Resturant review: Bitter moment of truth Gamal Nkrumah goes to where the common folk flock There is an orgy of fecundity out there in Al-Tabei: beans, lentils, pulses of all sorts, scrambled eggs and pastrami, pickled aubergines stuffed with crushed garlic and parsley and lots more. Winter is known as the hungry gap. Vegetables are starting to sprout, but there are relatively few edibles that one can actually eat fresh. Spring is a time of plenty. Unfortunately, this particular spring is not particularly bountiful. Indeed, it is distasteful at this historical juncture to review plush restaurants. The world is in the grip of a horrific food shortage crisis. Egypt is no exception. The prices of foodstuffs have quadrupled in many countries, including for staples such as rice and bread which are the mainstay of the poor's diets. I find it, therefore, especially uncomfortable to be writing about gourmet cooking, which is out of reach for most of the world's poor. It was in this sombre frame of mind that I therefore ventured into a humble Cairene eatery that is renowned for its simple albeit popular dishes. Making the most of Al-Tabei is not a terrible difficult feat. Variety, they say, is the spice of life. There are no starters or aperitifs at Al-Tabei, for there are no main courses. Traditional Egyptian sausages are well- herbed, actually over-spiced is a more appropriate description, but they are rather chewy and one is never entirely sure what the contents of the sausage really are. It is best not to know, nor to leave it to the conjecture of the imagination. A big hand for the beans at Al-Tabei. A motley of oils are cast unto the beans. As far as beans is concerned, the Al-Tabei customer is spoilt for choice: beans with hot (chili) oil, beans with olive oil, beans with butter and the list goes on. Most people find the bean dishes particularly titillating at Al-Tabei and we were no exception. My companion gobbled them down with marked delectation. Situated slap and in fact bang in the heart of Ramses Street, not far from Cairo's main train station and a stone's throw away from Al-Ahram Building, Al-Tabei is in one of the busiest and most polluted thoroughfares in all Cairo, and perhaps in the world. One cannot by any stretch of the imagination call it a prime location. And yet there is something to be said about an eatery enveloped in air and sound pollution. And, no I am neither being sarcastic nor sardonic. Al-Tabei is a reasonably sized place, except that one cannot escape the cramped feeling. The tables are set too close to each other. One cannot enjoy a private conversation, such luxuries are reserved for the rich and Al-Tabei is not an eatery for the wealthy. It is a functional down-to-earth sort of place. The décor is evidently scrubbed, but far from gleaming. The service is snappy, but rarely comes with a smile. It has been a long time since I last passed through the portals of Al-Tabei. It retains a sense of Caireneness that is all-pervasive, which is what struck me the most about the place. It is a restaurant where one does not want to linger too long, though. One eats and leaves as soon as the bill is paid. Back to the food. The menu is exceptionally large, but alas, far from varied. A filling but not fancy meal is to be had at Al-Tabei. As mentioned earlier, the menu is meagre on the main-dish side of things, but that doesn't really matter. Especially not if one is in a hurry to gobble up and get out. Strangely enough, Al-Tabei still manages to be one of the finest purveyors of Egyptian traditional fast food cuisine: a consummate array of hot and cold dishes. My companion chomped her way through the taamiya sprinkled with sesame seeds and garnished with plenty of parsley and coriander, and assorted leaves added crunch. The garlicky tomato was delectable. The fried aubergine, thickly sliced and drenched in greasy oil gave the appalling sensation of eating a piece of carpet underlay. It left a distinctive bitter aftertaste. Al-Tabei Ramses Street Lunch for two: LE40
