Restaurant review:
A perfect moment
Injy El-Kashef knows that less is sometimes more
Considering the virtually non-existent autumns in our city, and the almost overnight transition from summer to winter, those last summer days when the sun is no longer scorching and a cool breeze rises with its setting are the best time to have a meal at the Grand Hyatt's open terrace restaurant.
I was there recently with a dear friend, basking in the pinkish-orange glow that heralds the sun-god's nocturnal journey under the Nile that shimmered before us. It was one of those moments only perfect weather and a good meal can produce; those moments that account for the lesser pleasures in life -- which all too often pass uncelebrated.
The waiters, sporting patterned floral shirts, are all inexplicably good-looking, if a tad slow. Eventually, however, a diner does receive a menu, only to be faced with a serious case of embarras du choix. The listed items are a combination of the best dishes on offer at the hotel's indoors restaurants: a selection of Middle Eastern, Indian, Japanese and international plates to make even the most decisive diner spend a good 10 minutes making up his mind.
We settled for main courses, skipping primi piatti and antipasti -- it was by no means a time for gluttounous indulgence; the weather was too good, our minds too lucid, for the inconvenience of indigestion. And, we had no chewing gum in our purses to help ease that horrible over-stuffed feeling which results from an over-ambitious meal.
My friend's grilled chicken bites with yoghurt sauce were incredibly tender. Their spicy flavour, an obvious result of a long and exquisite marinade, was toned down by the fresh, cool, minty yoghurt on the side. It was one of those interactive, post-modern dishes that engage a diner in deliberate participation. You cannot skip the sauce; you cannot drizzle too much, or too little of it, on your chicken chunks -- you must do it properly, thoughtfully, consciously, appreciatively.
As for my fish fillet in butter and lemon sauce, it was ever so subtle, ever so delicate. The fish was neither flaky, dry, overtender or bland. Again, a marinade had been its home before it found its way to the chef's grill; again, the accompanying sauce absolutely necessary. More sweet and aromatic than savoury and pungent, my fish fillet was an absolute delight.
One must be quick to add, however, that the Hyatt's protein dishes are not accompanied by any carbohydrate garnish. The chicken, and the fish, lay desolate on the huge plate. My friend and I were quick to order a separate dish of Basmati rice with vegetables, which we both shared with gusto, our long friendship alone standing in the way of our respective greed for the entire portion.
The bill, with a bottle of mineral water, removed LE110 from our pockets -- by five-star hotel standards, a rather reasonable calculation.
Grand Hyatt, formerly the Nile Tower, formerly the Royal Meridien, Garden City Nile Corniche
Tel: 3639598
