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Al-Ahram Weekly 31 August - 6 September 2000 Issue No. 497 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 31 August - 6 September 2000 Issue No. 497
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Critters of the sea
By Injy El-KashefDear Abul-Arabi,
I can't begin to tell you how glad I was to be back in Port Said again. It isn't the shopping that interests me there -- the association between your city and shopping has become a mania of pathological proportions, actually -- but the food! You know I cultivate an interest in all things fishy, and what better place to be than a city whose people are compulsive fish-eaters? Rumour has it that the kitchens of Port Said's women always look brand new... The secret? They never cook. Apparently the entire community eats fish three times a day, seven days a week, and it is not prepared at home but in the public ovens designed for the purpose. Anyway, you know all about that.
What you don't know about is our experience at Abu Essam's. Remember you said his place was one of the best? Well, we were there on a Thursday, at 10.30pm, at the peak of the holiday season, and it was totally empty. We didn't like that, to tell you the truth, especially since it is located on the Corniche, right opposite the Al-Nawras Resort, and that alone should have guaranteed a full house.
Since it isn't every day we go to Abu Essam's, we ordered lots of food, but found ourselves forced to eat it all at the same time, since the waiter brought it all together. I thought he was a friend of yours? Anyway, the fish soup was rather a bad start. It was basically vegetable soup (full of potatoes), with a few chunks of fish and a tiny shrimp or two floating about miserably. Even your wife makes better soup when she's not too busy gossiping. The shrimp kofta could have been made of anything in the world, but all it tasted of was rice, and it was all shriveled up like the children's fingers after a day at the beach.
The fried calamari was far better than the tajin version -- at least we finished it, which is more than we could say for the rest of the food. The tajin was far too salty, and so over-spiced that ultimately it did not taste of anything. With that we also had clams, as you advised, in three different forms: with tomato sauce, with tahina, and plain with garlic. Only the last was good -- very good, in fact. The first was strange, not too say quite unappetising. Its sauce made us feel that we were eating okra with shells. The second was very bland, despite the diluted tahina it was swimming in.
What can I say of the spaghetti frutti di mare? Well, that we had a few bites and left the rest. Oh, and the shelled crabs were minuscule, and contained only melted cheese with mayonnaise -- no meat whatsoever. Since they only had creme caramel for dessert, we declined, and wished we had taken up your offer of grilled fish at home (at least your wife's kitchen does not look brand new, that's for sure). Besides the pleasure of your company we would have saved on the bill -- LE195 it was, too. You're always right, Abul-Arabi.
Abu Essam, Atef Al-Sadat St., Port Said. Tel: (066) 232 776
