Revamped and relaunched this year, Sultan Mediterranean Grill offers the Makati CBD a sumptuous alternative to the daily canteen and fast food. Set in a quiet street and decorated with a tasteful interior, no wonder this gem of a restaurant has been met with success since its relaunch earlier this year.
It was a night of firsts for me. It was my first-ever hosted event (I actually asked Aldous of Aldous Ate the World to gather some bloggers for me) and my first time to experience a lot of Mediterranean dishes. Embarrassingly, I arrived late because I had to attend a friend’s baby shower. But I was quite happy with the turnaround of the event as everyone invited made it and well, the food was delicious!
The food served to us that night was grouped into five different categories: appetizer, salads, pasta, house specialties and shawarma.
For the appetizer we had the Falafel (P250), deep-fried balls of ground chickpeas served on a bed of hummus and some pita. It had a strong flavor and I found myself liking it. The serving size is also very big and worth every cent of the prize.
Good for at least 2 very hungry people.
The next food group, the salads, consisted of two kinds, the Greek Salad (Salata Horiatiki) and the Vitamin Boost. Both were made of crunchy fresh vegetables but each had its own personality. Whereas the Greek Salad (P200) was made up mostly of greens, chunks of tomatoes and feta cheese, Vitamin Boost (P250) had fruits tossed in like mangoes, oranges and dried cranberries, drizzled with some orange-cranberry dressing. The latter also had some grilled chicken thrown in so it was hands down my favorite of the two.
Salad greens, fruits and chicken. How could you go wrong with that?
One of the great surprises for me that evening was the Moussaka (P220), the traditional Greek dish of layered minced beef, eggplant and cheese, baked alla lasagna. To the uninformed and inexperienced, this description would definitely be far from enticing, particularly to someone who only eats fried eggplants (me). But, let me just say that I am now a fan of moussaka. I just couldn’t believe that eggplant lasagna could taste so good!
Good for sharing and definitely worth the price.
And then the slew of house specialties. First on my plate was the Kebab Platter (P580 + additional P20 for lamb) which was composed of beef, seafood, lamb and chicken kebab. I must say that I was impressed because they were all cooked just right. Great with the Kebab Platter was the Lobia Rice (P95) which has a very rich Mediterranean taste.
Family-sized serving of Beef, Seafood, Lamb, Chicken kebab.
The second one was the Chicken Curry (P230), which left me worried that I might have something I wouldn’t like in the repertoire of dishes served to us. Very surprisingly, I found myself thinking that it didn’t taste bland as chicken curries tend to, and that it wasn’t bad at all! This just might be the chicken curry that would change my mind about chicken curry. And I intend to put that to the test when I go back there.
Served with rice.
Last among the Sultan’s specialties for that night was the Lamb Shanks (P550). These babies took 3 hours to cook thus making them perfectly tender once served. However, I had noted that the rice that went with it was a bit too buttery for my taste.
Grab it while it’s hot!
Last set for the night was the shawarmas. We had Chicken Shawarma and Beef Shawarma (both P140 each). The portions were big and right for the price. There was a great balance of ingredients wrapped inside the pita and best of all, they still tasted good even if they were no longer hot.
Chicken Shawarma
Beef Shawarma
The last and final happiness-inducing element for the night was the Mixed Berry Lassi (P100). This yogurt shake was so refreshing and went so well with the food that it was quite impossible to not gorge on them. Yeah, it was my first time to try this drink, too, not having had much opportunity to try Mediterranean restaurants before, and I just loved it.
Yogurt shakes available in mango, banana, strawberry, mixed berry and plain.
Truly an eye-opening and taste bud-satisfying night, I now vow to give Mediterranean cuisine more than its fair share of attention. I can’t wait for my next trip to Sultan Mediterranean Grill for another round of moussaka and chicken curry. But I’ll probably have mango lassi to go with that. 🙂
***All photos were taken using iPhone 6
Sultan Mediterranean Grill
G 9, Valero Plaza Condiminium,
San Augustin Street, Salcedo Village,
Makati City
Tel.: (02) 8945909
Store Hours: 11:00am-10:00pm Mondays to Sundays.
