Restaurant review: Cure-all cocktails Gamal Nkrumah tastes something that lifts the top of his head off Whiskey used to be a man's drink, straight up and raw, at the original Buddha Bar and restaurant located on Boisson d'Anglais Street, Paris. Or, perhaps it tasted best gulped down in the stylish Buddha Bar in Greenwich Village, New York? Then Dubai and Beirut came along, and now the bar is in the very heart of Cairo. Woozy, I can boogie all night long. At the Buddha Bar, El-Gezirah Sofitel, one of the most "happening" places in all of Egypt, partially inebriated I stepped unto the dance floor. I did boogie-woogie while sampling an eclectic mix of Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. To my surprise there were whoops of approval by the bar customers, overwhelmingly slightly intoxicated Saudi or Gulf Arab teenagers or twenty-somethings. I flirted with a Moroccan, or was she Algerian, fall girl who swore by the "Holy Book", I can't recall which, that she was actually Lebanese. She lewdly sipped one of the Buddha Bar's signature cocktails swaying her hips to the hypnotizing conceptual music and shrieked invitingly, "For Heaven's sake stop shilly-shallying and get a move on." Nino was blasting " Amor, Amor " and next followed Trumpet Thing's " Need You Right Now ". DJ Claude Challe created the Buddha Bar series, now veritable classics, and then came DJ Ravin, Sam Popat, and Buddha Bar Nature composed and produced by Arno Elias. But it was Deepak Chopra's "Desire" featuring the tantalizing Demi Moore that fired my imagination and brought back heart-wrenching memories of Buddha Bar, Victoria Embankment, London. I was given, with the most pure-hearted of intent I presume, the least helpful directions by a freakish friend of mine to a voluptuous Slavic femme fatale who obviously keeps odd hours to accommodate moneyed and lecherous old sheikhs. The buxom beauty, her face frightfully painted blushing pink and purplish ruby red, was scantily draped in a most outrageous outfit in the black and white patchwork of a Friesian cow. Knowing that nobody dancing the night away would think this curious creature, the bovine knock-out, either gaudily made-up or gauche, I promptly stopped prancing and politely held my hand over my heart. It is a place, after all, unburdened by irony. The Buddha Bar's two floors are dominated by a gigantic bronze statue of Buddha giving his back to the most enchanting panoramic views of the riverfront cityscape. His breasts, neither sagging nor erect, are a compelling spectacle. He is vaguely reminiscent of Hapi, the ancient Egyptian deity of fertility and the Nile. Hapi was the Lord of the fishes and the birds of the marshes that we feasted on at the Buddha Bar. "Hail to Thee, O Nile Hapi, who manifests Thyself over this land, and comes to give life to Egypt," was a restrain mouthed by the ancient Egyptians. I found such a prayer a most appropriate approbation for the Buddha before me who changed colours from crimson, to purple, then the deepest sapphire blue and back to scarlet. Sitting enthroned astride the lapping waters, he seemed to approve of the thematic cuisine. This was, however, no time for transcendental meditation. The mythical Eternal River itself looked especially majestic and the terrace adorned with Asiatic dragons added something special to the atmospheric dining and dancing. I spotted head chef Luc Bagueneau and complimented him for his Peking duck with candied fruit. The fried spring rolls Vietnamese style, too, were superb. I dared not approach the sushi bar, which I understand offers delectable eel and octopus. Pink Martini exploded into " La Soledad ". "I Can't Sleep At Night" lamented Danni Minogue. Then back to Deepak Chopra, of mind-body medicine fame, with his philosophy rooted in Indian Vedanta (self-realisation through deep spirituality) -- in the ancient sacred language of India, Sanskrit, veda (knowledge) and anta (end), concluded my ultimate Cairene gourmet experience. It is worth visiting, believe you me. Buddha Bar, El-Gezirah Sofitel 3 El-Thawra Council Street, Zamalek, Cairo Dinner for two without drinks: LE 750
