Craving for gyros?

Gyro or gyros is a sandwich made of lamb, beef or chicken, onions, tomatoes, garlic-yogurt sauce (tzatziki), dill pickles and even french fries, wrapped or rolled in pita bread, also known locally as shawarma.  Gyro is a Greek dish of meat roasted on a vertical pit.  

A little kwento...  Working and living in the Middle East was a "culture shock" . I only have two pleasant memories of the Kingdom in the middle of the desert. The first is the magnificent gold souq and the other is this mouthwatering flavorful sandwich, the gyro. I was pregnant then and craved for this sandwich everyday but it wasn't available in the university cafeteria, so I  settled for a warm buttery croissant instead. My first trimester was difficult, and I didn't finish my two year contract at the university. After ten and a half months. I bought a one-way ticket back to Manila. During that time,there were no shawarma stands, food stalls or  kiosks  at the malls. My craving or paglilihi for gyros couldn't be satisfied. Good thing, my roommate/classmate came home for the holidays and  brought  about five or was it ten gyros as pasalubong. Thankeeeeeee :) 

I've been wanting to go to this Mediterranean restaurant in Greenhills, but the heat and the traffic prevented me from going any farther than Eastwood or the UP Town Center. For Son's birthday,  I decided to try this Mediterranean restaurant at the UP Town Center. 

This is where we went.  Pardon my ignorance, but I don't know

how to read the Greek alphabet, more so these Greek words. 

I asked the waiter for help but he was probably busy and 

hurriedly called out the name of the restaurant, without even stopping

at our table....  as if there were a lot of people in the restaurant. 

There was just one lady at the table near us. The group of six had finished 

their meals and were about to leave. It was 5 o'clock, not a busy hour. 

***

The hummus and the couscous salad, 

Php 155 & Php 160 respectively.

We've had better hummus and couscous salad at

the other Mediterranean restaurant in Eastwood, 

or even at the shawarma place at City Golf.

The menu says Freshly Baked Breads Everyday Eat All You Can.

But NEVER did the waiter ask us for a refill of these

not so freshly baked breads. 

Kroketes Patatas Php 175

These fried potato balls were okay but that dip

lacked taste. It was so bland, I wanted to ask for salt,

pepper and garlic.  I was looking for the hot sauce or the

 yogurt-garlic sauce in plastic dispensers, like the ones

found on tables of hole- in- the-wall shawarma stalls.

It would have made a huge difference in altering the 

taste of these bland dips.

Greek Fish Stew / Php 230

This is the Hubby's plate.  I wondered what those green

leaves were. They were spinach! Would have been

better if they used fresh basil instead.

Pork Souvlaki / Php 350

The Son's plate.  He finished it. He is a hungry carnivore.

But the sauce is the same bland sauce.

My Chicken Gyro / Php 190

This is how it looks like inside.  It had a generous amount

 of 'herbed' chicken pieces. I just don't know what herb 

was used.  It didn't taste like the gyros that I always eat

or have been accustomed to.  It lacked the dill pickles, onions

and garlic-yogurt sauce.  It lacked the "kick", the 'umphf".

Everything in this restaurant was bland.

They should at least put some salt and pepper on their tables.

***

I was going to refrain from writing bad reviews in my blog, 

since I am not a chef, or a food/nutrition graduate, or a food writer

 but, I just couldn't let this pass. There was this blogger who wrote 

really nasty comments about this restaurant and it was not 

a pleasant read. 

***

I had the hummus, cousous salad and half of my gyro wrapped.

Would have given them to our doggies but they might die.

They only eat dog food. 

***

I didn't bother to try their Baklava and other desserts.

I wanted to get out of that place ASAP.

***

That's the Son smiling or was he grinning, 

with the Hubby at the back.

Sabi nga, better luck next time!

Stick to the tried and tested restaurants.

***