Well, you've gotta eat. But where? Egypt is not a culinary destination, although you certainly won't starve. The food is so cheap here that after a while, you forget about the quality and taste—if you're spending 40 cents on a full meal, it's hard to care anymore.

In Cairo, the popular eat-in/takeaway Felfela is pretty good for the standards of falafel (usually called ta'amiyya in Egypt) and shwarma. Chicken shwarma should be about 3EP. There is another nice eat-in/takeaway that looks like part of a chain on the same street as Dahab Hotel, a couple blocks closer to the Egyptian museum. It's called Mogu and offers a decent kofta sandwich for 4.5EP. There is a popular takeaway on Qasr El-Nil near Midan Talaat Harb with good falafels for 60 piastres and shwarmas for 3EP.

In Aswan, the Lonely Planet-recommended fiteer (Egyptian pizza) restaurant Biti Pizza near the train station actually only serves fiteer after 5pm. So at lunchtime, we tried their regular pizza. I'm a picky pizza lover and didn't find it to be particularly good, but my dining companions enjoyed it. Aswan Moon restaurant is a barge on the Nile, so the setting is lovely, but it's on the pricey side. I paid 14EP for kofta, which was good but about three times the usual price. In general, I found it difficult to even locate food in Aswan, with the staring men making me too uncomfortable to inquire at restaurants and the prevalence of coffeehouses for smoking shisha only. The heat reduced my hunger anyway.

Shwarmas in Egypt are different than what you might expect—a small will be stuffed in a tasteless hamburger bun, a large in a hot dog bun. If they run out of buns and give you pita, that actually means you'll get less meat for the same price. Shwarma meat in Egypt tends to be dry. Ta'amiyya is made of fava beans rather than chickpeas, and generally good. Fuul, an Egyptian-style refried beans dish served with pita is also made with fava beans, and pretty tasty. Fresh bread can be good here. Fresh fruits are plentiful, and juice shops are cheap and widespread. You can eat well in Dahab, so if you're going there, save your dining budget! Fresh fish is easily available in Dahab, and there's plenty of seaside restaurants with decent Western food. The pastries in Egypt are not great, but worth trying if you won't be going to any other Middle Eastern country. Try kunafe for a sugary explosion.

Stay open to Egyptian hospitality; if you are invited to a local home, you might be treated to a great homecooked meal. It isn't that Egyptians have no taste for good food; I think the problem is that most people still eat at home, so Egyptian restaurants have not fully developed. Western restaurants are more popular. If you get a chance to eat at an Egyptian home, you won't regret it.

<   previous      •      next   >