The Greek Experience

Last Thursday, me and my friends decided to go Greek because of the Baklavas. What is Baklava? Some of you might ask. For those of you who don't know, it is a traditional Greek dessert that contains walnuts and pistachios in between layers of phyllo dough and honey. Origins of this dessert are from the Middle East and the Greeks loved it so much that they have taken it as their own. We have two options on which Greek restaurant to try : Café Mediterranean and Cyma. Cafe med is cheaper compared to the other but since Cyma got more positive reviews on Baklava, we decided to go there. At first, we were only planning to try the Baklava and nothing more but since I was dying to try Greek cuisine for some time now, I convinced my two friends to have dinner there. For what I found out, Greek people love to eat and they usually provide big servings of anything. Since this will be a first for all of us, we've planned ahead. Good thing there are websites online that offers menu options (such as www.munchpunch.com). Greek dishes are usually creamy and includes yogurt.

We got there around 7 PM and the place was already packed (on a Thursday, that is a good sign that the place is good). We were greeted by the waiters and one of them was already shouting "OPA"! We created a list on what we will be ordering but somehow my friend cannot find it in her purse. Here are the things that we ordered :

1. Hummous - a velvety chickpea, Tahini,and garlic dip, categorized as Mezedes, translated as appetizer but to me its something that you eat before the appetizers.

 

2. Tonnos Salata - is seared Ahi tuna with mixed greens, feta cheese, baked onions, Gavros, roasted bell peppers, black olives. marinated potatoes, green beans and boiled eggs.Served with Cyma's Summer Herb vinaigrette.The vinaigrette is to die for and definitely one of the best salad I've ever tasted!  Reminds me of Ana's cooking.

3. Yiouvetsi - (Baked lamb with orzo (rice shaped pasta) served with grated Parmesan, parsley and EVOO(extra virgin olive oil)). Tastes like a traditional spaghetti but this one contains lamb and the pasta they used is rice shaped.

 

4. Moussaka (Greece's National Dish) - is layered seasoned ground pork and beef, toasted Japanese eggplant and Greek Bachamel sauce. Its like lasagna but much much better. Definitely a must try for first timers!

 

5. Glyka Sampler - combination of Yiaourti Me Meli (Greek yogurt with mountain honey and Pistachios), Galaktoboureko (Creamy semolina custard in phyllo with orange and lemon zest syrup), Baklava (Layered phyllo with walnuts and orange honey syrup) and Ryzogalo (Traditional creamy rice pudding dusted with cocoa powder).

 6. Pasta Rigota Chicken Acropolis - this one is suggested by the kind waitress Glenda. As per our server, its a new pasta dish and its not included in the menu list yet. It has chicken in creamy white sauce and taste like carbonara but again definitely much much better!

The Verdict

Obviously, this is one of my best dining experience ever! Some of the dishes might be overwhelming so make sure you order a combination that will compliment each other. The ambiance is nice as well as the service, quite pricey but if you're a big group its definitely worth a try. Great bonding experience for friends who loves to eat. If you are not sure on what to order, don't be shy to ask the waiters for suggestions. :-)