Spread Some Awesome

Budget : ~Php200-400 per dish

Duration : ~1-2 hours

Bummers : none

The Cafe Mediterranean

The Cafe Mediterranean

The Cafe Mediterranean, or Cafe Med as it is called by its patrons, is a restaurant that offers a combination of Greek, Italian, Spanish, French, Middle Eastern, and North African cuisines. These are what usually make up a Mediterranean food fare. Aside from boasting a colorful genre of cuisines, the food at Cafe Med are said to be filling, perfect for the palate, and ideal for the health conscious. This is probably because many dishes are made from veggies.

Me and my bro brought Jacob (a Yaris) to its regular maintenance service at Toyota Manila Bay and knowing that it will take quite a while, we decided to dine at SM Mall of Asia. I chose to eat at Cafe Med because I was curious about Mediterranean food.

Vince at Cafe Med

The interior of Cafe Med looked posh with a touch of hominess. I guess this is how Mediterranean looks like. All I know is when I think of the word Mediterranean, I think of the color blue, Santorini, and pita bread.

Inside Cafe Med

Inside Cafe Med

We started our meal with Hummus (Php 115 for regular pita/Php 125 for wheat pita). Hummus is paste-like spread made from ground chickpeas and sesame seeds, olive oil, lemon, and garlic. It is a well-known dip in the Middle East.

Hummus

Spreading the Hummus

Hummus is usually eaten by dipping the bread on it. Or you can also spread the hummus on the pita bread. Hummus is also used in other dishes as a dip or topping for many vegetable dishes.

Hummus on Pita Bread

There are two seasonings provided to you when dining at Cafe Med – a chili sauce and a garlic sauce. I love both sauces. The chili sauce has a strong zing but just right for my palate. The garlic sauce is creamy, which creates a balance when used with the chili sauce.

Chili and Garlic Sauces

Then, we warmed our tummies with Cafe Med’s Ratatouille (Php 195). If you have seen the animated film of the same name, you probably know how to pronounce ratatouille correctly and it is “ratəˈto͞o-ē”. According to the film, this is popular peasant dish in France. It is a vegetable stew made with eggplant, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, zucchini, and a variety of seasonings. It is cooked with olive oil.

Ratatouille

If you are not into eggplants or other veggies, you might not enjoy this dish. This is a pure vegetable dish. But I liked it. I liked the balanced taste of the sauce, not too sour. It’s just a bit oily but overall it’s a great dish for me.

Eggplant on the Ratatouille

I had the Grilled Fish Kebabs (Php 265). It is normally served with pita but since I am a rice person, I asked to get it changed to buttered rice for additional Php 15. I thought kebabs were served on stick but my grilled fish kebabs was more like grilled fish fillet without sticks. But that’s great, I don’t eat the sticks anyway. It was served with a salsa-like side dish. The side dish was sour, as if green mango was used.

Grilled Fish Kebabs with Buttered Rice

My brother had the Grilled Beef (Php 345) and like my grilled fish, it was usually served with pita. In exchange for the pita, he got the Moroccan rice pilaf for an extra Php 35. It was also served with that sour salsa-like side dish.

Grilled Beef with Moroccan Rice Pilaf

Mediterranean food fare is a perfect hit for my palate. I would definitely go back and try other dishes like the baba ghanoush (smoked eggplant and tahini dip), tzatziki (cucumber, yogurt, and garlic dip), falafel (crunchy chickpea croquettes), and kofta (marinated and grilled ground beef and lamb). See you again Cafe Med!

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Tags: hummus, kebabs, Mediterranean food, pilaf, pita, ratatouille