Restaurant review: Great Wail of China Yet another Asian restaurant. But no matter. The food is good, affordable and Hanan Radwan has few complaints All was eerily quiet. Even our company of five was silent for a moment. Suddenly, a harrowing scream bolted from the kitchen to the dining area. Seconds later, we heard a little girl bawling and gulping complaints to her father, one of the chefs, who beseeched her to calm down. The waiters, however, were unfazed by this incident and continued to chat and curse life in equally deafening tones. After all, we were the only customers at Wen at the odd meal-time hour of 5pm. As it turned out, this timing was propitious for my friends, who were in no mood for any kind of decorum and rocked the tiny restaurant with their shrieks of laughter. Those of us who still cherished their dignity tried coughing out loud when one of us got carried away with an obscene joke. When that did not work, we tried to drown out her conversation by bellowing polite remarks about the kitsch Chinese red lanterns dripping from the ceiling, the sprawling posters of panda bears and Chinese temples, and the live fish darting about -- perhaps in fright -- in the small glass bowl on our table. But our friend was not to be daunted. In despair, one of us suggested moving to a table in the little garden outside. After all, the three-room restaurant --which seems to have been carved out of a ground-floor apartment -- was too small for our loud eccentricities. Soon, however, our friend was conquered by hot and sour soup. The fiery concoction caused her to interrupt her stories with coughs and, after blowing her nose twice, she finally acquiesced. Then, all was quiet, broken by an occasional crunch of the plump but slightly greasy vegetable spring rolls. My Sweet Corn Chicken soup was a delightful creamy chowder, and the Tom Yom Gong soup -- a clear Thai broth flavoured with lemongrass and a couple of prawns -- was pronounced tasty. Owned by Chinese chef Wen Xiang, the restaurant serves sensible Chinese and Thai food that is acceptable and affordable. True, the menu is conventional and repetitive, sporting the same varieties that can be had at any run-of-the-mill Asian eatery in Cairo. Yet, while the food is not top notch, it is not revolting; and with offers like discount cards and a sizeable lunch box for only LE16, it is an option for those who crave an Asian meal without the financial guilt. My friends, in any case, had no complaints. The Chicken with Pineapple had generous chunks of meat and fruit. The Sweet and Sour Chicken came drenched in a sauce that was runny but did not reek of vinegar as is the case in other Chinese restaurants previously visited. My prawns were medium-sized but they shared room with an array of fresh vegetables in sweet Szechuan sauce. At Wen, the sauces are deep pools and the entrees are almost all served in bowls. But with similar bowls of nutty fried rice, we managed to drain our pools with pleasant satisfaction. Pacified somewhat by our main courses, our rowdy bunch picked up adrenaline again when dessert arrived. Our oohs and aahs of appreciation rose to an uncontrollable cacophony as each of us dug her spoon into the crunchy-chewy dough that swathed a scoop of vanilla ice cream the size of a golf ball. Drizzled with honey, the fried ice cream vanished and was soon followed by an order of another dollop coated with chocolate sauce. We left Wen well-fed and with enough money left over for a sobering cup of coffee at a nearby café. Wen 1B Road 12, next to Maadi Police Station Tel: 2358 9060 Lunch for five: LE425
