understandably, there's a bit of skepticism when cyma describes the moussaka as the greek national dish. arguably, it is the most recognized of all greek dishes according to most food websites.
on the other hand, the common filipino would typically associate greek food with hummus, tahini, pita and gyros. blame it on the invasion of the shawarma and mediterranean restaurants, but the list is also common in mideastern, south indian, persian regions.
i'm guilty of the same perception as my standard order in cyma would always be the chicken or lamb gyro and some seafood dish. i've had other greek dishes but i've never really ordered the moussaka.
i guess there was that conscious urge to choose something different in the menu - the desire to add to my picture gallery was another motivation. that and the fact that the price range is a bit... hmmm, pricey.
moussaka reminded me of lasagna that used layers of a binding base, tomato based meat sauce and cheese. moussaka used seasoned strips of eggplant fried in olive oil as the base. a layer of spicy ground beef and pork form the next layer. instead of plain mozzarella or parmesan that is used as the lasagna topping, moussaka uses a creamy bechamel (white) sauce as the top layer before it is baked until the bechamel sauce starts to turn brown.
the complex process and effort to prepare the dish speaks about the passion that goes into it. a lot of greek families guard their recipes and hand it down just like a heirloom that is passed between generations.
indeed, moussaka lived up to the hype as a greek national dish and my taste buds are a little bit wiser because of the experience.
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It is frustrating that we have limited food choices here in Cebu. Most of the food are actually for the Cebuan taste - sweet, salty and fatty. Even Friday's Cebu fare taste different. hahay!
I observed that most restaurants here offer the same kind of food, the difference lang are the price and name of the restaurant.