Restaurant review: Feast fireworks Gamal Nkrumah is fired with enthusiasm for Maadi's latest gourmet hotspot Gripped by a craving for sashimi, a desperate desire for a fix of raw fish, with a bit of pink pickled ginger and pistachio wasabi paste, I staggered into Fuego, a delightful California-style grill and sushi bar. I embarked on my awfully explosive adventure with a new friend with whom I got on like a house on fire. The evening, however, began with an unanticipated darker note -- the waiters were draped in funereal black outfits. Moreover, I played a minor role in the colour code performance. I, too, was bedecked in black. It was the darkest collusion. After having recovered from the embarrassment of having dressed myself in the charcoal fashion of the Fuego waiters, it dawned on me that the sense of good taste was so honeyed I wanted to be sick right there to add some new shades of ebony to the setting. Even as I pulled myself together, for the sake of my new friendship as much as for anything else, the waiters were right on queue. One tripped splashing a tray of, yes you guessed correctly, inky stuff -- a cola drink or soy sauce -- and made a fool of himself. The disconcerting scene seemed a moribund comedy until it was given a new lease of life when the waiter who took our order accidentally dropped some shrimp tempura temaki and was quickly summoned to the kitchen by the manager. I tried hard to suppress a grin of bemusement. At any rate, I reasoned that the waiter's misfortune was a good omen for my friend and I, and we settled for salmon skin temaki, the delectable Japanese hand-rolled sushi cones with a mouthwatering mix of salmon, crab, salmon caviar, avocado and lettuce. We also tried the Havana maki roll -- eel, avocado, lettuce, sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms, topped with Philadelphia cheese -- a confusingly combustible combination. We debated whether to go for the yaya roll -- deep fried roll stuffed with salmon, shrimps, and more Philadelphia cheese and mushrooms -- or the spider roll -- deep fried roll stuffed with shrimps, katsu salmon and topped with tereyaki sauce and sesame. We went for the irresistible arachnids. And to top it all we added the kamikazi roll: again maki rolls stuffed with salmon, avocado, shrimp tempura topped with tereyaki sauce and more sesame. I insisted on sashimi. And tried the tataki, seared spiced salmon with yuzo sauce. To wash it all down we gulped down suimono soup, a clear seafood broth. I balked at my new friend's suggestion that we try the more traditional miso soup -- soya bean soup with spring onion, tofu and wakame -- because I was beginning to feel a cloying sensation well up in my mouth. She manages to get only two or three spoonfuls of the miso soup into her full-lipped mouth even as I finish my entire suimono soup, and then she reaches for spoonful number four. I am suddenly overwhelmed with an unmistakable sinking feeling and imagine I am at ground zero. And that was when my friend ordered the wakami salad: wakame seaweed, cucumber and kani crab sticks salad with sesame soya dressing. I knew then and there that enough was enough. She peeks at me to see if she can get away with that. I raise my eyebrows and gently remind her that we are about to watch a horror movie at the floor above in the Bandar Mall. Still, as with Japanese food generally, one never feels overly bloated. It's one thing to have a dream about gorging on sashimi, but this was overkill. My friend and I exchanged knowing looks when we saw a family of Americans troop out after devouring a feast of stakes, and at Fuego grilled meats are among the best in all of Cairo. Of course, for those who abhor the taste of charred beef or veal, there is always the alternative seared seafood. Opening her eyes wide in horror, my friend gasped as she spotted yet another waiter bump into a silver-haired dandy attempting to make an entrance. Welcome to Fuego, but watch out. Fuego, Bandar Mall 9 Palestine Street Maadi, Cairo Tel: 2982-0311 Dinner for two: LE200
