  It was sweet and good!  I totally loved the crepe and the ice cream.  Well, I am a sucker for sweet things, but I really prefer crepes on plate rather than eating it like an ice cream cone.  However, if I was to be really fair and impartial, I would say that it's really quite a typical crepe.  I still love it though :)

Sun-zette
My friend who ordered it described it as having a mature taste.  Why?  It's probably because this crepe has rum in it.  It's a crepe with oranges and flamed rum (flambe in French).  When I initially tasted it, I found it not so sweet, and the flavor of rum was still quite powerful.  However, when mixed with the orange sauce thoroughly, it tasted a lot finer, and the orange acidity was neutralized.  How should I describe it?  It's unique.  I'm not saying it's not delicious but as I always say, it's probably an acquired taste.  As I said earlier, I found it not so good at the start but in the end, I swapped plates with my friend since I liked the taste already.  If you're looking for an adventure, I would recommend this to you rather than the first crepe.

What I found sweet in this place is that they personalize your crepes.  See the names?  I think this kind of thing would go over very well to people celebrating something, lovers especially.  They told us instead of names you could ask to place messages instead.

As for the price, the crepes range from 100ish to almost 200, depending on the flavor.  It's a good buy when you consider the taste :)

Must go back for those cakes!!!!


Fancy Cakes and Crepes
Matalino St, Quezon City

Burget Project at Maginhawa

Ever wanted to create your own burger?  I just did it this afternoon! Me, my sister and a good friend of ours went down to Maginhawa street at Diliman to try out the Burger project.  Here was my creation:

Okay, my choices were Angus beef, onions, mozzarella cheese, sesame seed bun, mushrooms, bacon, onions, lettuce, tomatoes and their special sauce.  I also ordered some fries for sides.  The verdict?  It was a gastronomic success.  I regret ordering the fries since I wasn't able to eat it anymore because I was already so full!  I had a hard time eating the burger because of the size, but I was able to manage somehow.  As for the taste?  It was quite good, but I didn't really like their sauce that much.  I guess it didn't fit too well with the ingredients I chose. 

Price-wise, depending on what you order you could actually reach up to 500 for a burger.  Cheapest would be a hundred or so I think.  Still, I think it's worth the visit, if only for the fact that you can try out a lot of things. I nearly forgot, you can even name your creation!  I didn't name mine,  but I guess I would call it trial #1.

I need to go back their for their other burgers, and by that I mean their own creations.  Some seemed appetizing to me, and I sure would like to taste them :) 

Here's my sister and my friend's creations, as well as the pic of the fries.

Well, I hope that whetted your appetite enough to encourage you to give the place a visit.  :)

For their Facebook page, here's the link:
http://www.facebook.com/brgr.burgerproject

It's Pocky!

Another of my favorite snacks!  As I said in an earlier post, I usually just buy this in anime conventions I attend, but as I said, I still love it :) 

As seen in this pic, there are four flavors included in this box: Chocolate, Strawberry, Banana and Milk.  I enjoy all of these flavors equally, although by preference I like the strawberry best.  They're sweet, and I don't get tired of eating them.  I can continuously eat a whole box!

 In any case, if you ever get to try them, I know you won't regret it :)

Thornton's Chocolate: Milk, White and Dark Continental

Now who's mouth wouldn't water wouldn't water with this?

I've always been a chocolate lover, and I have to say it was quite a fun experience trying out the different flavors of Thornton's chocolate.  This was a box of continental flavors, containing dark, white and milk chocolate.  If you are not a risk taker and you would prefer to only try out things you're sure you would enjoy, see that small notebook at the corner?  That contains descriptions of the chocolates included, so you can safely be sure that you're eating what you want (I guess this is important especially for people who have allergies, since you have to avoid food that can trigger it). 

So how does it taste? That's something you should find out for yourself. :)

Enjoying Hong Kong Food in Manila

You need not to go far to experience the tastes of Hong Kong, you just have to visit the nearest David's Tea House within your area to explore Chinese food in Hong Kong fashion.

For my initial visit, I and my friend sank our teeth on a yummy treat of hot steaming bowl of noodles and a basket of assorted dumplings. The verdict: a sure way to fi ll hungry stomachs with all of China's unique flavors.

Beef Brisket Noodles for PhP180.00

We each had a bowl of noodles, mine was Beef Brisket Noodles while hers was Beef Wanton Noodles. I must say, that true to its name, my bowl contains big chunks of beef and bok choy (Chinese cabbage). Even the soup is beefy in taste. My friend's bowl has wantons with real bits of shrimp in it.

Assorted Dumpling Basket PhP 2++

Aside from the steaming hot noodles, we also ordered a basket of assorted dumplings. The dumpling treat consists of 2 pcs of each variety: sharksfin, wanton, beef balls, four-season scallop dumpling, kuchay dumpling (consists of kuchay leaves, sotanghon, ground beef and shrimp) and lumpia (which my friend touts as "Hallelumpia" because it was crispy fried but with a melt-in-your-mouth meat filling that was perfectly complimented with a spicy vinegar dip)

Cuapao with Condensed Milk Dip PhP 70.00

What took me by surprise was when my cuapao (this is just your siopao bread) order came. Unlike in other Chinese restaurants that serves cuapao alongside Pata Tim or Peking Duck, David's cuapao was served with condensed milk.

Overall, the experience was not only fun and filling but I could say that it offers great value for your money.

Later!