Vestiges of empire

Aman ya rabbi Aman, says Injy El-Kashef hanem
The trouble with Middle Eastern cuisine is that it is all delicious and nutritious, with many similarities and overlapping variations on the same original dish. And what might that origin be, one wonders. Well, none other than that great empire whose capital was Constantinople. In quest for culinary extravaganza, then, we headed to the Heliopolis Ataturk, one of the respected Turkish restaurant's many branches.
We were a little alarmed by the first impression: a shisha-smoking clientele gathered around a hanging TV broadcasting a soccer match in an open-air café. Not exactly what we came for. On closer inspection, however, much better things revealed themselves: a spacious restaurant with a beautiful ceramic decorating the wall, fine chandeliers dropping from the ceiling and stained glass injecting the atmosphere with tiny bursts of colour.
As per usual, a lovely selection of mezze found its way to our table first. One delicious Fried (halloumi) Cheese to set the mood right -- this is one small item I truly miss in our local adaptation of the dear empire's kitchen. Then some not-so-fantastic Kobeiba which were quickly forgiven thanks to a perfect Tabboula bathing in the purest and most aromatic of olive oils without too much lemon juice. Another killer was the Almond Salad which was a spicy and strong-flavoured purée, unfortunately a little too spicy for my taste. And let me not forget the succulent Manaqish topped with oregano and olive oil.
All this was relished with a huge, freshly baked shami loaf sprinkled with poppy seed and a tall glass of Ya Wash Ya Wash, a cocktail of fresh banana, guava, strawberry and mango juices topped with grenadine. There was also a Tarbiya Soup in our midst which made more than an impression, as it allowed me a larger share of the mezze while it distracted my dining partner's palate.
Now for the main courses. One Kebab Mountain which was, of course, lamb marinated in a "typical Turkish mountain way" and that is enough information for all to guess that it was not my order since I never do lamb. My dish was the Rolled Fish Fillet with Shrimps, which consisted of three large pieces of delicious pan-fried fish stuffed with shrimp, topped with butter sauce with lemon and accompanied by spiced rice. This is the life.
For dessert we had an absolutely enormous Umm Ali and some eish saraya topped with fresh cream and nuts. As we sat outside for the post-dinner hot mint and shisha situation, the charming waiter brought three tiny copper tumblers to our table containing some fresh and green mint syrup to help ease down the filling meal. Had we sat by the Bosphorous, we wouldn't have liked this LE142 dinner more.
Ataturk, 80/a Al-Thawra St, Heliopolis.
Tel 417 0955/3
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