8 - 14 March 2001
Issue No.524
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 8 - 14 March 2001 Issue No.524 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Shrimp size
When you go to Cilantro you want to make sure you're not a large group, simply because you will find no seats to accommodate you. You also want to make sure, if you are a smoker, that abstaining from nicotine for the duration of your Cilantro experience will not cause a cold turkey effect. I have absolute respect (I try very hard, but I ultimately manage) for non-smoking outlets -- after all, some people do have a right to clean air -- yet what I fail to comprehend is why forbid customers from enjoying their nicotine fix if you're going to burn five incense sticks at a time in the space of a tiny little room?
All this may change in the space of a month, however, as an upper floor is currently being prepared to provide more seats and, possibly, to allow some smoke. Let's keep our fingers crossed because Cilantro is actually a really pleasant place to be with a friend or two where you can have your American coffee, latté, hot chocolate, cappuccino, espresso or tea. It's also perfect for quick bites during a brief lunch break. In the display window are sandwiches, salads and cakes -- all ready-made, wrapped and cold. On the shelves are piles of delicacies, from baked goods to balsamic vinegar, Italian pasta to cold cuts to flavoured coffees -- if you can afford it, there's much you can pick up on your way home.
I chose a shrimp and noodle salad, which was quite large and quite good, with lots and lots of oyster sauce. Again, there were exactly six shrimps in total, all fresh and solid, but six. The secret connection between this particular number and this particular crustacean remains a mystery, but I'm sure it all makes sense on a more cosmic level. Starved and angry at having to wait alone until my friends showed up, I also ordered a smoked turkey sandwich. Lots and lots of powerful Dijon mustard (not too much, though, just lots) with very fresh toast, some butter, more than a hint of smoked turkey, thankfully an absence of tomatoes -- in went a few healthy and nutritious bites.
My friends finally arrived, and we had a round of hot beverages, which all came with delicious thin slices of brownie. The tea was regular Lipton and therefore nothing to cheer about. The latté (only plain, no flavours) was very good and came, as did the (also good, but regular) cappuccino, with a sweet star design on the froth. What I had was the hot chocolate, and that was not regular at all: it tasted like hot chocolate, not like stale cocoa, and had a reasonable amount of milk so that the aftertaste was pleasant rather than dairy-fridge.
What complemented this experience brilliantly was the moist, sweet and cinnamony carrot cake -- their idea of topping it with icing instead of frosting is not bad at all and the absence of walnuts was perfect because the skin always gets trapped in teeth since nobody ever bothers to skin those particular nuts.
Personally, I'm not nuts about the place, but I'll certainly pay regular visits.
Cilantro, 26th July St, Zamalek (a couple of doors down from Maison Thomas).
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