Cyma Greek Taverna

6/F, The Ledge
Edsa Shangri-La Mall

In our past dates, Abet and I have experienced the cuisine of Italy, Spain, Mexico , Thailand, and Persia. We have tried the yummy fare of Singapore when we were there last December, where we also tried authentic Indian food in Little India. For some reason though, we got stuck in a gustatory rut this 2009. Dinner dates were usually at Sbarro, Mexicali or good old Jollibee. We were getting boring! It was high time to let our palates take us somewhere exotic: Greece! Cyma is probably the most popular Greek restaurant in the metro (even my dad loves the food there), so off to Cyma we went.

For starters, we got the Saganaki or Flaming Cheese (P200), Cyma's flagship dish:

This dish is served quite dramatically: just before setting the dish on the table, the waiter pours alcohol onto the cheese and sets it on fire, while the crew cries a jolly "Opa!" in unison. Our cheese was just freshly flambéed in the picture above, I wasn't quick enough to take a photograph while the plate was on fire. We got the Cyma Style Saganaki which was made up of mozarella and parmesan. The other option was the authentic Greek kefalograviera cheese made from lamb's milk, which the waiter claimed was more flammable. I'm not too happy about the thought of lamb being milked, so I passed. The mozzarella+parmesan was yummy enough, especially with the grilled bread:

Abet had the Moussaka (P250), which is supposedly Greece's national dish:

Those Greeks sure know how to eat! The moussaka was comprised of a layer of ground pork and beef topped with Japanese eggplant (how it's different from our local eggplant, I don't know) topped with a nice thick layer of bechamel, all drowning in extra-virgin olive oil. It was very rich, which complemented the vinegar dressing of my dish perfectly:

I'm a salad person, and I can say, hands-down, that this Roka Salata (P330) was the best salad I ever had. The combination of romaine lettuce, arugula, sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan, and candied walnuts plus their special Greek vinaigrette was a winner in my book. Oh, that vinaigrette! I'm already craving for this salad as I type.

We ordered chicken gyros as well (P160 + 100 for roasted potatoes):

Both the gyros and the potatoes were bursting with flavor, the gyros from the tzatziki (yoghurt) sauce, and the potatoes from the oil and spices they were roasted in. Abet and I were fighting over this, I kid you not. Actually, Abet and I were practically not speaking to each other during our meal. We usually can't stop talking to each other about anything and everything during our weekend dates--that's the only time we see each other, after all--but when we're enjoying a really good meal, aba, galit-galit muna!

Regrettably, we were too full for glyka or dessert, a rarity for me. Even their iced tea was so good that we had refills upon refills, leaving us with no space in our tummies. Next time, I'll just have that super yummy roka salata so I can have me some baklava.

Thanks for dinner, love!

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This was dessert, Yoh-Gurt Froz from Hobbes and Landes. Abet is seriously addicted to frozen yoghurt now. We would have preferred Red Mango or White Hat, but there's neither in Shangri-La. I personally don't mind that he's eating too much of the stuff--at least it's 98% fat-free.

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My dad sprung for these kick-ass sandals earlier today! I have no idea where I'll wear them, but I just lovelovelove these babies (and my dad for coughing up the dough). They're fierce yet comfy. I think I'll wear them to sleep!