Restaurant review: Meal of meat Samia Fakhri has a genuine Egyptian dinner rich in protein Al-Kababgi Restaurant is tucked inside the Sofitel Al-Gezirah Hotel, the column-shaped structure that graces the southern tip of the island known alternatively as Gezirah, or Zamalek. As soon as you enter, an unmistakable feel of luxury � la Egyptian greets you. The scent of baladi bread, being baked by a peasant woman in a clay oven, prepares you for a night of authentic dining, and the cheerful colours of the room only enhance the sense of delight. You can sit right on the river, taking full advantage of the scenery of the glittering pleasure boats sailing past. And you can also opt for the wooden benches set in circle on the side, where clients enjoy their shisha with coffee and tea. My friend and I, having arrived on a rather chilly night, decided to sit inside, protected from the wind by large windows offering an uninterrupted view of the Nile. We sat on a wooden arabesque table, amid the lattice work of the mashrabia screens, as if we walked into a scene from Arabian Nights. A waiter in an oriental outfit handed us the menu which proudly boasted the restaurant's quarter-of-a-century pedigree: "Al-Kababgi since 1985". The menu, written in exquisite calligraphy, includes genuine oriental dishes that are not always available in such luxurious surroundings. One dish particularly caught my eye: kawarea, a soup of cow feet and an immensely popular dish in working class areas. The gelatinous soup, flavoured with garlic and half dozen local spices, was among the best I ever had. We treated ourselves to cold and hot appetisers, including a mezzah platter of tabboula, hommous, baba ghanoug, mohamara, and grilled vegetables. The baladi bread, made in situ, was so delectable I almost made a vow to stop by every day and get myself some. As we enjoyed the appetisers, I saw the waiter bring grilled kebab and kofta to a nearby table, served on a copper tray containing bits of glowing coal. I almost went for kebab, but then I had a sudden craving for stuffed pigeon. My friend ordered roqaq, a meat-stuffed cake made of layers of very thin, unleavened bread. Other items on the menu, of which we took a mental note for next time, included hawawshi bread, chicken kebab, and grilled liver. For dessert, I was going to order the famous Umm Ali, a pudding made of filo pastry and nuts. But then Umm Hassan, which I never heard of before, caught my eye. It turned out to be mehallabia, a pudding made of rice flour, topped with fruit salad and pomegranate's syrup. As we slowly sipped our scented tea, an oriental band began playing popular songs of the famed Umm Kolthoum. I leaned back in my well-padded chair and gazed across the window onto the river, the boats and the sparkling skyline of the city. Cairo, so boisterous by day, at night seemed so peaceful, so perfect, even dreamlike. Al-Kababgi Sofitel Al-Gezirah Hotel
