Restaurant review: A tasty turnaround Gamal Nkrumah rounds up the surrealist tastes released when enticing flavours are let loose in a revolving restaurant hanging midair in the heart of Cairo In the atmospheric setting of the Grand Hyatt's Revolving Restaurant one is catapulted into the indiscreet charm, nay one of the most precipitate public places of plush Cairo. It propels you into a pie-in-the-sky world where Cairo's men on the make wish to forge the future of their city. It hangs like a colossal diamond albatross around the neck of one of Cairo's most distinguished hotels, way up on the 41st floor of the impressive building straddling the Nile and is decidedly exclusive in view of its robust pricing menu. Chef de Cuisine Kai Eick treated us to a delightful passion fruit sorbet, halfway through the three-course meal. A brilliant improviser in the mainstream French tradition, he is undoubtedly a master of his chosen style of cuisine. He left the graceless glamour of Dubai for the groundless grotesques of Cairo. And, he is making good. Though he was doubtless a beneficent spirit, the portions are not titanic, which is fine by me. For customers of this select restaurant payment, of course, is not a problem. Garishly illuminated and awkwardly shaped, the faux Pharaonics detract somewhat from the classy ambiance where the rich and famous go to see and be seen. I take it all in. Vaguely reminiscent of an old fairground roundabout of yesteryear, the Revolving Restaurant is nevertheless snazzy. Towards the end of the three-course meal, I felt that I had to fight the soporific effect of this revolving restaurant. There is something not quite kosher about this particular eatery. The Grand Hyatt sticks out like a sore thumb in the middle of the Nile. Fancy taking a turn in the skies above Cairo? The visually arresting panoramic vistas are unabashedly retro- cool but far too wacko to be truly surreal. I face the knotty question of what to have for dinner in this gentle merry-go-round overlooking Africa's largest city dissected and crisscrossed by the River Nile. Skyscrapers, the Pyramids and the Citadel all vie for your undivided attention as the spacious galactic gastronomical getaway swirls like a drunken, or spaced-out, whirling dervish. This most peculiar place reminds me of a gigantic tureen glass or some other synthetic transparent tureen tuned inside out, yet with the lid firmly on. The décor is ingeniously designed -- much of it revolving around the kitchen with Chef Kai and his assistants, all nine of them -- busy at work. This teeming mass of inner voices and nimble fingers only served to unhinge further a performance that already wanted to take Chef Kai to the edge. He always manages to offer a welcome amount of substance to chew on. I opted for the foie de canard, with a Seville orange sauce that produced the impossible perfume: it was simultaneously pungent and aromatic, disagreeable and delicious. He was subverting orthodoxy and taste in a most appealing fashion. I succumbed to the allure of the blond chef. And was left a little queasy. A little dizzy perhaps because of my fear of height. For starters he proposed quail eggs and sea scallops. Like the seared duck liver praline and truffle, chestnut and chutney and butter brioche, the crème fraiche was as delectable as it was bizarre. The grilled yellow-fin tuna seasoned with aged balsamic vinegar and the pan-fried sea bass on a bed of sautéed cos lettuce hearts daubed in mustard beurre blanc was quite simply divine. Attractive-looking tourists well turned out took turns to inspect the ancient Egyptian-like make-believe temple daubed in gaudy canary yellow. I glanced at the diligent waiters effortlessly keeping all those plates in the air. The waiter asks if he can clear our plates. "Maybe I'll have just another spoonful of the lobster and crab bisque. The soup is creamy, and that is an understatement. Spooning this decadent concoction is food for thought in itself. "Maybe I'll have one more spoon," my companion whispered. "Good, good. Please do," my laughter rings out across this revolving rapture. We shared the watch, taking in the spectacular view, 10 minutes each, turn and turn about. Revolving Restaurant Grand Hyatt Cairo Corniche Al-Nile, Garden City, Cairo Tel: 2365 1234 Dinner for two: LE450
