19 - 25 April 2001
Issue No.530
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 19 - 25 April 2001 Issue No.530 |
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Culture clashes
Injy El-Kashef learns a new language
It being Sham Al-Nessim week, I thought some fish was in order, but not fish as we know it -- fish as the ancient Egyptians knew it. Unfortunately, however, doing fesikh is one little worldly deed that requires personal capacities beyond my own. Call me limited, but taking the plunge into the rotten fish realm is an experience I'd rather spare myself (I tasted the waters with my little toe a few years ago and they seemed way too murky for further exploration).
Within my powers, though, is sushi and, given the occasion, it seemed like a pretty good alternative. So off we trotted, my sushi-experienced friend and I, to the recently renovated Sushiyama & Cheng, which (as indicated by the name) now also includes a Chinese food section. It is very nicely set up on the third floor of the World Trade Centre, with strong points like simple elegance, subtle decor and sleek atmosphere. A waiter dressed in black Judo-like attire came up to our table, handed us the menus and a board with all the available raw fish deals, and expected us to have made up our minds a couple of minutes later. Excuse me while I look like a perfect idiot, but I'm going to need at least half an hour here.
I had tried sushi before but I was young enough to eat whatever my parents put on my plate, hate it, and then repress the whole experience. So my friend explained, at length, that sushi is just the raw fish on steamed rice, while maki is the more commonly depicted roll of the above wrapped in seaweed. She then proceeded to elaborate on the different types of fish ("They taste really different raw, you know"). Yes, yes, uh huh... I nodded and focused really hard but when she suddenly asked me "so, what do you want?" I panicked. I don't react too well to unexpected questions; all I really wanted to answer was "How dare you?" but settled for "You seem very learned on the subject, how about you just pick?" instead.
The waiter's muffled Arabic and English both sounded like foreign languages to me at this point and I felt pretty left out because my friend seemed to understand. I got Yellow Tail Maki (the serving is six pieces) and for sushi I opted for the tuna, salmon and caviar (one piece each). Dipped in soy sauce mixed with wasabi (horseradish paste), it was rather nice (though awfully fishy), but the plain version I developed a serious aversion to. Next I had the Shoga Yaki (grilled beef with onion, ginger and soy sauce) and that was extremely tasty in a more familiar sort of way. The accompanying Yaki Onigri (grilled rice balls) were a challenge to eat with chopsticks but I had regained my confidence by then and managed rather well.
My friend had a large and delicious Miso Tofu Soup first, then attacked her Ume Maki (pickled apricot) with a vengeance. Her Yaki Soba were not really soba but ramen noodles -- not that it mattered in the least since she only mentioned this small fact in the midst of a sea of verbal applause, having wiped her plate clean.
A LE200 bill followed the Fried Banana dessert (they were out of fried ice-cream).
Sushiyama & Cheng, World Trade Centre, Nile Corniche, Maspero.
Tel: 579 0512
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