15 - 21 March 2001
Issue No.525
|
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 15 - 21 March 2001 Issue No.525 |
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Undercover starch
Injy El-Kashef heads for the basement
Opposite Al-Shams Cub is a little kushari place called Fawanis. It is another one of those last-minute options that one thinks one will never use after the review has been submitted. Yet in Fawanis's case, I suspect matters may be different. My sister and I paid our visit rather late at night, a move we regretted when we realised we were the only females there, and the focus of a large male audience's attention. We sat outside so we could smoke and give our backs to the public, glancing over our shoulders every once in a while only to discover that the novelty of our presence hadn't worn out until we were ready to leave.
I ordered kushari (only one size is available, for LE2.75) with extra fried onions (for 25 piastres), and she had a small mushroom and veggie pizza (LE7.25).
While we waited -- and waited -- for the food to show up, we had ample time to study the tables, which for some reason featured maps of the world adorned with inscriptions in Latin. Who? What? Where? Why? No one will ever know. There is not much of a view since the restaurant is below street level, accessible by a staircase. It is therefore all rather contained in that small area, causing customers to feel that they're all part of a clan or alliance that had to seek shelter underground and wipe out all traces of its existence for fear of attack. At least that would explain the maps.
My kushari showed up in an aluminium plate with extra tomato sauce and garlic-vinegar dressing on the house. Quite honestly, it was pretty good, quite enough, and lacking in none of the basic traditional ingredients -- chickpeas and all. The only problem was that it was not warm enough, and therefore felt more like a starchy salad than a hot meal.
My sister's pizza took much, much longer, but proved worth the wait. It was bigger than the small pizzas one finds elsewhere, rich with toppings (canned mushrooms, though), with lots of mozzarella cheese. We also took away a sugar fitira (LE1.25), which was not particularly fantastic, and a Roumi cheese fitira with tomatoes, onions, green peppers and black olives. Now that was a treat (for LE3.75). The rice pudding with nuts was very good, and topped with desiccated coconut, raisins and hazelnuts, neatly divided into three equal shares.
A good experience, to be repeated or ordered home, if one has enough time to spare. This order came to LE17.25, excluding tips.
Fawanis, 5 Abdel-Hamid Badawi St, opposite Al-Shams Club, Heliopolis.
Tel: 636 2756
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
Recommend this page