Greek food

The husband & I are not picky eaters so we were not too concerned about what you can eat in Greece. From the trip we realized that authentic Greek food is not to our liking. The hits and misses are highlighted below. 

Greek salad. Our first Greek food on the first night. Before this, I only knew Greek salad had feta cheese which I love. When it came, we realized that the only 2 ingredients in the salad which we liked were the cheese and cucumber. We weren't really huge fans of tomatoes and olives, let alone onions. Fortunately the tomatoes were very fresh and tasted juicy, not like those we have in Singapore. We managed to finish the salad but agreed that it'll be the first & last Greek Salad in Greece. 

[Author's note: At another restaurant we ordered seasonal salad. The ingredients comprise of everything a Greek salad has, but no feta cheese. Meh]

Chef's platter. Also known as Meze, the chef's platter is a combination of Greek snacks/appetizer. The dishes include local sausages (yum), feta cheese (yum), ham/cold cut, meatballs, boiled egg, and tzatiski (see below). We ate the chef's platter in a quaint cafe nearby the Piraeus hotel. The platter costs 5,50 Euro and can be shared by 2 persons. 

Tzatiski. This is a yoghurt cucumber & something else dip to accompany the bread or pita. Tastes similar to yoghurt vege dish from Indian restaurants, but less watery. The portion is usually quite large when you order it as an appetizer (costs about 4 - 5 Euros) so to save money & save stomach space we didn't order it from any restaurants.

Spinach pie. Tasty for breakfast and mid-day snack. The crust is crispy and the filling was just nice. You can find the pie at any bakery in Athens and on the islands, or even in your hotel buffet breakfast. 

Nescafé Freddo. Also known as iced coffee. Price ranges from 1,20 Euro (in local coffee chain) to 4,50 Euro (in Mykonos cafe with waterfront view). The iced coffee is 'foamy' at the top, and you can choose whether to have milk and sugar in your coffee. There's also cappucino Freddo and espresso Freddo. In Greece, Starbucks takes a backseat while the freddos take centre stage. 

Santorini Tomato Balls. Not sure if this dish is only found in Santorini because the tomatoes come from Santorini. This is an appetizer and comes in 3 quite large pieces. The balls are not exactly 'round' like balls, think of them more like meatballs. The tomato is mixed with starch/tapoica to give a chewy/rubbery texture, and fried so they are a bit dry. 

Moussaka. A moussaka is a baked something. The one we tried is baked Aubergine with beef. It looks like lasagna (without the pasta) and tastes a bit curry-ish. It's an appetizer but the serving is big enough to be a main dish (also because after a while you will get sick/bored of it).

Gyros. The cheapest food you can find in Greece, regardless of whether you are in Athens on on the islands. A Gyros pita costs 2 Euros in Athens. Gyros is the big chunk of meat on a vertical stick, and the cook will shave off the meat to place in your pita or platter (if you order 'portion'). It is similar to Middle Eastern cuisine (kebab) but the meat is typically chicken or pork. The Middle Eastern version is beef, lamb or both. Because of the type of meat used, the gyros is much drier. It pales in comparison to the kebab lunch vans in New York City. 

Souvlaki. This is Greece's version of meat on the stick. Similarly it's usually pork or chicken only, hence the meat is very dry. 

Frozen Yoghurt. The frozen yoghurt is sold by weight, and usually self service. You get to fill up your bowl and select your own toppings. Each 100gram costs 2 Euro in Santorini. 

Chocolate soufflé. Yes, this is not a Greek food. But I just want to highlight that in Greece, chocolate soufflé means chocolate lava cake. 

Baklava. Greek dessert that sounds really sweet so we didn't try it. But you can find it in cafés & restaurants. 

Greek omelette. This dish is only available for breakfast. It's not the typical American omelette where it's mushy and half-circle shaped. The Greek omelette is more 'fried oyster egg' style. Very yummy. 

Fried cheese. You can order the fried cheese on its own or with a salad. The one we tried was with a salad (because we were not sure if we liked it). In the end we're glad that we didn't get the fried cheese solo because the taste was too strong and we didn't like it. I'm not sure if you can fry different types of cheese, but the cheese we had started with the letter N. 

Greece is also famous for their seafood like grilled fish and mussels. But these are quite standard so no need for much explanation. 

Beauty of Santorini

Santorini is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. The views are picture perfect no matter where you turn.

In case you don't already know, Santorini is a volcanic island, formed as part of the Minoan eruption 3600 years ago. I'm not really a history or geography buff so please don't blame me if the facts are wrong. Anyway, the point is that you will be amazed by the white-washed homes, hotels, shops perched at the side of the cliff (caldera side). At the same time, from the top of the cliff you get to look down to see the clear blue lagoon connected to the Aegean Sea. At certain places (namely the old port and Amoudi Bay), you can take a very long walk down the cliff to enjoy the sea at a closer distance. You certainly won't want to walk up the cliff in Santorini sunshine.

Cliff - a very stark difference from Mykonos

More cliffs

Santorini is made up of many villages (I only know the ones that tourists go to). One thing I particularly liked about the island is that the villages are positioned in a way (due to geographical forms) that you can't see another village when you are in one. 

On our first night in Santorini, we attempted to walk from the hotel in Firostefani to Fira. We couldn't see Fira from where we were, but we knew the general direction (i.e. Walk straight with caldera on right). At the turn of one corner after walking for about 10 minutes, we caught out first glimpse of Fira. It was really pretty as the cliff-side bars, restaurants, hotels were nicely lit in ambient light. Fira was also situated slightly lower than Firostefani hence we could see almost the entire village from where we're standing.

First glimpse of Fira

Fira in the day

At the bottom of the cliff is the old port of Santorini

Walking to Fira from Firostefani. Most of the path is paved with cobbled stones like this.

If you walk in the opposite direction from Firostefani you will reach Oia (see other post). You will see Oia only after you are over a mountain/hill. This way it doesn't spoil the surprise and doesn't let you have the feeling "how come we're not reaching" as you are on your hike. 

Some claimed Oia to be the most beautiful part of the island. Yes - because that's where you find the blue domed cathedrals and the pathways are paved with marble (Oia used to be the richer part of the island). No - because that's where the crowds are during the day and during sunset. Oia is where you get to see unblocked views of the sunset but you may get blocked by the throngs of people (look out for my post on alternate ways to view the sunset). 

We prefer Firostefani most because it has a very good balance of tranquility for the view and buzz from the restaurants. You also have a rather good view of the sunset (but not full view as it'll get blocked by Thirassa island). It's also more "local", you don't really see souvenir shops here.