Our first “proper” meal in Egypt was in a restaurant (catered for tourists) just outside Sakkara on our way there from Cairo. We had a selection of (basic) mezzes for starters and kebabs with rice and chips for mains. The food was good, but not fantastic. The highlight of the meal was the freshly baked breads that came out of a traditional wood-fired stone-oven. A lady was sitting on the floor (in a thatched hut) shaping the dough and chucking it into the oven throughout the lunch-hour. Our tour guide took a few of the breads straight out of the oven and brought them to our table. They were absolutely delicious - warm, moist and fresh! Perfect with the mezzes!

The best mezzes we had were served in the Fish Market Restaurant in Cairo. The restaurant was recommended in two of the guidebooks I was carrying - Lonely Planet and the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide. We had wanted to go to a famous restaurant serving typical Egyptian cuisine, Abu as-Sid, but alas, because it is so popular with local residents and because it was Friday (the local weekend holiday), the restaurant was fully booked up by the time I called to make a reservation. Unfortunatley, it was our last evening in the country and we didn’t have another opportunity to try it again.

Back to the Fish Market - the restaurant is actually located on a river boat which it shares with TGiF! The boat was moored close to the Four Seasons Hotel, on the West Bank, and is located on the upper floor, above TGiF. We were given a table by the window looking out at the East Bank and the Cairo city skyline. For the main course, you choose from a variety of (raw) seafood on display at a counter at the front of the restaurant, they weigh it (and charge you by weight) and you tell them how you want it cooked. We had a pan-fried fish (can’t remember what now) and some grilled jumbo prawns which were very fresh and delicious.

But I was drooling over the mezzes. For only EGP8 (about MYR5) per person, they brought out this really large tray of about 10-12 different types of mezzes from which we could choose however many we wanted! Not wanting to be too greedy, and also not wanting to waste food, we only took six - a variety of tahini, some beetroot and green salads. We just about managed to finish them all with the flat bread we were given - they were the best mezzes I’ve ever had. The different types of tahini were out of this world - there was one with mashed aubergines with a smoky-flavour, one with peppers, and one with garlic which was fresh and tangy and absolutely yummy. I’d never forget the taste!

Our other meals in Egypt were alright. The Pyramisa Champollion I river boat served good, but not great, food. There was always a wide selection of salads and the hot food was always hearty. Desserts were a bit disappointing - but then, I find that to be the case all over the country. The Egyptians like sweet desserts, not refined ones!

In preparation for the holiday, we came across quite a number of “health warnings” about the water in the country - don’t even take a dip in the Nile, don’t drink tap water, don’t eat fresh uncooked salads or fruits because they would have been tainted by the tap water etc. As this was a long holiday, we didn’t take our chances and consumed bottled water all the time. The popular brand is Baraka (it is known in other parts of the world as Vittel, part of the Nestle conglomerate) and if you don’t know how to say water in Arabic, just ask for “Baraka”! In the street, I’ve generally paid EGP2 for a 1.5 litre bottle, though I’ve also been charged a mere EGP1.50 once in a shop in Luxor. On the cruise and in the hotels, we paid anywhere from EGP5-7 for a similar bottle. Fortunately, neither of us fell ill during the holiday, although I must admit that towards the end, I started consuming the tap water in the room in the Nile Hilton and I was fine. Maybe my constitution is stronger than I think it is, or maybe Malaysia isn’t such a hygienic country after all and my body has become immuned to it!

Of course, we couldn’t go to Egypt and not taste “authentic” Turkish coffee! And we couldn’t go to the Khan Al-Khalili in Cairo without stopping by the famous El-Fishawy coffee-shop. El-Fishawy had great atmosphere and it was lovely sitting out in the narrow corridors that pass for walkways in the Khan Al-Khalili. The sun was shining above but because the buildings were set so close together, we didn’t really get the sun where we were seated. People were walking by, jabbering away. And there was a shop across the narrow path where tourists were haggling over the price of shoes!

The turkish coffee I had in the country were generally good, but not great coffee (I still prefer the coffee I make at home with my Gaggia machine!). They were, in any event, better than the coloured liquid that passes off for coffee over breakfast in the hotels and the river boat. I suspect they weren’t even filtered coffee. These were just poorly made instant coffee, if you asked me.

At El-Fishawy, I tried this drink called sahlab which according to the Lonely Planet is a “warm drink made with semolina powder, milk and chopped nuts”. At El-Fishawy, they also added raisins and dessicated coconut. It wasn’t bad. It was an interesting drink, but I probably wouldn’t ask for it again. But I wouldn’t say “no” if offered.

Drinks in the local cafes were generally cheap - they were no more than what I’d pay at a mamak in Malaysia. At a cafe in the vicinity of the Sultan Hassan Mosque in Cairo, I paid EGP4 (MYR2.40) for a cup of turkish coffee and a mint tea. At El-Fishawy, a Turkish coffee, a mint tea and the sahlab came up to EGP11 (MYR6.60). On the river boat and the Sheraton Luxor Resort, a coffee cost EGP5 (MYR3). But we have also been ripped off with “tourist prices” when we sat down at a cafe in the main square of Aswan where we paid an “astronomical” EGP11 for a Turkish coffee and mint tea.

I wished I had spent more time just sitting in cafes and watching the world go by. That’s probably one of the best ways to observe social aspects of the country and to soak in the cultural atmosphere. Alas, it was a case of either sitting down and not doing very much or using the time to visit the innumerable sites that end up being on almost everyone’s “must see” list. There’s so much you can do in Egypt, but that’s why you return in order to sit in cafes and not feel compelled to do anything!

Posted on May 1st, 2004 by jl
Filed under: The Egypt Holiday