Monday, January 21, 2008 Turquoise whips up special Turkish meal for CommPhil
COMMPHIL started the New Year with a bang as they set out to try the intriguing Turquoise Restaurant at SM for a night of culinary adventure.
The dinner party, attended by CommPhil officers and staff, is a regular jaunt not only to wind down after a hectic work period, but also for CommPhil employees to acquire new tastes and experiences.
Turquoise, an old French word for Turkish, was a fitting choice, being the first Turkish restaurant in the city and the first time for most of the CommPhil staff to taste the cuisine.
Turquoise was more than happy to whip up a real Turkish meal and came up with a special menu for their guests: Abagannush (grilled eggplant) and Ezme (chili and tomato dip) with lawash bread for appetizer); chicken soup with noodles; Chicken Elbasan (baked with sauce), Dalyan Kophte (baked ground beef), Turkish rice, and Kazandibi (a milky dessert).
The restaurant owners made the dining experience more interesting with anecdotes on their culture, even elucidating that Turkish people are not from India or Arabia, and that although they have spicy dishes, their cuisine is not generally hot and spicy.
They also regaled their guests with Tasseography-a fortune-telling method that entails a coffee drinker to cover the cup with a saucer, shake and flip it over, and let a reader or expert tell his fortune by reading the patterns and symbols from the coffee grounds. The fortune reading, of course, was made only for CommPhil that night, and is not part of the restaurant's services.
Owned by the Turquoise International Food Corp. based in Cagayan de Oro where they also have a branch, Turquoise offers genuine Turkish meals that give diners a totally different culinary experience.
The CommPhil staff savored each dish and drink with much gusto, opening their palates to new and diverse flavors and tastes, in the same manner that they open their minds and unlock their creativity to come up with the most exciting approaches to marketing.
CommPhil wrapped up its dinner party as an enjoyable culinary treat and a refreshing encounter with something new, a fitting start to another challenging and stimulating year ahead.
