The Greco-Persian Wars: Explained in Two Lunches

- May 30, 2014, Friday.

- The past two-three weeks or so, I planned a casual meet-up with my friends Evan and Boom. Since going to the mall has been a national (sometimes mindless) pastime in the country, I thought of tweaking things up a bit just to make the malling experience different and "Gibbyfied."

- I planned our trip to Robinsons Ermita (a usual mall for Manilenos) to be a cultural and gastronomic experience. Evan and Boom have not eaten Persian or Greek food, so I felt it would be interesting to have two mini-lunches in one day in Arya, a Persian restaurant, and Cyma, a Greek restaurant. Both restaurants are heard of in some parts of the country, especially in Metro Manila.

- The three of us arrived quite early in the mall, and so I did some errands and grabbed a glass of milk tea while we waited for Arya to open at 11am. Arya has two branches in Robinsons Ermita, a small one at the second floor of the Midtown Wing, and a more spacious one outside the Midtown Wing exit.

- For the most part, we were the only customers in the restaurant. I greeted a "sobh bekhair" (good morning) to the young Iranian manager (?), and to my surprise, I was bombarded with many curious questions as to why I knew "many things" about Farsi (the Iranian language,) and Iran. I was overwhelmed by the manager's questions that I forgot to ask his name after he asked for mine. Honestly, Iran is not my specialty country (I am a student of South Asian/Indian Studies,) and I know that I have much to learn about home of one of the world's most powerful empires. I was exposed to some of Iran's culture during my visit to the Iranian cultural exhibit held in the Rizal Park, and my encounter with Iranian diplomats in UP Diliman's Asian Center, both held last year. I do not speak Farsi, although I plan to learn it in the future.

- Our food trip started in Arya, because the Greco-Persian Wars began when the Achaemenid Empire, led by its founder, Cyrus the Great, dominated Ionia in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey.) By the time of King Darius, the Persians have reached the eastern coast of modern-day Greece; it was the Persians' first time on Greek soil (based on current geography,) and so this led to the Battle of Marathon. More battles resulted from this, with an finale of Greek victory. Succeeding wars, including the two Peloponesian Wars in southern Greece (the second including the Battle of Sparta,) and Alexander the Great's advance in Persia and greater Asia, led to the demise of the Achaemenid Empire. (And so we were to "celebrate" the Greek victory at Cyma. Disclaimer: Despite Persian loss in this particular era in history, Iran has proudly preserved its culture and identity throughout the years, and until today, is remains to be one of the more interesting road-less-travelled countries to visit. Also, Farsi literature has also contributed many important works, such as those written by Firdawsi.)

The look of excited faces.

With happy children. Haha. I kid.

They can't get over the hummus.

- We had a kebab platter, and a pita-and-dip platter. To make our lunch more authentically Persian, we ordered Arya Chai (cardamom tea, served in a very Persian teapot, with small intricately-carved glasses for drinking.) Too bad the waitresses were not wearing their traditional Iranian costumes; it would've made the experience more tangible. Still, the restaurant itself was heavily decorated, with Iranian cultural and popular songs accompanying our lunch.

- After our first lunch, we went to the second floor of Robinsons' Midtown Wing, and had lunch at Cyma. We ordered a chicken gyro (it's pronounced "yiro") to share, a solo tonnos salad (tuna salad; the solo size was good for the three of us.) A trip to Cyma, especially with Cyma newbies, is not enough without an order of any flaming dish. We ordered the flaming cheese (saganaki.) My two companions were quite stunned. After all, Cyma has this habit of pouring the wind on the hot platter in front of the guests, while the whole crew would shout a big taverna-like "OPA!!" ("Opa" is an interesting intejection in the Greek language, and can be used as a warning, as when a person would wish to say "look out!", in a celebratory fashion like our saganaki surprise or when dancing, as a swear-word replacement, an expression of disappointment or annoyance, and many more.) I also explained that the gyro tastes different from other Greek dishes, because the gyro, as well as some other spicy and extremely savory dishes, were all influenced by either Iran, or more recently, Turkey. (The gyro, as most will recognize, looks like a West Asian shawarma.)

OPA!!!!

Candid shot.

"Don't disturb me."

- We rewarded our triumphant twice-lunch by watching X-Men: Days of the Future Past. It was my second time to watch it, but I didn't mind because I missed some important and intriguing details when I watched it the first time. The movie was nerve-racking, although I liked it anyway (I have biases for Storm and Mystique. Haha.)

- The three of us went home afterwards, with many many thanks to Evan's parents for bringing Boom and me home. I really hope Evan and Boom were not too overwhelmed with my history blabber during lunch, but we did share a lot of other non-historical things during our lunches to balance things out. As for me, Cyma and Arya always have something interesting for people to see and experience, so I am quite sure that I'll be going back to those two again and again, I as have done since I first visited them both.