Restaurant review: Hopelessly Heliopolis Gamal Nkrumah toasts a testament to a bygone era In its heyday there wasn't a table to be had in Petit Palmyra. With a dash of deliberate parody, a dizzying sip of hand-picked wines off the beaten track sharpened appetites. It was as if the wives of the winemakers prepared the bang- up food. In the heady days of the 1950s and 60s, this was a place esteemed with something approaching awe by connoisseurs and Cairene wine lovers. It was never quite a tap house, though. Today, this is not a place to be if you are on the trail of the culinary delights of Heliopolis. The Syrian Desert oasis of Palmyra, the city of palms, was virtually a tavern or caravansary for merchants on the ancient Silk Road. Its namesake in Heliopolis is not quite up to par -- neither to the khan of the ancients nor to the splendid rotisserie of a couple of generations ago. The pendulum hasn't quite swung back. Yet Petit Palmyra has had a facelift, a new lease of life. The mezzeh, or starters, are actually tasty. The baba ghanoug was deliciously smoky and the fleshly aubergine coarsely pureed. Still, a visit to Petit Palmyra cannot be culinary to the exclusion of all else. The restaurant had one or two impromptu treats, and to begin with we tucked into what turned out to be a scrumptious meal. Combining freshly seared aubergine and sesame paste in an unusual and imaginative fashion, and then adding olive oil and spices with a liberal hand topping it all up with a black olive and a sprig of fresh mint. The original oasis city of Palmyra was a market town for shepherds to sell and slaughter their sheep and pyres piled high with roast lamb, game and goat. Lamb chops are intrinsic of a culinary culture that appears to embrace all levels of Cairene society. The grilled meat we tasted at Petit Palmyra was of the stringy variety -- mutton rather than lamb. Heliopolis has a healthy respect for early 20th century architecture. It was a muggy grey day in this picturesque quarter of Cairo that searches for patterns in the lives of the wealthy expatriates that founded it and the middle class Egyptians who inherited it after the mass exodus of Europeans, Armenians and Jews. The plump pigeon breast stuffed with cracked wheat had its own sunshine-and-earth synergy. The "stuffdf" pigeon -- that you have to order well in advance -- was followed by terrine of chicken "spisy" sauce, "lamp kofta" and "spinash samboussek". As the sun set we rattle through the streets that cling to the marvellous old cavernous buildings. Discerningly, these are juxtaposed with the pastel and pistachio paintings of the interior décor which evoke a fresh softness tempered by the big black piano. Three colossal columns offer a sense of place. In some important respects this is a fine restaurant. I walked past the restaurant that is a stone's throw away from the Heliopolis Sporting Club. Flanked by Starbucks and Pizza Hut, Petit Palmyra is a very grown up restaurant. It is propped up against the crumbling wall, peeled paint and all of what was once a proud building. Across the road is Cinema Normandy, an awe- inspiring Heliopolis landmark. The tenaciously surviving buildings demonstrate the uncannily European aesthetic that this particular period of Egyptian history is uniquely famous for. Neighbouring Nasr City has an unmistakable prefab feel. How long venerable Heliopolis traditions can survive the overpowering onslaught of modernity? One cannot take the pleasures of Petit Palmyra's culinary tradition seriously, however much one enjoys the Heliopolis surroundings. The menu is far from beautifully written even though it is obviously intended to be informative and inspiring in equal measure. Without the sole Nubian waiter in the green-grey galabiya and white turban things would have turned rather chaotic. Petit Palmyra's pianist Ashraf Fahmi threw himself into a lilting rendition of Chick Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven". We sipped our beer as we listened to the accomplished pianist playing gentle jazz well into the night. A familiar story freshly told. A familiar melody freshly played. Petit Palmyra 27 Al-Ahram Street Heliopolis, Cairo Tel: 010 114 1191 Dinner for two: LE240
