Al Dahan

Al Dahan: Traditional Egyptian Grill in Mokattam

Name:

Al Dahan

Category

:

Restaurants


Address:

Mozayea Mall, ,Karim Benoona Street (off Street 9)


Area:
Mokattam

City:
Cairo , Egypt

Telephone:
0226673636 ,0120110176

Open:
12PM - 1AM


Dining out in Mokattam has not always been filled with an abundance of choice, especially when you’re with a large group of friends. However, the past year has witnessed a substantial growth in modern restaurants, the latest of which is Al Dahan.

Al Dahan is a large, air-conditioned and newly fitted, 90-seater restaurant located on the Suzanne Mubarak Road, midway along Street 9. It prides itself on serving the highest quality traditional Egyptian food.

Upon entering the restaurant, you are immediately attended to by the smartly dressed and ever smiling staff, who guides you through to the open, clean and spacious dining area. The decor is simple and tasteful; Oriental with a modern twist and plenty of marble and dark oak-wood finishing. The menu is simple and is in both Arabic and English, offering the usual suspects of grills, tagines, soups, salads and side dishes.

A waiter will attend to you within minutes of being seated and regardless of how many times you ask for a recommendation, he will almost certainly tell you everything ‘tastes excellent’.

This reviewer’s recommendation is to opt for the meat dishes over the chicken if you prefer fuller flavours but if you are after a lightly spiced meal, the half-grilled chicken with mixed rice and salad is a bargain at just 29LE. The rice is the thick, traditional kind, which is fluffy and moist, but you can also opt for the lighter basmati rice cooked with turmeric. Both can come plain or laced with veal liver or nuts. The chicken is grilled with a crispy outer skin and moist inside whilst lacking a little in salt.

Meals came out of the kitchen within ten to fifteen minutes and tasted fresh. The specialty is the fatta, served with lamb, veal or kawaraa’ (marrow), but if you’re feeling adventurous, we recommend the tagine meals, which may take slightly longer but come in a tempting variety including with molokheya, which tastes homemade and not at all overcooked, or with okra or orzo.

Portions are big, so be prepared; a kilo really does mean a kilo. This is where Al Dahan comes into its own. The kofta, ribs and tarb are marinated and cooked to perfection, arriving at your table fresh off the grill on a bed of diced carrot and greenery. A kilo will put you back between 100LE and 150LE, but the meat is definitely good value for money.

You will not be offered the customary free water but soft drinks are available at an average price, and the most expensive drink on the menu is Nescafé at just 7LE. Home delivery is available in surrounding areas including Nasr City and Maadi.

Pestle and Mortar

Pestle and Mortar: Charming New Restaurant in Mall of Arabia

Name:

Pestle and Mortar




Category

:

Restaurants


Address:

Mall of Arabia, #286 ground floor


Area:
6th of October City

City:
Cairo , Egypt

Telephone:
0101759081

Open:
10AM - 12AM

Cairo has more than enough restaurants, yet there seems to be a real lack of character and personality in the culture of dining. For all the honest efforts, good intentions and decent cuisine, menus often use the mantra of ‘the bigger the better’. Striking a balance is indeed hard, but the newly opened Pestle and Mortar in 6th of October City’s Mall of Arabia comes very close.

The sleek, modern interior is accented with modest purples, and the seating ranges from tables for two to larger group tables, as well as snug booths. The hot and sour shrimp soup (34.95LE) flattered to deceive on account of being crammed with too many mushrooms. This turned the soup into a solid brown, and it blunted the sharp sourness that you’d yearn for. The zesty coriander prawns (49.95LE) lived up to their name, and were complimented perfectly by the mysterious Mortar fusion sauce.


Other starters include a classic peanut chicken satay (35.95LE) and the Philly prawnafah (49.95LE), which consists of grilled shrimp baked in konafa, and is topped with cream cheese. The salads on offer are creative and alluring, and include the garden salad (28.95LE) of rocket, lettuce and mint along with almonds, orange segments and orange dressing.

Asian influences are much more evident in the mains sections, with chicken prepared teriyaki- and Hanoi-style (57.95LE and 65.95LE respectively). Stir-fried beef is sold by the weight, so 150g will set you back 69.95LE while 300g costs 119.95LE, and is on offer in a range of different marinades and preparations.

Our order of Angus prime beef fillet was cooked closer to rare than the ordered medium, but the meat itself was well-seasoned, tender and grew more delicious with every bite. Though the Thai coconut curry is suited to more of an acquired taste, the coconut milk was as creamy and plush as it looked on the large strips of chicken, but was lacking heavily on the hotness you’d except from the spicy green Thai sauce.

Drinks are plentiful and fresh, with the freshies (19.95LE) combining several peculiar but agreeable ingredients. The orange lime and mint drink is a phenomenal citrus treat, with the zucchini and cucumber-infused options also stealing the limelight.

Pestle and Mortar really comes into its own with the liquid nitrogen ice cream and sorbet, which are frozen instantly at your table using said nitrogen. More run-of-the mill, but no less impressive desserts are available, and the Belgian chocolate fondant is a must for chocolate lovers.

The staff are helpful, attentive and best of all, charming. They are happy to make recommendations based on your tastes, and they had something positive to say about every dish that they were asked about. The menu is vegan-friendly, with many of the dishes suitable for vegetarians. Healthy eating is championed by the restaurant, and all the bases for their sauces are fat-free and made of fresh vegetable stock.


Despite its shopping mall setting, Pestle and Mortar is one of those places that oozes the kind of attention to detail and commitment that give you piece of mind as you wait for your order.