Restaurant review: Ripples of sand, not caramel Injy El-Kashef spots the similarities It had been six years since my last trip to Bahareya Oasis; Yassine was 10 months old. Having just returned, I realise that among the pleasant surprises of things unchanged is the restaurant of El Beshmo Lodge. It would not be an understatement to note that a good meal might be the hardest comfort to come by in Bahareya. (There is one restaurant, Bayoumi's, and though his tables are always busy and his business ever successful, I personally never found anything at all to lure me to his enterprise). By way of nourishment one must otherwise make do with canned food or hotel restaurants. And El Beshmo wins by a long shot. Named after the Roman spring around which it is built, the lodge is perched on a cliff in the old city of Bawiti, abandoned mud brick houses offering a charming picturesque setting to contrast with its salmon-coloured bungalows. Always quiet, always relaxed and always seemingly empty even when fully-booked, El Beshmo is a haven of peace and comfort to Bahareya visitors. Should you happen to head to Egypt's Western Desert (like many an Asian tourist has this season), it will surely provide an appetising, nourishing and freshly cooked meal. The management needs to learn of your intention to lunch three hours in advance, so do not forget to inform them before heading out on your stroll. The reason for such protocol is to give the kitchen time to purchase the ingredients of your lunch and cook it specifically for you. Hence, the menu also varies on a daily basis, depending upon seasonal availability. Do not expect anything fancy or complicated -- rather, a basic and balanced veggie-carb-protein meal preceded by soup and accompanied by salad and tehina. You can, however, set your heart on a homey taste that spells excellent command of classic Egyptian cooking. On our first day, and as we greeted the dropping temperatures of desert climate by early evening, we were absolutely delighted to find a bowl of lentil soup warming our hands. With the first spoonful, delight turned to bliss: the concoction was rich, flavoursome and of optimum consistency. Refills would have been in order had it not been for the fact that the rest of the food landed at precisely the same moment we swallowed the last spoonfuls. Service is simple and impeccable. The salad consists of tomato and cucumber slices stirred with vinegar, olive oil (what else in a land surrounded by olive trees) salt and pepper -- crunchy, clean and tasty. There were three plates of tehina for the six of us, thick and creamy, spiced with a bit of hot chili and perfect to allow your stuffed nose to run a little. The real pièce de resistance, though, is the grilled chicken. A centre dish with a heap of pieces piled up off the grill sat in the middle of the table. It was returned clean, not one chicken wing left for chance. The seasoning was powerful, the meat tender, and the skin crispy; offering a drumstick became the most effective way of acquiring silence from the excited children in our midst. A large plate of rice with vermicelli for each, along with a bowl of white lentils cooked in tomato sauce and all the nourishment we needed was complete. The rice was buttery like granny's, the lentils luckily cooked with garlic and not onion, and the remains of the salad quickly added on for a tangy contrast of flavours. No dessert is available, possibly because it is not actually healthy to eat dessert at the end of a full meal, and probably because the point at El Beshmo is always -- like the rooms and the pool constructed to receive the warm spring water -- to offer the bare necessities. Far better than dessert, in fact, is ordering a cup of strong tea with mint and climbing up the little precipice opposite the lodge for a perfect sunset facing a vista of palm gardens extending all the way to the horizon before merging into a cloud- dotted blue sky such as only Bahareya can provide. Reviewed meal: (price for Egyptians LE25) El Beshmo Lodge Bawiti Bahareya Oasis
