Restaurant review: An explosion of delight Hanan Radwan recalls the exhilarating taste of lava The volcano hissed and sputtered angrily. Then it calmed for a while and dribbled a stream of searing lava. Watching the fiery liquid descend from the mountain, I smacked my lips hungrily and hummed in delight. My mother, who was watching the documentary film with me, was dumbfounded by my reaction. "This time you've really lost your head," she lamented. But I hadn't lost my head. I was merely recalling the finale of an unforgettable dining experience at Spago restaurant. It all started on a hot dusty afternoon when one of my friends suggested an early dinner at the newly opened eatery. Now I knew that this was a far cry from the renowned chef Wolfgang Puck's chain of fine dining restaurants in Beverly Hills and Las Vegas carrying the same name. So I braved the scorching sun, rubbed the sand from my eyes and prepared myself for the worst. The restaurant was so dark that I literally groped my way across the waiting lounge to the nearest table. Once my eyes became accustomed to Spago's sparse lighting, I could make out the same mahogany walls, brown couches and parquet floors that seem to be the standard décor selected for many cafés in Cairo. My companion soon arrived followed by the waiter sporting our menus. Resisting the urge to ask him for two torches, I squinted at the menu and agreed with my friend on seafood as our theme for dinner. When we arrived, the restaurant was peaceful with few customers and New Age background music barely a murmur. But it was Thursday night. No sooner had we decided on our orders than a wave of vivacious youths spilled onto the nearby tables and, as if refusing to be outdone by their guffaws, the music grew louder and louder. Soon after we bellowed our orders to the waiter, our shrimp konafa appetiser arrived. Eight fried crustaceans came draped in thick coats of ground crunchy konafa (spaghetti-like dough used to make a popular Middle Eastern dessert). The accompanying tartar sauce was creamy and tangy, jazzed up with parsley and gherkins. We barely had time to enjoy our appetiser before our main course orders descended upon us. Between moving platters around to make room, munching on the crispy shrimp and shouting words of wisdom about life to my companion, I felt my adrenaline gush forth and grew hungrier. My seafood cannelloni was calming therapy. Soon I was lost in an oval earthenware bed where bits of chewy squid swathed in two tubes of home-made cannelloni and four robust shrimps snuggled underneath a blanket of mozzarella drizzled with barbeque sauce. The sea creatures basked in a warm pool of delicious white sauce that almost made me swoon with pleasure. My order came with a choice of mixed greens or Caesar salad. I opted for the latter and enjoyed crunching on spiky-fresh iceberg lettuce drenched in creamy dressing and sprinkled with parmesan shreds and croutons. The salad was so tasty that in my haste to devour it I had to remind myself to cut up the lettuce pieces before popping them into my mouth to avoid giving myself a Caesar dressing face mask. As for my companion, she too lost interest in discussing the vagaries of life and reveled in her order of Farfalle Salmon Pasta. In a deep platter, a colony of small al-dente butterflies dressed in a delicious cream sauce slept underneath a galaxy of curled smoked salmon slivers spiked with capers. Although the dish required a few sprinkles of black pepper, it was a heavenly experience never to be forgotten. And then came the lava. At first, it was nothing more than an innocent mountain-shaped chocolate cake slouching beside a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. But when I pieced the cake with my spoon and the warm chocolate sauce oozed out, my senses froze. I was oblivious of the surrounding din, my friend, and life. I was in dreamland, munching on a mountain of gooey chocolate cake and spooning up its unctuous lava. Thanks to Spago, my ideas on volcanoes will never be the same. Spago 50 Gamal Salem Street, Mohandessin Telephone: 3761 6861 Dinner for two: LE175
