Restaurant review:
Jambo, jambo
Gamal Nkrumah cackles with delight, downing kuku and kuva
Africano was a dim, cavernous place, devoid of customers. We arrived as the end of the day's fast was announced. At first glance Africano struck me as a vulgar, commercialised spectacle and I was inclined to storm out of the clichéd eatery.
My two sons, however, better appreciated the bizarre ambiance. Commercial kitsch or delightfully eccentric with attractive little knick-knacks to boot? Overly attentive waiters donned golden-coloured collarless "African" shirts with bold floral patterns.
Africano is spacious and welcoming, and offers a bewildering variety of funny things, not all edible nor all "African". King Shaka Zulu resplendent in cowhide shield, feathered headdress and pelt kilt, with Assegai, or spear, in hand. Stern-faced African masks and curio galore.
The menu, pointlessly weird, predictably offered the same dishes as any other Cairene restaurant specialising in typical Egyptian cuisine. It was all mumbo-jumbo.
Although replete with Kiswahili phrases and in the shape of a large map of the dark continent, the menu hardly featured any authentic African dishes. It included African bread, whatever that means. I never found out. I was not exactly given a choice.
The staff were delightful and straightforward. "We have a set menu for Ramadan -- a buffet," a polite but firm waiter whispered almost unintelligibly as he ushered us into the "island" in the heart of the restaurant. The "stream" was made of glass with toy fish, crustaceans and seaweed trawling at the bottom. We made our way through the densely-wooded "island" -- mainly gigantic artificial ferns and bamboo -- to the far end, where we found a huge buffet laid out.
Africano kicked off the Ramadan festivities with aplomb. After inspecting the sumptuous buffet, we ducked under low- hanging lantern chandeliers, and settled into a table where we could comfortably watch Bakkar, Egypt's Ramadan cartoon television star.
The waiter, a personable young man, asked what we would like to have as "complimentary" drinks, and, perhaps anticipating a terrible mess, handed us extra serviettes. The children opted for qamaraddin , an apricot drink, and I ordered tamarind juice, tamr hindi -- both designed to delight sweet-toothed connoisseurs.
A few other superb freebies were soon thrown in as well. Perhaps because we were the only customers for iftar that evening we had a different level of service. We had the place to ourselves.
My onion soup was marvelous. My older boy gulped down his chicken and vegetable soup. The beef stew was chunky and tender. The potato purée was superb. The tomato, garlic and thyme-drenched pasta irresistible. The boys tucked in with glee. My older boy took a first forkful and pronounced the food delicious. He gobbled mouthfuls of the pasta. And so did my younger one, a somewhat pernickety eater.
I asked for the bill which came to LE60 and the rich food laid heavily on our stomachs, which I suppose is most commonplace this time of the year.
Seasons greetings from me and the boys.
Africano, 10 Mohamed Al-Mahdi Street, Ard Al-Golf, Heliopolis, Cairo
Tel: 414 7078
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 20 - 26 November 2003 (Issue No. 665)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/665/li2.htm