 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 27 April - 3 May 2000 Issue No. 479 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 27 April - 3 May 2000 Issue No. 479
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Nippon nights
By Injy El-KashefIn the mood for some Chinese. Headed for the Chinois at Sheraton Heliopolis. Were greeted by a somewhat curt and self-assured waiter who opened our eyes to new possibilities: "Japanese or Chinese?" What a pleasant surprise! Japanese, of course; Chinese is all over town. We were seated at one of the three huge tables occupying the third of the restaurant. It is a pleasant, simple and elegant affair, leaning more toward the Chinese in its atmosphere, with a clientele clearly favouring the latter.
One quick look at the menu is not enough. Although there are only about six options to choose from -- or maybe because of this very factor -- we found ourselves spending a good 15 minutes pondering our meal. Dishes include seafood (featuring Red Sea jumbo shrimp and Scottish salmon), chicken, and meat (including American tenderloin), and are priced at either LE85 or LE110. Vegetarians can enjoy a dish based on a selection of fresh vegetables for LE55. Quite honestly, we thought these dishes a trifle overpriced, until we read the following: "All menus are served with Japanese-style Miso Soup, a complimentary appetiser, authentic Asian pickles, Chinois salad, fresh Teppanyaki vegetables, fried rice with your main course choice as listed below and fresh fruit followed by green tea ice cream."
As you may have guessed, the ice cream accompanied the fresh fruit, not the green tea. Another notice on the menu mentioned the unique experience of seeing your food cooked live (the cooking, not the food) by either chef Chanchai or chef Wattichai. In fact, the huge tables are supplied with a large cooking surface topped by a ventilator. Sounds like fun.
One dish after the other started appearing, each tastier than its predecessor. The soup was particularly spectacular. My dining companion inquired of the waiter: "What is this soup made of?" The waiter replied: "It is Miso Soup." Excuse our ignorance of things Japanese, but what is it made of? Apparently, it is based on fish, but no fish soup has ever left such an impression on our taste buds.
Our chef, contrary to the menu's claims, was Ashraf El-Ustaz, and he lived up to his name. His hands whizzed across the table, chopping, mixing, shredding, throwing ingredients behind his back with one hand and catching them nonchalantly with the other, banging on his stove like a real pro. Unfortunately, my worries about the live performance were justified: I failed to suppress my laughter every time he exerted even greater mental and physical efforts to make his cooking even speedier, louder and more frantic. How embarrassing...
Laugh as I may, however, this man delivered a splendid meal using all the skills he learned on a three-month course in Japan. Chapeau.
As for quantity, let us just mention that the only detail that made us hesitate about going Japanese was the fact that we were hungry and had predicted minimalist fare from this corner of the globe. What really transpired -- totally shattering our misinformed stereotype -- was that we could barely clean our plates. Delicious and nutritious -- Ashraf is our man.
Two main courses, a non-alcoholic beer (of course, the real thing is widely available) and a bottle of water were LE250. One last word: the cooking experience may be better appreciated, and more rewarding for the chef, if a large group attends his performance.
Chinois, Sheraton Heliopolis, Airport Road
Tel: 2677730/40.
