Restaurant review: The big night out You don't have to fly to Florence to feast on fusilli I marvel at the picturesque clustre of Tuscan salmon-coloured farmhouses. I lurch to the window to take in the symmetrical beauty of the cypress-lined avenues. You could be anywhere in the gently undulating hills around Florence or Pisa. You might just be in the very bosom of the breathtakingly beautiful Tuscan countryside. But, you are not. You are actually at the outskirts of Cairo on the Ring Road in the plush luxury nestled behind a huge façade engraved on stone that reads Mirage City. You are, to be precise, in the JW Marriott -- in the Italian restaurant called Cucina (Italian for kitchen). Lovely décor and the wine flows. There are hints of Renaissance Italy. Cucina is spacious, pretty and utterly purposeful. This upmarket Italian eatery is airily elegant. Then there is the piazza, the characteristic Italian square, complete with brightly- coloured shutters of windows with eye-catching flowers dangling over. And the gabled roofs add to the ambiance too. You could be in a typical square in a Tuscan city, but instead of the faded grandeur of the Tuscan architectural styles, there is something vaguely kitsch about this kitchen. Is it the shutters I wonder, or is it the starlit ceiling -- another make-believe wonder. Be that as it may, I see the soft lights sparkle in the palazzo. I hear the squeals of laughter and yells of my two sons aged 10 and five, and something inside me stirs. We enter Cucina at exactly the moment dusk merges into night. The restaurant has two floors, upstairs is reserved for smokers. We sit downstairs and order our dinner. Gnocchi alla Piemontese, the famous northern Italian potato dumpling, doused in a mouthwatering mixture of fresh and sun-dried tomato sauce and pesto. The penne came in a rich creamy sauce with mushrooms. It wasn't on the menu, but was especially made because Youssef prefers it to the penne Arabbiata, which was on the menu. "Forget the menu, we prepare whatever dish you desire," the headwaitress winks. Now she is putting the finishing touches to the dinner arrangements. "You must try the spaghetti ice-cream," she giggled and did her swooning act. "You'd love it. It is ice cream to die for." "Scrumptious," Karim, my firstborn, exclaims and gulped down his gnocchi manfully. His younger brother Youssef tucks into his pasta. "Is everything okay? Is the food all right," the headwaitress enquired politely. "Just look how they gobble it up," I chuckle. My Salmone Cinq Terre, Norwegian salmon with almonds and balsamic vinegar was delicious and cooked to perfection. The waiters were all exceedingly friendly and even though they were Egyptian, they all sported Italian nicknames -- Marco, Giovanni, Paulo. They hover attentively, chatting and joking with my sons. The boys let out roars of laughter. They were enjoying both the food and the company. The whiff of freshly baked Italian breads suddenly fill the air. We turn instinctively towards the oven at the entrance of the Cucina. The baker, a jolly fellow, beckons the children over. My sons are encouraged to kneed the dough, each boy making his own "gingerbread man". I turn again to gaze at the Tuscan landscape painted on the walls. I look up at the artificial night sky. "Sweet moonlit night," I sigh. A stunning beauty, jet black hair, in an exquisite midnight black evening gown, makes a sudden appearance. She flings her head back, her magnificent dark eyes fixing the stars. Her long legs kick almost spasmodically to the beat of the romantic melodies she sings. Her hands hug the microphone. Everything around her moves with dreamlike serenity. The headwaitress stands demurely behind the singer and the entire staff breaks into song. The boys cover their mouths to suppress giggles. The staff sing so beautifully and unselfconsciously and we all tap our feet and clap in time to the music. We are stuffed by now, but the headwaitress insists on the spaghetti ice cream topped with a syrupy sweet strawberry sauce. I decline, but the boys dig in. Next comes the bill. Wildly expensive, of course. Mind you, for European tourists the exchange rate makes eating at Cucina a steal. Cucina: The Italian Kitchen JW Marriott Ring Road, Mirage City Tel: 02 411 5588 By Injy El-Kashef
