I had always been curious about Greek cuisine, but never got around to trying until now. And a meal at Bakalaki made me realise how much I had missed out on. Better late than never. Greek food is very different in taste from French and Italian food, but it is delicious, simulating, filling and hearty nonetheless. And dining here feels like being transported to a sunny town in Greece.
Navigating through a Greek menu is so exciting because I can't understand a word of it and it's my first time 😂 Luckily, there are English "subtitles" beneath each dish for me to make an informed choice. I decide to order Tzatziki at first look because one, I think I saw this word before, so it should be a pretty famous Greek dish, and two, I like its ingredients of Greek yoghurt–best yoghurt, cucumber, garlic and olive oil. The service team lead is very thoughtful to suggest two dip platter instead, so that I can try another kind of dip and I, as a solo diner, will not be overwhelmed by huge amount of one of kind of dip. I opt for Taramosalata, which is white cod roe with lemon juice and breadcrumbs.
Tzatziki is so creamy and refreshing in taste. The tangy flavour of the yoghurt complements the cool element of cucumber so well. The garlic adds a hint of distinctive aroma to further spice things up. Spread it on the delicious pita bread with pillowy interior, this is pure comfort food, with lots of zest.
Taramosalata is more intense in taste. Not bad, but I prefer Tzatziki, which totally whets the appetite.
Super fluffy bread with crusty exterior is a joy to much on. This is the first time I try bread sprinkled with rock salt and oregano, and I love it.
I get a shock when Htapodi, aka the Octopus, is presented onto my table. My first thought is, "Is it possible for me to finish this?" And to add on to it, I'm not even a fan of octopus.
But this dish manages to convert me into a fan, and I know now why this is a speciality of the restaurant. The octopus is unbelievable tender. In fact, this is the most tender octopus I ever have, baby octopus aside. Slightly chewy but still easy to bite, packed with light briny flavour accentuated by splashes of lemon juice, and laced with a thin layer of smoky taste and charred meat, this is oh-so-good. By the way, I easily finish every bit of this.
Galaktoboureko, which is flaky thin Filo Pastry stuffed with semolina custard and Greek honey syrup, looks simple and is simply yummy. Semolina is a kind of durum wheat used to make this custard that is slightly different from the usual custard. This custard has more structure and is more curd-like in texture, I like it. And it pairs excellently with the slightly stretching thin pastry.
The place is beautiful: full of little details, like the bird-like lamps, the bougainvilleas, the straw-hat lamps, ratan chairs, , white-washed walls, full-panel glasses to let lots of natural light in to add to the dining experience. It reminds me of the famous Greek island, Santorini that I see in the photos.
The service is very good, being polite, professional, friendly and prompt to response. The team lead guy takes very good care of me by informing me to order dessert later and offering to hold my order of chicken skewers due to the possibility of me not being able to finish everything. And true enough, due to the generous portions of food, I have to limit what I can order. I'm really impressed by this thoughtfulness.
There are other food items that I really want to try here, not to mention a dining experience here really perks up my interest in Greek cuisine, so I look forward to be back again.
Thoughts: Greek food is awesome!
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