Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Iftar
I really wish I had pictures of iftar yesterday. Today, I have my camera and plan to document the event. Anyways, yesterday was a great culinary day.
It started with a 6 PM meal at some small café in an alleyway. We had kofta, roast chicken, salad, rice, and date juice. Couldn’t really think of a better way to break the fast than with solid street nourishment.
The highlight of the night came at about 2:30, ironically in the morning. We were starving, so we walked into this empty hole-in-the-wall and attempted to order some food. The Pakistani guy that was with us, Salman, could read the menu but had no idea what any of it meant. So I just looked up on the wall and pointed at one of the pictures. “That looks good, I think.”
We decided upon the chicken. But I couldn’t just sit there and wait…I had to go into the kitchen and check things out. Small, quaint, and downright tiny is how I would describe it. Thumbtacks on my shoes were a must, due to the thick layer of oil on the floor. On first check, no cockroaches, no other strange insects, no bad smell…what kind of restaurant was this?
The “chef” started by taking a huge plate and covering it with an aromatic rice (cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and pepper). He then went to what I can only describe as a giant steel meat receptacle. It had to have been five feet in diameter, and was filled with random pieces of lamb and chicken. He pulled out a whole chicken, spread it out, and put it on the plate. Hmm…that was easy. But will it give me Cairo Colon?
In an attempt to have a little fun, the “chef” pulled out what I can only guess was a lamb’s head. He did a little hand puppet routine with it; I laughed; he laughed. I spent a good ten seconds trying to figure out if there was any meat on the thing. Perhaps it was for flavour?
The chicken was pretty damn good, and we have enough rice for a week.
It started with a 6 PM meal at some small café in an alleyway. We had kofta, roast chicken, salad, rice, and date juice. Couldn’t really think of a better way to break the fast than with solid street nourishment.
The highlight of the night came at about 2:30, ironically in the morning. We were starving, so we walked into this empty hole-in-the-wall and attempted to order some food. The Pakistani guy that was with us, Salman, could read the menu but had no idea what any of it meant. So I just looked up on the wall and pointed at one of the pictures. “That looks good, I think.”
We decided upon the chicken. But I couldn’t just sit there and wait…I had to go into the kitchen and check things out. Small, quaint, and downright tiny is how I would describe it. Thumbtacks on my shoes were a must, due to the thick layer of oil on the floor. On first check, no cockroaches, no other strange insects, no bad smell…what kind of restaurant was this?
The “chef” started by taking a huge plate and covering it with an aromatic rice (cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and pepper). He then went to what I can only describe as a giant steel meat receptacle. It had to have been five feet in diameter, and was filled with random pieces of lamb and chicken. He pulled out a whole chicken, spread it out, and put it on the plate. Hmm…that was easy. But will it give me Cairo Colon?
In an attempt to have a little fun, the “chef” pulled out what I can only guess was a lamb’s head. He did a little hand puppet routine with it; I laughed; he laughed. I spent a good ten seconds trying to figure out if there was any meat on the thing. Perhaps it was for flavour?
The chicken was pretty damn good, and we have enough rice for a week.
posted by kent at 8:07 AM
2 Comments:
I love dead aninal puppet shows. I sometimes make my turkey dance before stuffing it.
Nice, Nicholas!
Post a Comment
<< Home