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Shawarma has become a popular dish in the Philippines these days. However, the owners of Sultan Mediterranean Grill in Greenhills, San Juan, have taken the Turkish authenticity further. They serve the dishes with the flair of spices, dressings, and flavors that will surely make one wonder if their chefs are really Turkish. The restaurant first operated in Valero, Makati then started to expand to San Juan. It has been open for less than a year in the latter. Their new place was well decorated with Mediterranean memorabilia and art. Also, the place was well-lit and clean.

As for the food, I can say that it gave so much in the flavor department that it left me coming back for more. Since I love lamb dishes due to its smoky and stocky flavor and its tender meat, I felt right at home with the food. We started off with the hummus varieties served with pita bread. These were actually composed of ground lentils made into a paste with a drizzle of olive oil. Some varities tasted spicy while others were a bit salty. At 110 pesos, these came with their freshly baked pita bread. I love this appetizer for its unique smell and salty taste. This was followed with a salad. At 250 pesos, the Vitamin Boost salad consisted of lettuce, cucumber, mangoes, onions, oranges, walnuts and topped with grilled chicken. This healthy concoction was also sufficient to whet my appetite for the things to come.

The viands were even more amazing. The wide selection of beef, chicken, and lamb dishes were appetizing and meaty, not to mention flavorful. We started of with the Moussaka. At Php 220, this reasonably priced Mediterranean style lasagna was an explosion of cheesy flavors with accompanying ground beef, spices, and the obligatory pita bread. After this came the rice variants. The Keshmishi and Biryani variants made my day. At less than 100 pesos per platter, both were flavorful due to the spices, onions, and meat toppings. Not to mention the curry powder that these dishes were cooked in. The Ox Tongue was our meat starter. At Php 240, this saucy dish was composed of braised ox tongue cooked in spices and their special mushroom sauce with a few vegetables. The fatty texture of the meat was tempered with the sweet, tangy taste of the sauce. Kudos to whoever thought of that mix! We then moved on to the Sizzling Lamb. At 350 pesos, this hot, sizzling plate of grilled goodness was served with their special curry sauce and doused in spices. Perfect for someone like me who wanted to experience meat in all the goodness of chili and pepper. This meat festival didn't end here. We had the kebab platter. At Php 580 pesos, this grilled mass of meat was composed of their beef, chicken and lamb varieties grilled to perfection. I had a lot of thie grilled goodness. It was tender and juicy too. Add to that the fact that the meat was moist and flavorful. The coup de grace was the Braised Lamb Shank. At Php 580, this delectable dish was served with a ton of biryani rice. For those who eat a lot of meat, this one is for them. This huge chunk of lamb leg was grilled to perfection and doused in their special gravy. The meat had lots of tender juicy fat and lean meat as well. It was so soft and tasty that I considered going back for another plate. Lastly, the drinks and dessert were also memorable. Their mixed berry shake contained the right amount of sweetness and milky flavor while their ice cream, flavored with either basil, nuts, or salted caramel made the end of the meal very very satisfying. It wasn't too sweet on the mouth too. These dishes make me consider going back for more!

For your Mediterranean cravings, you can try Sultan. Sultan is located at 190 Wilson St., Greenhills, San Juan. You can visit their FB page at https://www.facebook.com/sultangrillph.

The story in pictures:

The menu cover

The facade

The entrance

Their free ice cream promo

Their unique ice cream flavors

Their mixed berry yoghurt shake at Php 100

Their hummus varieties. Usually served with Pita bread (Php 110 per plate)

Vitamin boost at Php 250

Moussaka at Php 220

Keshmishi Rice at Php 100

Sizzling Lamb at Php 350

Ox Tongue at Php 240

Kebab Platter at Php 580

Braised Lamb Shank at Php 550

Beryani Rice at Php 80

The half-finished Kebab Platter

Plain Yoghurt Shake at Php 80

Ice Cream at Php 60

The Kebab Menu

Turkish memorabilia

Their sauce rack

Last March 13, 2015, I had the opportunity of being invited to StrEat, an event organized by Maginhawa Food Park, a newly opened vacant lot turned into a food complex. The park is situated in Teachers Village, Quezon City, a location commonly known as the hub for up-and-coming restaurants, coffee-shops, and watering holes in the North.

According to organizer Ms. Chesca, the place was conceptualized as a convenient and efficient use to her family's real estate reserve and as a substitute to constructing a building with numerous requirements such as permits and licenses. Admittedly, her idea was well in point with the nature of businesses in the neighborhood, and the fact that people have known the area as a food-lover's paradise. She also envisioned the concept as an open space to provide variety to an already congested Maginhawa street. She stated that open spaces are usually rare, and that more parks are needed in urban centers. Good thing her idea was also coupled with an income-generating venture. In this case, she invited food concessionaires to set up shop and provide a variety of tastes to the venue. Some of the stalls were actual food trucks; while others were made out of metal containers and easily transferable by truck. Ms. Chesca mandated these concessionaires to conform to a design that mimicked the layout of a hipster trailer park.

At the day I went, the Food Park had a bonfire planned at 8pm and a live band as well. I arrived early, about 5 pm. At this point, the venue was already starting to feel up with a lot of patrons from the neighboring universities and offices. I even had a few acquaintances who were already lining up for the food there.

Ms. Chesca introduced me to Atty. Arnel, one of the concessionaires in the venue. He was the proprietor of Bricks and Copper, a Turkish-inspired restaurant with a variety of Middle Eastern dishes. Atty Arnel graciously provided me and my friend with generous samples of their sumptuous Turkish fare. During the conversation, the good proprietor had a lot to say about his prior experience in the legal profession and his subsequent foray into the restaurant business. He told us that he gained the idea of starting a joint with Middle Eastern fare from his Turkish client. After tasting the latter's dishes, he told us that he immensely enjoyed the experience, and that he envisioned the idea to start his own restaurant business. Hence, Bricks and Copper was born. It was originally confined to the Shaw area in Pasig, but Atty. Arnel thought of expanding it to north Quezon City in order to reach more customers. After seeing that the slots in the food park were for rent for affordable prices, he immediately set up shop there. He also thought of the restaurant as convenient place where he could wine and dine clients in his law practice. Now that's practicality and marketing rolled into one! He also takes pride in the fact that his beef and chicken dishes are charcoal grilled, and hence, very tasty.

Apart from that, the pita bread and other pastries from his establishment are baked fresh every day. Add to this the fact that most of his dishes are heavily vegetable infused and compatible with a healthy diet.

As for the dishes, we were able to taste their affordable Pita Doner. At 90 pesos, it's quite a steal. The dish is an exciting variation of shawarma with an airy and chewy pita wrapper, thinly sliced strips of beef or chicken (depending on the order) and garnished with onions, cucumber, and tomatoes. It goes well with the spicy chili sauce and the standard garlic yogurt sauce. Our food tasting didn't end there. We were given a generous serving of Iskender Kebab, a mix of charcoal grilled beef with a generous helping of vegetables and chili sauce. The mix also had a good amount of pita bread as a side dish. At 250 pesos (small), the dish was very filling. We were also able to try Pita Bread with two variations of sauces. The one is with Humus, a traditional Middle Eastern dressing used in a number of countries. At 80 pesos, the sauce comes with pita bread. We were also given a spicer variant called Ezme. This sauce had a garnish of chilies and had a salsa-like texture. It also comes at 80 pesos with 4 slices of that airy and chewy pita bread. Our dishes, of course, were not complete without imported Turkish Sirma Water. According to Atty. Arnel, the sparkling drink is usually preferred by the Turks when eating traditional fare. Its sweet taste tends to offset the spicy Mideast offerings. A bottle usually costs about 60 pesos, and is a fresh deviation from the soft drinks we Filipinos are so used to. We both enjoyed the meal so much that we bought our own Pita Doner. The taste was simply very irresistible, and our experience with this restaurant completely takes away our negative stereotypes of spicy Middle Eastern food. We surely would like to come back again for a second helping.

The place also offers the traditional "hookah", a pipe used by the Arabs to smoke tobacco. The variant here offers scented fruit vapors instead for 200 pesos. When we come back next week, we surely hope to try it.

The food park has been open for its test run since January 2015. It is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 5 pm to 2 am, and caters to students, office workers, families, and pretty much anyone who likes affordable gastronomic experiences. It is located near Mini Stop Maginhawa, and is in front of News Barbers. Bricks and Copper is also open there at those times. Its main branch is in Dumlao Sports Center, 304 Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong, in front of GSIS.

Pictures: (Please bear with me for the low-res quality)