Tucked away on a quiet, tree-lined street in Zamalek sits Mori Sushi Bar and Grill, a new and much talked-about edition to central Cairo's dining scene. While the name is misleading - nothing on the menu is grilled, and they do not have a sushi bar or serve alcohol - the atmosphere and food are both out of this world. Unfortunately, so are the prices. But Mori Sushi does live up to that old saying, 'you get what you pay for,' and if you are looking for an expensive treat then this is the place. After dinner, my companion remarked to me "That was a totally escapist meal. I kind of forgot where we were. And she wasn't kidding. While the restaurant's interior is small, stepping inside literally feels like leaving Cairo behind. Although it does not feel like a sushi bar in Tokyo - for one thing, the closest thing we saw to an Asian employee was an Egyptian sushi chef with a Japanese scarf wrapped around his forehead - Mori does feel like any trendy-casual joint you would find in a big western city. I won't lie. I was apprehensive about sushi in Egypt. But for the Egyptian upper middle class, sushi is becoming a more and more mainstream dining option. Raw eel and neon salmon eggs won't be giving fuul and taameya a run for their money any time soon, but nervous diners can rest assured that sushi in Cairo does not mean a one-way trip to the emergency room of Al Salam Hospital. Cairo's sushi craze is beginning to mirror the start of the city's coffee shop addiction a few years back, and a new Japanese eatery seems to open every week in well-healed neighborhoods like Zamalek and Nasr City. Of these, Zamalek's Mori Sushi is one of the best. The staff is friendly, the menu is illustrated with vivid photos and each dish is described in detail, for those, like myself, who may be unfamiliar with the ins-and-outs of Japanese cuisine. Mori's major drawback is that the bill is steep - dinner for two, without alcohol, cost LE 280. At these prices, you are unlikely to go there too often. That is a shame because on the whole the food is excellent. We began our meal with generous bowls of miso soup (LE 7), a traditional salty soup garnished with seaweed. It was piping hot and excellent. Next we moved on to an array of sushi for our main course. With one exception, everything was excellent. I ordered two traditional rolls, Ura Sake Maki (LE 31), raw salmon wrapped in vinegar rice, and Ura Tekka Maki (LE 32), raw tuna wrapped in vinegar rice. We also ordered two pieces of white fish sushi (LE 7 each). Everything was delicious and seemed to melt in your mouth, although both sushi rolls were pricey. Each roll comes with eight pieces of sushi, but most people would not find just one filling enough for a satisfying meal. My companion ordered the Chirashi mix, a sushi sampler of salmon, tuna, white fish, squid and crab served on a plate of rice with hot wasabi mustard and ginger. At LE 74, it was quite expensive, but with one exception each type of fish was delicious. That said, I do not recommend the squid. It looked good, speckled with bright orange roe, but biting into it you find it as tough as rubber, with the disturbing texture of congealing glue. To top off the meal we shared a piece of chocolate fudge cake with walnuts (LE 21.) Unlike many restaurants, which serve stale desserts and pastries that are so hard you could shingle your roof with them, Mori's deserts taste freshly baked. The cake was rich and fluffy, and by far one of the best I have had in the years I have lived in Cairo. Mori Sushi in Zamalek has only been open a few weeks, but it has already earned a spot among the city's best restaurants. Although expensive, the food is fresh and delicious. When you leave the dining room and step back on to the uneven sidewalks of Zamalek, you'll be glad you made the trip.
