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Al-Ahram Weekly 2 - 8 March 2000 Issue No. 471 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 2 - 8 March 2000 Issue No. 471
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Interview Features Focus Heritage Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters The way of all flesh
By Injy El-KashefThe only time we had experienced Hati Al-Geish was Ramadan two years ago and it was so packed that we had to wait a good 10 minutes before seating could be arranged. Although a good sign, this situation did not prompt me in itself to believe that the restaurant was a particularly fantastic one -- after all, any place is good enough for many at Iftar time.
We had been begging for more ever since, but more only came on the occasion of this review (which will be extremely unappealing to vegetarians). This time Hati Al-Geish was only pleasantly full. Our waiter arrived promptly, announcing, to our confusion and dismay, that it being Wednesday, there was hardly any beef in the house and that if we insisted on beef it would have to be kebda iskandarani (liver Alexandria style: beef liver fried with onions, green peppers and garlic). A word of warning is in order: unless otherwise specified, everything on the menu, especially kofta and kebab and including all the grilled body parts on offer, consists of dani (lamb). If you are not a fan of lamb you must specifically require the beef version, which may not always be available. However, it is also fair to mention that, at our previous Iftar at Hati Al-Geish, unaware of this general rule, I had devoured my order of kofta and kebab and only discovered it was lamb several days later.
As we waited for our orders the waiter kindly explained what we already guessed. Hati Al-Geish, which has been operating since the 1920s, was previously called Hati Al-Malek (the king's kebab restaurant) and, on the occasion of the 1952 Revolution, began to call itself Hati Al-Geish (the army's...). Riding the wave has obviously not decreased its quality.
Our rice with kidneys and livers and spaghetti with bolognaise sauce arrived first, along with the pickled tomatoes and tahina. The rice was red and came in a tajin with chicken livers -- we couldn't have hoped for more -- while the spaghetti was lukewarm and scarce on sauce.
I had the kibda iskandarani, which was absolutely divine, although I did not see any traces of onions, peppers or sauce. It seems that they are only cooked that way, but arrive looking plainer that the moon. My dining partner had a more elaborate deal, which may please some and upset others: his plate included grilled lamb's liver, kidney and, I'm afraid, testicles. Apparently they are succulent. Personally, I prefer not to partake of appendages.
The food at this Hati is really delicious and, to add to the pleasure, quite cheap. In terms of desserts, only two options exist: crème caramel and mahalabiya. Our choice fell on the latter, as an eggy dessert after all that meat would have caused a protein overdose. The mahalabiya was so good that we took four others home.
The bill was LE84.
Hati Al-Geish, 32 Al-Falaki St, Bab Al-Louq.
Tel 354 5438/0472 (Delivery available).
