Restaurant review:
Double feature
Injy El-Kashef finds herself on the street
Among the many drawbacks of having been raised abroad is a sense of shameful ignorance when it comes to knowledge of one's own culture. Many were the times when everyone around me exploded in roars of laughter upon hearing a decontextualised quote from a classic film, song or play, leaving me utterly lonesome in my inability to understand the implied wit.
Streets are also an issue. "How do you get to Giza Square?" is not a question that leaves my interlocutor neutral.
Never having been to Smiley's is yet another example. Smiley's is, apparently, a pillar of most young people's youth; a place opposite which many an evening was spent, many a date met, many a relationship broken, many an end of exam celebrated...in a nutshell, Smiley's is a whole life.
So I went to Smiley's. Sceptical as usual -- I taste therefore I am -- I walked in with a bit of an attitude ("here comes the expert, everyone bow...NOW"), only to lose it the moment we began interacting with the staff. Friendly, confident in their product yet so eager to please, backed by years and years of experience yet clearly looking out to the future, the guys at Smiley's just make haughtiness an impossibility.
I would not be exaggerating if I said Smiley's is the best fast food I ever had. From burgers to pizzas, from a Chinese to an Italian section, from A to Z, it is simply excellent. I had the Seafood Panino and a Chinese Fried Prawn Sandwich, with some Potato Croquettes on the side. Utterly delicious. All of it. My eating partner had a Chicken Pizza Sandwich covered in tonnes of melted mozzarella cheese and a Chicken Submarine Sandwich.
While I ate, and sampled, one question kept popping up in mind: why have I waited 30 years of my life to discover this place? And the value! All this food, with a bottle of freshly squeezed orange juice for LE40. (Though a hilarious little notice read: "Prices are subject to change according to customer's attitude"). No wonder rumour has it that after branching it out to Nasr City and Heliopolis, Smiley's are considering overseas expansion.
Now to another discovery -- Al-Madina Al- Menawwara ice-cream. This is the deal: once you're done with Smiley's get back in your car and head to Ard Al-Golf for dessert. When you hit this little heavenly ice-cream parlour I just mentioned, park your car, find a source of water, perform your ablutions, then pray for me -- I deserve it for letting you know about this place.
Honey with almonds, cream with pistachios, caramel with hazelnuts, chocolate with fudge, lemon with mint, yoghurt with cherries, every single desirable fruit, cassata, molasses...what more can I say? I could not believe it. I just stood there, sampling tub after tub, my palate euphoric and my mood rising, rising, ever higher.
I ended up with one scoop of cream with pistachios (by far the best) and one of caramel with hazelnuts; my partner opting for three scoops of chocolate with fudge and one of lemon. Between the two of us we paid LE9.25. Between you and me, only take very nice people there, not everyone deserves this kind of ice- cream.
Smiley's (closed on Sun), Abu Bakr Al-Seddiq St, Heliopolis
Al-Madina Al-Menawwara, 31 Shamseddin Al-Zahabi St, Ard Al-Golf, Heliopolis
Tel 414 7937
