11 - 17 October 2001
Issue No.555
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 11 - 17 October 2001 Issue No.555 |
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Unknown heroes
Injy El-Kashef follows orders
There are some hotels in Egypt that many of us do not take seriously -- mainly those not belonging to huge international chains and not costing ridiculous amounts of money. I love those too, don't get me wrong -- when someone else is paying for my stay at a five-star hotel I do not particularly have any moral qualms about it. And yet, there are other hotels in Cairo that do not even beg for attention but exist nonetheless, knowing that one day you will casually drop by and be impressed.
That is just happened when Jailan and I went to the Flamenco Hotel in Zamalek. Many a time I had driven past and looked at it with interest, but never had the urge to enter. When we walked in and I saw how clean, subtly elegant and sane the hall looked, however, I felt as though I had made a wonderful discovery. The Coffee Shop actually looks like a full-fledged restaurant, quite large, really calm, very pleasant, and with big windows overlooking Abul-Feda Street.
I was famished and wanted to order the whole menu three or four times over. But Jailan, also known as mirror mirror on the wall, raised her eye-brows, her voice and her yellow card. "Injy, we are dieting. Behave yourself. You're only having one dish and a dessert." I was not going to give up that easily. "Maybe just a soup, or a salad, pleease..." A clear, firm and decisive "No!" put an end to the scene and Jailan proceeded to order for me. It was some wholesome and disgusting dish that I categorically refused, insisting instead on a nice creamy pasta. If I was only allowed one thing, at least make it as rich and heavy as possible -- what is this?
My Linguini Verde took forever to materialise and when it did I was actually a little disappointed. I was expecting green strips of pasta based on a spinachy formula, since that is what the menu had promised. When I inquired, the waiter said "Spinach means it is cooked the Spanish way... It does not mean it is green." The look on his face told me that my only possible answer would have been physical aggression, so I refrained, thanked him for explaining and dug in.
The sauce was not as thick as I had hoped but tasted just fine, and the little bits of chicken were rather plain, but not at all unpleasant. I enjoyed my meal very, very much, wished Jailan would suddenly remember some important errand or something, but since she didn't I had to order dessert right away. The most absolutely fantastic, delicious, mind-blowing Apple Tart I have tasted in Cairo crowned this appetising meal, for the modest sum of LE49.50, including a bottle of water, a Stella Local and a Nescafé.
Flamenco Hotel Coffee Shop, 11 Abul-Feda Street, Zamalek.
Tel:735 0815
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