Le fang, le kwatsa!: Cyma, Alabang Town Center

Last Saturday, hubby and I spent the whole day in bed (it’s not what you think!!!). We’ve been catching up on sleep and spent most of the afternoon spending quality time in dreamland. I didn’t think it was humanly possible to sleep that long, but we did it. We only woke up for a quick breakfast and a quick lunch. Come dinner time, we couldn’t see straight, ha ha ha. When I counted, we slept for almost 16 hours total.

Hubby and I had a late dinner date at Cyma, in Alabang Town Center. Cyma is one of my favorite restaurants. The first time we had a meal at Cyma's was in Boracay. I am glad that they branched out here in Manila and had set shop in Alabang, just a few minutes drive from where we live. In case you were wondering, no, we don’t live in Ayala Alabang……… yet! ha ha ha

Since we couldn’t see straight from hunger and burned all our energy snoring away, we ordered a LOT of food. The waiters were wondering if we had company coming.

I love the Saganaki, a flaming cheese dish. Saganaki uses a traditional Greek cheese called Kefalograviera. The cheese is placed in a sizzling plate and then flambed. A healthy greeting of “Opa!” from the waiters usually come with every order, but hubby said no “opa” please. The Saganaki was so good, a bit salty but good nonetheless.

For appetizers, we had the Pikilia, Mezedes Combination, a sampling of Tzatziki (greek yoghurt, cucumber and garlic), Melitzanosalata (freshly roasted eggplant, tomatoes, garlic, lemon and olive oil), Hummus (chickpea, tahini and garlic dip) and Taramosalata (a Greek caviar of salted fish roe). I liked the hummus the best. Although, the taramosalata in the middle (the pink one) was nice too. The sampler is served with 16 wedges of whole-wheat pita bread.

We also ordered a new entry in the salad menu, the Tonnos Salata, coriander crusted seared ahi tuna with mixed greens, feta cheese, onions, roasted bell peppers, green beans and a few other things. I particularly didn’t like this one. The tuna was too big and a bit overwhelming. Bite-sized sushi-grade tuna would have made it more appetizing. The herb dressing also didn’t compliment the tuna and was a bit malansa (fishy) instead of fresh-tasting, like sushi on a salad. The Salad itself was nice and tangy, the serving huge. Despite the nice greens, I don’t recommend this salad at all. The Caesar’s Salad or the Greek Salad is a much better choice.

Hubby ordered a Gyro of pork and beef, with tomatoes, tzatsiki and vegetables wrapped in whole-wheat pita bread. I remember they used to wrap this using a thin white pita bread, which is much more appetizing and not too heavy. Hubby finished only half of this (surprise, surprise). The filling was still good though. Ladies, if you are on a date, this may not be the daintiest thing on the menu.

I ordered the Roka Pasta, sauteed arugula and spaghetti with olive oil, pine nuts, grated parmesan cheese and fresh tomatoes. I wasn’t able to eat this at all since I was too stuffed and didn’t have the space in my tummy. I ended up eating it the following day. It was good too and could be easily duplicated at home.

For dessert, we had the dessert sampler called a Glyka Sampler, which has the Greek yoghurt called Yia Ourti Me Meli with mountain honey and pistachio nuts, I liked this, but hubby said it was too sour and not fit for dessert (when it was served like an ice cream when we dined in Cyma previously, he was singing a different tune, he he he). The dessert sampler also comes with Galakto Boureko, creamy semolina custard in phyllo pastry with orange and lemon zest syrup, much like a Brazo de Mercedes but lighter, less sweet and zestier. Hubby and I liked this dessert. Next, they had the Ryzo Galo, traditional creamy rice pudding with a sprinkling of cinnamon. This is my second favorite of the four. My favorite of course is the Baklava, layered phyllo with walnuts and orange heavy syrup. Cyma Alabang’s version is much thicker than what we usually order in Boracay but it was equally nice, but less makunat.