Restaurant review: Rosewater, rose garden Gamal Nkrumah laps up gulab jamun and kulfi in the shadow of King Khufu's Great Pyramid So there I was, one gloriously sunlit Autumnal day last week mingling with a small group of dazzlingly glamorous East African chums of Indian extraction. Clearly the couple aren't short of a bob or two. We had just crossed 40 acres of heavenly jasmine scented gardens. The sky was a piercing azure blue and the pyramids a glistening gold. A whiff of Seville orange blossom filled the crisp air. Ruby red roses were in full bloom. Bougainvillea dangled daintily from the brilliantly whitewashed terraces and balconies of the palatial Oberoi Mena House -- originally one of half a dozen royal hunting lodges of the supercilious Khedive Ismail. The luxurious five-star hotel has enchanted royal guests since 1869 when the lavish hunting lodge in the vicinity of the Giza Pyramids was sold to one Frederick Head who promptly named the property Mena in honour of the legendary first of Egypt's 76 Pharaohs according to the Tablet of Abydos. No expense was spared during the transitional period from royal hunting lodge to palatial hotel. The immaculately presented premises appealed to my Indian companions. The price of hotel rooms in Egypt is in freefall, they were told. "It is the same in India," they assure me. With hoteliers slashing upwards of 30 per cent in a desperate bid to attract visitors, they decided to avoid at all costs popular destinations in India itself, inundated with cash-strapped, sun-starved British-born overseas Indian tourists. Which destination offers the world's most historical and cultural variety in a single voyage? Egypt was the obvious choice. They decided to give sailing up the Nile a whirl. The contumelious khedive and his descendants entertained European and Oriental monarchs and emperors in the scenic grounds of this magnificent historical hotel -- surreal inside and out. The Mena House also played host to a coterie of celebrities and film stars in a bygone era. We decide to try one of Egypt's most fabled Indian restaurants -- The Moghul Room. Chef Ahmed, a native of India, is being coy about the delicacies he churns out. The exquisite interior and décor is quite simply breathtaking. My companions and I eye every minutest detail. General Manager Mohit Nirula made sure that this particular gourmet Indian restaurant was better than merely pleasant. Old-fashioned snobs and all but the most preposterously demanding of connoisseurs will approve of The Moghul Room. We had a gruelling itinerary ahead of us and I certainly didn't want to spend the next 48 hours in the loo. So I was careful not to sample watery, fiery hot dishes. The Tandoori chicken marinated in yoghurt was delightful, and so was the prawn Biryani. The Tandoori chicken was smothered in the traditional Indian spices and I promptly pulled the drumstick away from the thigh and I sucked and chewed on the flavoursome flesh which was tender and without the gamey undertones of the curried duck my companion had tucked into. Licking my lips and sucking every last bit of succulent flesh off the plump bird's bones, I greedily slurped the tangy chutney left on my plate. To tell the honest truth, The Moghul Room is one of the best exponents of Indian cuisine in Egypt, and a memorable location for a gourmet dinner. For something less highfalutin, there are other Indian eateries in Cairo that people frequent. But for a lip-smacking plate of perfect dal, nothing but The Moghul Room will do. The experience was exceptionally satisfying. The service was superb, the chummy staff were enchanting. The restaurant's trump card, though, is its delightful desserts. The delectable gulab jamun was inspirational and the kulfi particularly refreshing on a steaming summer day. The solid, dense frozen kulfi, my Indian companions insisted, was not to be confused with Western ice cream. As for the gulab jamun, they failed to persuade me that it was anything other than our own Luqmat Al-Qadi, disguised in cardamom and saffron. Gulab, is derived from the Persian rosewater and it is deservedly India's most popular dessert. The Moghul Room Mena House Oberoi Pyramids Road, Giza Tel: 3377 3222 Dinner for two: LE400
