Richoux, City Stars and Mohandessin
July 18, 2010 3 Comments
One of my favorite eateries here in Cairo; the standards have been consistently excellent for the past 2 years. Check out the review over at Cairo 360.com
Peace out.
Asia Boutique at the Safir Hotel, Dokki
March 31, 2010 1 Comment
Be Warned: This is a Cellphone picture
You know the feeling. Great elation, a sense of accomplishment, of a great weight lifted up from off your shoulders. It’s the kind of feeling that demands to be celebrated and commemorated. The occasion, my friends, was my recent divorce from a particularly horrible employer; and I decided to celebrate and commemorate the event the only way I know how: by going out for a meal. Having never been to the Safir Hotel in Dokki before, I strolled around the hotel lobby and chatted with the concierge. I learned that they have an open buffet restaurant, a Lebanese restaurant and an outdoor café. But none of these were as advertised as “Asia Boutique” was; and it there that I decided to spend my patronage.
Shogun at the Intercontinental City Stars
March 19, 2010 4 Comments
Last week, half a dozen friends and I decided to make an event out of a night at the movies. So, before our scheduled viewing of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland at the Golden Stars Cinema, we settled on Japanese food at Shogun in the nearby Intercontinental Hotel. Since my favorite Japanese restaurant, Okamoto in Mohandessin, closed down, I’ve been on the lookout for a restaurant that serves Shabu-Shabu. So after sitting down at one of the 3 teppanyaki bars – am I the only one who thinks that teppanyaki bars are a tad overused and cliched? – I searched the half dozen page menu for Shabu Shabu.
No Dice. Sigh. The standard fare on offer and the teppanyaki bars gave me a sinking feeling I was in for a run of the mill Egyptian interpretation of Japanese Food at premium prices. Reinforcing this dread was the menu; the first page was meant to be a story about the history of shoguns in Japan, but was cut off mid sentence when the space on the page ran out. I asked the maitre D where the rest of the story was and he jokingly remarked that the history of Shoguns was short-lived.
JW Steakhouse at the Zamalek Marriott
March 17, 2010 Leave a Comment
My older brother was on a one day visit from Boston last month, and being an avid reader of this site, wanted to treat me to something I hadn’t tried yet. Immediately we agreed that our meal would have to be one of cooked flesh. This of course meant we were headed to a steakhouse. The JW Steakhouse was a venue I was reserving for a big occasion; but since I hadn’t seen my brother in over a year, we decided that it was worthy.
Okashi at the Hyatt Regency
March 16, 2010 Leave a Comment
In May 2008, Egypt Today reviewed Okashi, and declared that it was Cairo’s best sushi restaurant. Last summer, a close friend (who also happened to be averse to eating meat; but quivered at the thought of eating sushi) and I decided to try it out. So, with fat wallets and empty stomachs, we made our reservations for a late afternoon meal bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun overlooking the Nile. Good conversation was guaranteed, and, so we hoped, was the food.
3 Strikes: Hotel Restaurants.
March 15, 2010 8 Comments
I’ve not had the energy to write up reviews for some of the restaurants I’ve been to recently; but after a 3rd attempt at having supposedly high end dining experience at some of the hotels in Cairo, I can’t keep silent any longer. I went to 3 different hotels and 3 different restaurants; Okashi, at the Hyatt Regency; JW Steakhouse at the Zamalek Marriot; and Shogun at the Intercontinental city stars.
Playing Favorites
February 11, 2010 4 Comments
Yep, I’ve been really lazy as of late. Here’s an attempt to get off my rear end and actually write something unique for the NHCIA.
I haven’t got a lot of time to regale you with tales of food history or tell you how to make a cinnamon syllabub; I’m in a wham-bam-thank you ma’am kinda mood. When I’m hungry and I need speed, I get some me fast feed. Of course I have favorites; some home deliveries are faster than others, and that typically influences my decision. But it’s not just the speed of the food delivery – cook door could deliver in 5 minutes and I still wouldn’t touch them with a ten foot pole – it’s the items on offer.
Burgers? Burger King, Hardee’s, Burger Kitchen then McDonald’s.
Pizza? Sbarro’s, Papa John’s, Domino’s, Pizza Hut then Little Ceaser’s.
Chicken? KFC, Texas Fried Chicken then Al Tazaj. Not too many chicken fast food options out there; that would explain why KFC has been allowed to thrive.
Chinese? No one. It’s a big market gap that needs to be exploited by someone with more time and money than myself.
As a wee lad growing up in the deserts of Saudi Arabia, I often found myself wishing for the day when I could mix and match, pick and choose my favorite items and eat them all on the same plate. Sort of like an All-Star Fast Food Team. Thankfully, my Fast Food Fast has been over for almost 6 months. Without further adieu, Here’s my lineup:
Main Items:
- BK Whopper
- Hardee’s Mushroom and Swiss
- KFC Toasted Twister Wrap with Cheese (Original)
- Sbarro’s New York Thin Sliced Margherita Pizza
Side Items:
- Texas Chicken’s Biscuits
- A&W Root Beer
- McDonald’s Fries
- Hardee’s Big Cookie
I’m pretty sure there are some items that you wouldn’t agree with; but then again, there are probably items there that you have not tried yet: go try them, then come talk to me. If you’ve got your own suggestions, make yourself heard!
Nuked, 3 minutes on Medium
Breakfasting in Cairo (if you’re up early enough)
December 26, 2009 7 Comments
<Originally published in CAMPUS magazine, August 2009>
Summer is here. School is out. Good times will be had by all. So instead of doing the same old routine, why not change it up a little while you’re still in Cairo? Wake up early and go have breakfast with the usual suspects you hang out with.
More and more restaurants are offering breakfast options on their menus, especially American/European styled fare. Unfortunately for me, writing up these kinds of reviews exposes the inverse relationship between my wallet’s fatness and my own; but it is work I must do. Here’s a quick rundown of my favorite places to get my morning fix. Notably absent are coffee house chains, like Cilantro, Beano’s, Starbucks, Second Cup Etc. We’re talking restaurants, baby; not some prepackaged, vacuum packed, sterile airport lounge.
And please leave the laptops at home – there should be no such thing as a “working breakfast”. I don’t care if you’re crunching numbers over coffee, Googling over a bowl of grapefruit or browsing Facebook; with a forkful of scrambled eggs; you need to relax. No one likes a party pooper, and computing over crumpet means you’re wound way too tight.
VIP Restaurant, Cairo Tower
December 2, 2009 1 Comment
<First Published in G-Mag, Issue #53>
The people behind “VIP” want you to feel part of an exclusive and rarefied club; the Elite, the Chosen Few. But instead of employing bouncers at the door, and conjuring up fictitious minimum charges, they do it the old fashioned way: just hide the door. It’s reminiscent of a prohibition era Chicago. It took me two trips to the Cairo tower to get in; making a reservation wasn’t easy – VIP doesn’t have a direct line. Your best bet is to pray the Cairo Tower operator will answer and then redirect you to the Restaurant Manager.
Always hungry in Paris
October 19, 2009 4 Comments
I’ve been very blessed recently to have been afforded the opportunity to travel to two of Europe’s greatest cities on somebody else’s dime. That’s right, not only am I a well paid home-based employee; but also sent to foreign cities on an all expenses paid business trip. Yes, life is sweet.
So after heading to London for a couple of days – well, Marlowe in Berkshire to be exact – I was sent to the city of lights; fair Paris. Armed with my very basic french and a mental checklist of foods I needed to eat; I hopped on the direct Egyptair flight seated comfortably betwixt a retired Wall Street business writer and some uninteresting french woman who smelt curiously of smoked ham.
