I knew Cairo would be a taste-bud-opening experience but I really underestimated how good the food would be here. I pictured beans being used like peanut butter and random types of meat being served to me in strange forms. Although I do not mind beans and strange meat, the fare here has been a happy surprise. All of it has been good, but the Koosheri, the hole-in-the-wall chicken shop's chicken, and the sugar cane juice stand out.
Koosheri can be best described as Ramen fit for a king. It only costs three pounds and it fully satisfies our hunger. It consists of hearty macaroni, fried onions, rice, lentils, and chick peas. It also comes with a bowl of tasty tomato sauce and a bowl of extremely hot pepper sauce. Travelers beware: do not imitate me and slosh the hot sauce on your Koosheri in attempt to seem cool. The experience that my mouth endured was far from cool.
At Max's suggestion, we went to a tiny street chicken vendor for dinner. Max asked the kind shop owner for a chicken roasting on the rotisserie and the shop owner proceeded to chop it in half, put it on a plate with delicious rice and pita, and serve it to us. If you are into greasy, finger-lickin' good chicken like me, you would love this pleasing poultry. My father always said that the hole-in-the wall joints were the best and after tasting this chicken I agree with him.
There is a juicer shop nearby that takes various local fruits and, you guessed it, juices them. It only costs a pound for a glass and it's delicious. I have only tried the juiced sugar cane but intend to sample their entire menu, starting with the mango juice. The shop owners are quite friendly gentlemen and we had a fun time talking with them as I sipped my juice.
Speaking of shop owners, I am very pleased by how nice every shopkeeper has treated us so far. It is really fun trying out my Arabic with them and when I fail to remember how to communicate something it is entertaining listening to them trying to speak Arabic. Perhaps it is their attitude that makes their food taste so good.
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Hey John! Sounds like your trip is off to a great start! It's been fun to read about the adventures of John Bria & Co. Keep it up. :)
ReplyDeleteYour cousin,
Tara
I had a similar taste-bud shattering experience in Indonesia last summer when I bit into what I thought was a julienned carrot strip only to discover (too late) that it was in fact a sliver of the hottest pepper I've ever tasted! Funny. But not cool. Thanks for writing about the food.
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