Deadly Israeli airstrikes pound Gaza as Doha talks raise hopes for ceasefire    Egypt accelerates coastal protection projects amid rising climate threats    Egypt's PM calls Israeli war on Gaza 'most dangerous crisis' at BRICS summit    Egypt's FinMin urges BRICS to support debt sustainability    Egypt's gold prices up on July 6th    Venezuela vows to uphold sovereignty on 214th independence anniversary    ADIB Egypt publishes second sustainability report for 2024    Egypt, Saudi FMs discuss Gaza truce, Iran-Israel tensions    Over 215,000 projects funded under Mashrouak, exceeding EGP 33bn in May: Minister    Egypt, Norway hold informal talks ahead of global plastic treaty negotiations    Greco-Roman tombs with hieroglyphic inscriptions discovered in Aswan    UN conference cites Egypt's 'NWFE' programme as model for development finance    Global tour for Korean 'K-Comics' launches in Cairo with 'Hellbound' exhibition    China's factory output expands in June '25    Philip Morris Misr announces new price list effective 1 July    Egypt teams up with private sector to boost university rankings    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Egypt condemns deadly terrorist attack in Niger    Egypt's FM, China's Wang discuss Iran-Israel escalation    Egypt's EHA, Schneider Electric sign MoU on sustainable infrastructure    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Grand Egyptian Museum opening delayed to Q4    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's EDA joins high-level Africa-Europe medicines regulatory talks    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Egypt's FM inspects Julius Nyerere Dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



The Pharaoh's curse
Published in Al-Ahram Weekly on 19 - 09 - 2002

Injy El-Kashef has never been more unpleasantly surprised
When I heard about the National Geographic's expedition into the Great Pyramid and all the hype surrounding the event I was overcome by a sense of pride and intense curiosity which compelled me to retouch base with my glorious ancestry. As, incidentally, I was also hungry, I thought there must be a restaurant that offers authentic Egyptian food -- as in Ancient Egyptian food, not koshari -- and the first venue that came to mind was the King Tut restaurant at the Pharaonic Village. I called them up just to make sure, and their answers were unmistakable: "Yes of course. We have really Egyptian food. We have fish and poultry and bread just how they baked it." It sounded reasonable; the Ancient Egyptians ate a lot of fish and geese, it's all there on the reliefs, and if they say it, they know their own kitchen.
In a highly enthusiastic tone, I called a dear friend of mine: "We're going to eat Ancient Egyptian food!!! Isn't that great?" His reaction was less jubilant: "Yes. Very nice. But I am very angry now: this was my idea! I thought about this 10 years ago. Every brilliant idea I have gets stolen. It's infuriating. Anyway, where is this place?" Along with a third dear friend, we headed out to the Pharaonic Village in what seemed like a school-trip mood.
At the ticket booth and security check, personnel were flabbergasted to hear that we only wanted the restaurant. No museums? No tours? We thought their surprised reactions were a subtle way of pressuring us into visiting, and, of course, paying for more tickets. Little did we know.
After crossing the small Nile stretch that separates the main attractions from the reception area, we walked into what seemed like a children's summer camp dining hall, and quite a bland one at that. Yes, the ceiling was painted blue with the golden stars replicating Goddess Nut's firmament of the famed tomb interiors, but that was the only resemblance it bore to anything Pharaonic. And if I should mention the costumes worn by the waiters, I would only say one thing: they need a round in the washing machine, followed by a hot iron. That was our first impression of King Tut restaurant -- one that nothing else managed to wipe off our sorry, disappointed minds.
The one element connecting the items on the menu with Ancient Egypt was their label: Cleopatra's steak with mushroom sauce; Nefertari's delight (grilled pigeon); Hapy's émincé with butter sauce, etc. Laughable. Attempting to reproduce Ancient Egyptian cuisine is a huge endeavour requiring an incredible amount of research, and to replace that with some half-cooked international dishes is insulting to the diner's intelligence, at best, especially if the said dishes themselves are inedible.
While our food took forever to arrive, the three of us tried to think of a worse restaurant we may have encountered in the last 10 years and could not think of one. King Tut actually topped the list of never-ever-again restaurants. Our barely touched plates included a Mixed Grill (how wrong can you go with a mixed grill for heaven's sake?) composed of dry, stale, horrible pieces of animal protein. The Steak with Mushroom Sauce turned my stomach. What kind of meat was this? As to what constituted the sauce, I spared myself the masochistic exercise of figuring that one out. Only my friend's Chicken Panné was bearable enough for her to eat half her plate and satiate her hunger pangs. It took a huge amount of time for our food to come. It took us about five minutes to understand that we simply could not eat it. Leaving our food untouched, we paid the LE120 bill and walked out of there, highly regretful and, like victims of violence, ashamed.
King Tut, Pharaonic Village, Al-Bahr Al-A'zam St, Giza
Tel 571 8676/7


Clic here to read the story from its source.