ZIGGURAT
 Manual Yearender Issue

The restaurant's secret hook is the hookah. The hookah, also known as shisha in the Middle East, originated in Turkey over 500 years ago.

The hookah is a large water pipe used for smoking tobacco (wink,wink). The smoking apparatus consists of four parts: agizlik (mouth-piece), lule (the top of the hookah or cone), marpuc (the tube), and the govde (the body of the pipe which is filled with water). Incidentally, those are also the names of the members of the latest Turkish boy band the Hummus Hunks. Ziggurat sells tobacco in cola, apple, lemon, strawberry, vanilla, mango, peach, and apricot flavors. The fun never stops because you can change the water in the pipe to tequila, champagne, or any alcohol of your choice. The smoke from the hookah is relaxing and has a sensual effect especially for the ladies. One cone lasts approximately an hour but the ladies will think you're mister smooth for days.

Butch Baliao, one of the co-owners and chef of Ziggurat, describes the dishes they serve as Mediterranean, Moroccan, Egyptian, and Middle Eastern. Specialties include lamb kebab, Greek moussaka, and the oh-s0-sweet baklava (in tagalog that means "is he gay?"). Even in 2004 A.D., the Ziggurat is still a place for the cool worship.