By Gina Tabonares-Reilly
Set out on the front yard of Sand Castle in Tumon, Anemos— which means “wind” in Greek— will offer the island’s gourmands a Mediterranean cuisine experience without the hassle of flying to Europe.
The Anemos experience was the outcome of Mark Baldyga and his wife Christina’s love for Greece, prompting them to lure the Greek chef Stefano Fren to Guam.
Bringing authentic Mediterranean cuisine to Guam, Fren personally curated the palate-pleaser menu that will offer epicurean delights to local residents and tourists.
The newly-constructed restaurant, located right in the heart of Pale San Vitores Road, promises to restore the pre-pandemic life along the strip. Anemos will officially open its doors on Friday.
Our Mediterranean immersion began as soon as we entered the al fresco setting, adorned with vibrant hues of blue and white pillows, making me reminisce about our recent trip to Mykonos and Santorini.
The open and airy interior space provides a casual, yet stylish and calm ambiance. Music thumps from the bar, where a great selection of cocktails flows, making you become oblivious to time. Is it happy hour yet?
As we lounged at the table, we sampled the highly recommended pina freskaro, a concoction of fresh pineapple, pineapple juice, rosemary syrup, and ginger beer. KUAM’s Nick Delgado and the Post’s Norman Taruc picked Santorini sunrise, a mixture of gin, orange juice, limoncello and grenadine tonic water.
When the server put focaccia and breadsticks on the table, Tae Oh, the director of sales and marketing at Baldyga Group Tours, told us to prepare our tummy for a succession of Greek spread consisting of ceviche, stone bread, tiger prawn pasta, and baked seabass, a special dish which, however, is not yet on the menu.
The Mediterranean diet—hailed as the key to good health and long life—stems from the traditional reliance on the region’s abundance of vegetables and fresh fish from the sea, stewed in olive oil and laced with rich herbs and spices. With Mediterranean chefs’ culinary creativity, they create intense flavors.
The ingredients in Anemos’ cuisine— including the fresh sea bass from the Aegean Sea— are shipped from Greece, Italy, and other parts of Europe.
Our two-hour feast started with Anemos salad, consisting of mixed green leaves with dried figs, strawberries, green apple, prosciutto, truffle gruyere, walnuts, balsamic pearls and orange honey vinaigrette.
It was followed quickly by Tzatziki, a fresh spread with a yogurt base, garlic, cucumber, dill, extra virgin olive oil, and a drop of Ouzo, Fava Rovitsa, a split-peas spread with carrots, lemon juice and served with a topping of caramelized onions and Baba Ghanoush, roasted eggplant spread with brunoise tomatoes, onions, pepper, pomegranate, parsley, garlic with a touch of lemon sauce and vinegar, all served with pita bread.
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We were still enjoying the Leche de Tigre ceviche marinated in citrus fruits and served with beetroot tulle when they served Imam Bayildi, slow-cooked eggplant with homemade tomato sauce, onions, garlic, fresh parsley and feta cheese.
At the same time, two servings of steamed mussels dominated the tablescape. We were still enjoying the fresh mussels with fresh herbs flavored with dry white wine when we got distracted by the tiger prawns sautéed with spring onions =, carrots, cherry tomatoes, garlic butter quenched with Ouzo and bisque sauce served on Mafaldine pasta.
By this time, Chef Stefano took a break from his kitchen to chat with us. He explained the importance of savoring the food to enjoy the aroma and flavor of each entree before venturing into the sweetest part of the meal: the dessert.
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Soon enough, the delightful meal enders came: tiramisu, panna cotta and moellux, chocolate cake with a molten center dressed in gold. We wasted no time and pursued the sweet conquest.
The tiramisu is a story in itself: rich coffee and Mascarpone cheese-flavored cream with a touch of Marsala wine and dreamily soft, but not mushy Savoyard coffee-flavored biscuits topped with cocoa powder.
I was contented with the subtlety of smooth cream panna cotta infused with vanilla seeds and topped with homemade strawberry sauce.
A bottle of Mastiqua, a Greek sparkling water seemed not enough to dilute the food in our stomachs so Mr. Baldyga recommended that we cap our meal with their Freddo Cappuccino and we were glad we took his offer.
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