Skip to main content

One Terra-fic night of Mediterranean specialties

For a restaurant serving a cuisine as “very foreign” as Greek, surviving for a year is already a good sign of acceptance to the discriminating Ilonggos. Serving simple kebabs, walnut Roca and moussaka among others, Terra Mediterranean Cuisine opened its doors at The Avenue, a year ago. And to celebrate its anniversary, a total of 26 new dishes are being introduced adding a new dimension to the restaurant’s already vast menu of Greek-inspired specialties.
Together with some members of the print and broadcast media, I took part in the food tasting session organized by Chef Miner del Mundo held last Wednesday, April 27, 2011. It was a taste of what’s to come as well as enjoying their best sellers.


Up first was, no, this isn’t piaya, but a Greek Tortilla. Grilled thin pita bread filled with tomatoes, mozzarella and seasoned with Greek Spices. It might as well pass as a simple pizza since the filling was rich and savoury, and yes appetizing – I lost count how many I got …

Came next was a sort of ”dips” collection or was it? It was Mezethes (plural for meze) and explained as dishes, hot or cold, spicy or savory, often salty, that is served, alone or with other mezethes, as a separate eating experience. The purpose of the meze is complement and enhance the taste of the drink (for the red wine we had). It came with plain pita and I enjoyed experimenting on it and ended up placing a spoonful of each in the pita bread and devoured.
Then came a fiery order. Nope it didn’t come with a fire dance (but there was one outside) but the Saganaki Cheese order involved fire and really got everybody’s attention in the restaurant that time. Aside from the shouts of from the food servers announcing the special order, a sudden big burst of flame in a subdued ambiance would certainly grabbed everybody's attention and aroused curiosity for such order. Saganaki is the name of a single serve frying pan that is also used also as the serving dish. After being fried, the saganaki cheese is flambéed at the table (typically with a shout of "opa!"), and the flames then extinguished with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. This is called "flaming saganaki" (from WikiPedia)
Something cold was next and it was a refreshing one – Watermelon and Feta Salad. A mesclun salad with mint and (almost) chilled slices of watermelon sprinkled with feta cheese and “dressed” in red wine vinaigrette. It lightened up the (heavy) appetizers galore with its invigorating mix; aside from the fact, the watermelon was already good on its own.
Then came two Italian specialties heavy with Greek infusion – Grilled Chicken Pizza and Baked Spirali. Made with classic pita bread with Greek tomato sauce, parmesan and mozzarella - it was a delight to enjoy big chunks of meat (chicken in this case) on a pizza when usually it’s just thin slices of it.
The spirals pasta has a savoury meat sauce, herbed béchamel sauce and mozzarella all making a subdued combination of flavours - all complementing none overwhelming.

A Greek Gyros sample made its way to our table. Its very much like a shawarma but it was served on a stick looking more like a barbecue. It was so enticing and tasted good (didn’t use the spicy yoghurt ) that I forgot to take a snapshot of it –lol.

An out-of-the-food-tasting-menu item – Fish Picatta, lengthened the session but it was well worth it. Made with perfectly fried dream dory - still having a crunch despite being having tzatsiki (a sauce/dip made of strained yoghurt (usually from sheep or goat milk) mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, usually olive oil, pepper, dill, sometimes lemon juice and parsley, and sometimes mint added) and a bell pepper smear. The lemon added zest to balance the flavours.

Making the finale were desserts and usually it’s among my most awaited part of these kinds of sessions – lol. First was Molten Chocolate Cake – I’ve tasted almost the same but went with the name Molten Lava. Served ala mode (that is with ice cream), the rich chocolate cake was soft, creamy and easily melts in the mouth that I kept on refilling my spoon. But it was the Mango Crepes that I had most. Fresh and sweet mangoes mixed with almond crème then wrapped and topped with vanilla ice cream then smothered with butterscotch sauce. What more can you ask for but another round please!
It was indeed terrific or should I say Terra-fic as the first modern Greek restaurant in Iloilo City showed its constant quest to bring exciting and new dishes that surely captured our senses. And strives more to give Ilonggos a gastronomic journey through the bounty of the sea infusing age-old Mediterranean classic recipes.

Terra Mediterranean Cuisine creates a culture of eating healthy cuisine that is both sustainable and organic!

Terra Mediterranean Cuisine is located at The Avenue Complex along Glicerio Pison Avenue in Brgy San Rafael, Mandurriao, Iloilo City. For reservations and inquiries, contact (033) 508-8878.

--------------

Watch Chef Miner prepare the Watermelon and Feta salad

Popular posts from this blog

An Ilonggo favorite - Valenciana

Found in almost all occasions like fiesta, birthdays, reunions and others, Ilonggos really love valenciana because most if not all have grown accustomed of having it in special gatherings at home.  A complete " go, grow and glow " dish because it has the carbohydrates, protein and vitamins and minerals in just one spoonful, Valenciana is really an " occasional dish ".  Here's the recipe for Valenciana

Ultimate Ilonggo Favorite: KBL Kadyos, Baboy, Langka

K.B.L. or Kadyos, Baboy, Langka is the ultimate favorite dish of most Ilonggos. It is also one of the most missed native dishes as kadyos and the souring ingredient, batwan , are hard to find when outside of the Ilonggo region.  Basically, it is boiled/stewed pork dish owing its "deliciousness" to the combination of the soft and tender pork, the tamed sourness of  batwan  and the  malinamnam na sabaw .  One of the "secrets" of the malinamnamn na sabaw , is the fact that the pork, whether just the plain meat or pata (hocks) are first grilled or broiled. This gives the broth a rather smoky taste that makes it more appetizing.. Learn how to make the Ilonggo dish KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, at Langka) with the recipe below. Ingredients 1 kilo Pata (pork hocks) or pork cubes, GRILLED and sliced into bite size pieces  1 unripe Jack fruit, cubed 2 cups pigeon pea (kadyos) 6-8 pieces batwan fruit  (or tamarind powder) 1 piece por...

Easy Century Tuna Recipes

If you're looking for simple, easy  and delicious Century Tuna recipes online, congratulations, you've found it right here! How about spicy tuna sisig or tuna sinigang ? Maybe stir fried tuna with pickles or just yang chow fried rice .  I love Century Tuna from its flakes in oil variety, the spicier the better, but when I discovered the versatility of its solid variant, it became an obsession. At first I was just into the usual tested recipes; pasta and sandwich filling, but then it got simpler – I just eat it straight from the can! Usually with a piece of bread or an apple. I just add a few drops of vinegar to spice it up a bit. Then came the experiments. Yup I got tired of that habit that one day, I decided to test my skills in the kitchen. Serendipity, you might call it yet most of them turned into good recipes that I have shared now and then. Satisfying my Palabok cravings had me experiment on this recipe on the spot. With Century Tuna in lieu of the us...

Flavours of Iloilo 2012 Highlights: Lovin' February gastronomy

So how to start a month the month of Love in terms of gastronomy? I didn't have to try hard as they come on their own terms.After the revelry of Dinagyang, the next big celebrations in Iloilo are the Chinese new Year, Jaro Candelaria Feast and Paraw Regatta. And it was on the mid celebrations (Jaro Fiesta) that February gastronomy marked its start.  I went to two fiestas during Candelaria - the rainforest inspired set up at the Jamerlan residence and one at Afrique's Jaro, where the restaurant business all began. But in between I just got a call informing me of a photoshoot happening at Days Hotel Iloilo and when I got there it was cakes, cakes and cakes all over. Tinapayan was readying for Valentine and the Heart Cakes were at the center of it all. The next day I was out to lunch at the Central Market and got to discover the old way of having Coffee on the Go at De Leonian Cafe . The month also brought in more discovery as for the first time I got to taste a hambu...

Oyster Cake and more new items at Tarzan Magic La Mien Noodle House

Now there's more reason to go back at my favorite noodle house in town! Tarzan Magic La Mien Noodle noodle along JM Basa street may just look like your ordinary Calle Real eatery serving turo-turo and Chinese specialties but once you've tried what's on their menu, you'd surely be back, again and again. A few days ago, I found myself enjoying their latest dish, Oyster Cake. Our order took long that we thought it was forgotten but when the plate of the oyster cake came to the table, we knew then why. It was cooked with a labour of love, the oyster meat was seasoned with delectable spices (the kusay being the most evident) then sauteed and made omelet style then smothered with, at first I thought just plain catsup, but it was a Chinese dressing/sauce which really complemented the oyster specialty. It was one good and savoury find that day. And they also have new noodle varieties and I think I hit the jackpot with my order - Spare Ribs La Mien. The taste of the s...