My daughter is exhibiting a new attitude these days. After her therapy, we usually go straight home. This has been our routine for more than a year now and in rare cases, we would eat out or I would do my grocery with her. But for two weeks now, she cries whenever we go straight home. She would say only three words. GROCERY, SM or TRINOMA. Which means she wants to go to any one of these places. And I’m left with no choice.

So we tried out another restaurant in Trinoma. The place was CYMA. It’s a nice enough Greek restaurant. Homey, no frills, well-lit with open kitchen that contributes to the already warm temperature of summer. I think it targets families more than sweety-sweety couples because of the lay-out of the restaurant and the big tables, comfortable chairs. Service is just ok and and the restaurant is fully-staffed–from someone greeting you at the door and taking you to your table, a different person to take orders, another one to serve the food and refill your drinks to yet another staff to hand you your bill.

We ordered Saganaki Mozzarella for appetizer. I wanted to order the other version which was with goat cheese but the waiter suggested mozzarella because the kid might not like the goat cheese. It’s just sizzling mozzarella cheese served on a hot plate with garlic bread. It was reminiscent of what I do with leftover Quezo De bola during Christmas season. I slice it thinly and put in the microwave oven for a few seconds or until it bubbles. The saltiness of the cheese is not so strong anymore and chewy and rubbery texture is just like mozzarella.

For our main entrée, I had Kotopoulo Lemonato (grilled chicken with lemon, oregano, olive oil). It’s the Greek version of our adobo. But without the soy sauce. The chicken was tender and the sauce was a bit sweet and lemony. I kinda enjoyed its straightforward home-style cooking. I might do a similar version of this at home. It was served with potatoes instead of rice so I ordered Yemistes, stuffed bell peppers filled with rice, raisins and pine nuts. The Yemistes was delicious. My kid who is a picky eater loved this even though she hates bell pepper and spits her food whenever I try to feed her this at home.

My son ordered Fillet Mignon. He’s not adventurous when it comes to food. He orders what he knows and eats what is familiar. He tends to shy away from food that has too much cheese and pungent herbs. I didn’t taste his dish anymore because I am trying to avoid beef and pork ever since I started my detox more than a week ago. But I’m pretty sure it tasted just like any other piece of grilled steak. But this one comes with a slice of cheese. What kind, I don’t know. I forgot to ask. I originally wanted to order dessert but since we were too full to even take another bite, we refrained from ordering. I would have tried their Baklava.

The menu is full of interesting dishes– from appetizers, salads, soups, main entrées of beef, chicken, lamb, fish and seafoods to a myriad of desserts. But they forgot to mention that almost every dish in the menu comes with several slices of potatoes. I wouldn’t even be surprised if one day, they serve iced tea with potatoes. I’m not a potato person especially when there is rice available. I only get to finish my potatoes if it resembles anything close to McDonald’s french fries and Wendy’s Baked Potato. I kinda feel bad not finishing my plate and seeing all those sad, oil-drenched potatoes. I would have told the waiter to serve my entrée devoid of the vegetable. Well, next time hold the potatoes please. ButI would definitely go back if only to try their salads and moussaka and to hear the kitchen and wait staff shout “Opa!” when your orders are brought to your table.

“Opa!”