Restaurant review: To your health Neither Gaelic, nor entirely Chinese, it is perfectly possible to take two or three valid views of Chinois, notes Gamal Nkrumah The watery, albeit sultry ginger sauce laps at the lightly poached fish. Thinly sliced slivers of fresh ginger leap with hollow splashes like dolphins as I stir the sea of murky orange sauce on my plate. There is a dash of lemon grass, too. The waiter brings indecently delicious green tea. The perfumed brew is unabashedly inauspicious, frankly declaring itself medicinal. The waiters spring to life when a largish group of noisy prospective customers storm in. Hovering around like bumble bees, they sport the miscreant countenances of beings that are quite capable of stinging. There is something about Chinois, though. Something about the fact that you walk into it from the foyer of a distinguished hotel, a remarkable Cairo landmark. Raised to the ground by an all-consuming fire more than a decade ago, it bounced back and has done splendidly every since. The grounds of the hotel are extensive and I have fond memories of playing with my sons when they were toddlers and terrible twos in the quaint playground tucked away in the midst of fragrant blossoming Seville orange trees. One of our favourite games, and a simple pleasure of life, was to pluck -- rather pilfer -- a ripe orange or two, smuggle them out of the hotel and pretend to make marmalade out of their flesh and peel at home. As I sit at my table in Chinois sipping aromatic jasmine green tea, I am reminded of the sweet- smelling Seville oranges of yesteryear. More time for nostalgia, too. I have a short trip down memory lane along with an apéritif. Chinois, in spite of its name, was originally a joint Japanese and Chinese eatery. Today it offers Indian dishes as well -- a sort of pan- Asian potpourri. I am in no mood for curry, I thought to myself. I desired something subtle-tasting, healthy and light. Fish, and nothing fancy. I page through the menu and stop at something evanescent, something ephemeral -- something that would not last very long in the stomach, trigger off heartburn, or a discomforting bout of burping or any such irritant. Sea bass poached in ginger sauce. The flaky white flesh was inviting, the ginger-based concoction perfectly complimentary. I could ask for nothing more, nothing less. Yet there was nothing bland about the sea bass. In that peculiarly curious Chinese way the fish was at once both unpretentious and flavoursome. Every mouthful was a taste of heaven, a homage to refinement. Drowning in a garlic sauce, freshly-grated ginger and other tantalising spices, I opt for the fish. This protein- packed meal is easy to digest and wholesome. If you are looking for the exotic on the extensive menu, you will find it aplenty. The question is left hanging: Indian curries, Japanese sushi, or Beijing duck? Chinois is as elegant as the food is exquisite. Contemporary panache envelopes you. Chinois serves delicate Chinese dishes as well as the fiery fare of Indian cuisine. With décor in warm nutmeg hues, screaming scarlet and faux gold leaf, Chinois is a plush circus of colour and eturning from the desert and hoping to touch base with the real world as they see it. African diplomats sampling what they take for international cuisine. Flirtatious Levantine airhostesses of luxurious Arab Gulf airlines. Chinois runs the entire gamut. I gaze at the dumplings drooling with the zest of a flavoursome dip. Plump prawns oozing with delightful juices lay buried deep within the delectably doughy dumplings. A patterned ceiling echoes those of contemporary Shanghai or Imperial China rather than the Great Leap Forward or the Cultural Revolution. Chinois is a misnomer, for it serves creative fusion dishes of Chinese and Indian origin. The dizzy swirl of classical Chinese décor and flavour is overwhelming. The intricate ornamentation and gilded detail is enchanting, and that is an understatement. Chinois Sheraton Heliopolis Orouba Street, Cairo Tel: 2267 7730/ 2267 7740 Dinner for two: LE230
