Tag: tzatziki

Mediterranean cuisine is said to be identified with a trinity of basic ingredients: olive, wheat and grape, yielding oil, bread and wine respectively.

Two of these key ingredients came into play during a lunch with my family at The Cafe Mediterranean while we were on our way to a movie screening at the Powerplant Mall. (I was with my hubby and kids so wine was not ordered, hehehe!)

The Cafe Meditteranean prides itself on bringing the “flavors of the sun.” True enough, biting into its tasty offerings brings to mind images of sun-drenched vineyards against a wide azure Mediterranean sky.

Even the restaurant’s premises evoke a similar vibe through the use of brightly colored or strikingly patterned artwork and design accents against whitewashed walls.

For our appetizers, we ordered:

Hummus with Grilled Vegetables (Php300). The classic chick pea and sesame dip from the Middle East accompanied by grilled vegetables. I love scooping it up with a folded piece of pita bread together with a grilled onion or tomato.

Moutabal (Php165). A grilled eggplant and tahini dip, also great with wheat pita bread.

For lunch, Hubby and the kids went for an order each of Grilled Beef Kebab (Php535). Small cubes of grilled beef served with Tabouleh and Labneh (the Lebanese version of cream cheese), together with buttered Basmati rice.

As for me, my choice for lunch was a Grilled Beef Gyro Plate (Php450). Tender slices of well-seasoned grilled beef accompanied by Moutabal, Tzatziki (a creamy combination of cucumber, yoghurt and garlic), Tabouleh (cracked wheat, tomatoes and parsley) and pickled chillies. I loved how the smokey flavors of the beef and eggplant dip were complemented by the cucumber dip and other elements of the dish. Together with buttered Basmati rice, this made for a flavorful and filling meal.

With these combinations of tastes and textures from different Mediterranean cuisines, dining at The Cafe Mediterranean seemed like we went on a gastronomic tour.

Too bad we didn’t have time (or room!) for dessert. I would have loved getting myself some Baklava.

Oh, since both Hubby and I are Zomato Gold members, we each got a 1+1 deal on food which basically rendered one of the beef kebabs and my grilled beef gyro plate as free! What a sweet deal, right?

This Cafe Mediterranean branch is located at Lower Ground Floor, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell, Makati City. For inquiries and reservations, call +63 2 8981301 or +63 2 7565010.

Other branches may be found at:

• Basement 1, Estancia Mall, Capitol Commons, Oranbo, Pasig City
• Fifth Floor, The Podium, ADB Avenue, Ortigas, Mandaluyong City
• Third Floor, One Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
• Level 1, Greenbelt 1, Ayala Center, Greenbelt, Makati City
• Ground Floor, Entertainment Mall, SM Mall of Asia, Mall of Asia Complex (MOA), Pasay City
• Second Floor, Alabang Town Center, Alabang, Muntinlupa City

Want to score a similar discount? Zomato Gold provides members with 1+1 deals on food or 2+2 deals on drinks. All you have to do is sign up for a Zomato Gold membership here as soon as slots open. (They tend to get snatched up pretty quickly so be sure to sign up as soon as slots become available.) Use my code JELLYB to get 20% off the membership fee.