Ginger galore? You never know where it will lead. Gamal Nkrumah gulps it down There are some questions you blush to ask. "Je t'aime," my blonde companion beckoned. "But, for a conventional café it is crucial to seduce. When it works, it's magic," she mumbled in hushed tones. Her incessant questions about what dish to try to accommodate the exceptional heat of her Indian summer, early September, were driving me crazy. "I'll settle for a salad," she whispered sheepishly. She practically licked her plate clean. She peered blinkingly around the down-to-earth dun- coloured surroundings of the Ginger Café with its crowded tables with no tablecloths, and murmured that she would "just have a burger". She makes me a little mad. "Seriously, are you reviewing Ginger? It is so common, a trifle mediocre," she was looking rather wistfully at my chicken Caesar salad. The quality of food on offer is by no means exceptionally high, I concur, but it is affordable and filling. Mohamed Imam, manager and co-proprietor, barged in at this particular point. I was just explaining to my blonde companion that this is no time for glass and marble towers to be sprouting all over Cairo. "We live in post-25 January Revolution Egypt and this is no posh café, period." I cut short the conversation and turned to greet Imam. He strides gingerly with sincere purpose across the Café Ginger to chat with us. "Ah, here he is," I am glad he comes alone with no entourage of grinning waiters as he did the last time I ran into him. He is sporting jeans and trainers. The blonde eyes Imam like a hawk, and pronounces her best judgement. "Preposterous," she inspects the furniture as soon as he was gone. It looked fine in beige and brown, if a bit spooky. Ginger Café is not quite the way to toast the end of Ramadan, though. I toy with the notion of an invigorating rocket salad. The Cajun chicken salad is tempting and so are the turkey cold cuts. The waiter arrives. "Here comes the food," my Madonna hisses. The double cheese sandwich is sinful and as a diabetic I am rather disciplined about everything I eat. With food, I take no risks; I take a mouthful of the blonde's burger seared on a skillet. The blonde was wondering what to do with the enormous, fat burger in front of her. She was having difficulty picking it up as it was oozing sauce and smeared with melted cheese. My salad is long gone, so I snatch her burger and hack away at it and she hurriedly scoops the juicy bits sliding around. The blonde takes a tiny bite of the burger and puts it down. I finish it off, only after discarding the bread. I am not big on carbohydrates and do protein instead. Pizza is out for me, even though I am told that Ginger Café's pizzas are mouthwateringly delectable. The blonde won't touch pizza either, as she prefers a plateful of protein with greens. We are kindred spirits, I presume. A steak or kofta will do. Ginger Café opened this week and plans to stage events such as birthdays for children in the near future, Imam announced with aplomb. He hovers nimbly from table to table. As of the beginning of next month it will also serve breakfasts and a bevy of beverages including therapeutic ginger drinks, hot chocolate, coffees and teas. The café terrace, designed to give the place a greater presence, is reserved for lovers of shisha. Our drinks arrive. The Ginger Café features the remedial root in ingenious abundance. The cocktails curiously feature a sweet and sour cocktail. The blonde takes a tiny sip, puts her glass down and leaves it. The Ginger Café offers an especially delicious treat. Hot sweet, spicy and sour orange, peppermint and ginger is a reliable recipe for ridding oneself of a pertinacious grippe. If I hadn't gone to the Ginger Café that day, I'd have missed out. And, huddled in bed with the flu. Ginger Café and Kitchen Lounge 151 Street, Al-Horeya Square Maadi, Cairo Tel: 010 131 6885 Dinner for two: LE170
