THANKS FOR JOINING US!
We hope you’ve had as much fun as we did. Before we say goodbye, we wanted to leave you with this list to keep the memory of this tour with you.
Please note that working with these small family-owned restaurants means that depending on the day of the week/hour of day, your guide might have to make some changes and replace a dish or another at one of the stops.
STOP 1 - Koshary Hend
Koshari (egypt’s National Dish)
Egypt’s favorite meal (and national dish), Koshary is filling, delicious and extremely cheap, it also happens to be wonderfully vegan. This dish is made with macaroni, spaghetti, vermicelli, lentils, rice, whole hummus, and fried onions only to be topped off with tomato sauce and a special garlic vinegar dressing called “da’ah”.
REVIEWS HELP US GROW, We’d love to read yours!
STOP 2 - Asmak el Bahrain
fried Shrimp sandwiches
(Please note that this stop can sometimes close on Sundays)
Although Seafood in Cairo is expensive, many locals can still enjoy a quick seafood bite in the form of fried shrimp sandwiches. Fresh shrimp is coated in flour and seasonings and is then deep-fried till golden and crispy on the outside. The golden shrimps are then layered in baladi bread, topped with Tahini salad dressing, a squeeze of lime and is sometimes also enjoyed with an Egyptian green chili pepper on the side,
stop 3 - Makhbaz Al A’ela (Egyptian Baladi Bread)
Egyptian Baladi Bread, known as aish, is a traditional flatbread that plays a vital role in Egyptian cuisine.
The significance of bread in Egyptian culture is profound; it symbolizes life and sustenance, often referred to as "life" itself in the Egyptian dialect. In contemporary Egypt, Baladi bread remains a staple food enjoyed by all social classes. It is commonly served with various dishes such as stews, grilled meats, and dips. The bread's preparation is often a communal activity, reflecting the deep-rooted traditions of Egyptian society where local bakers skillfully craft each loaf by hand.
want to cook some of these dishes when you’re back home?
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stop 4 - abo sherif/kimo w antimo
Cheese & Kunafa Feteer
Feteer is an Egyptian pastry made with a dough drenched with lots of ghee. When baked, it separates and becomes flaky, it is meant to be slightly crispy on the outer layers and soft and chewy on the inner layers. Feteer can be enjoyed plain, with toppings or filled/stuffed. The toppings and fillings can be anything sweet or savory. Some of the most common sweet toppings and fillings are cream, sugarcane molasses, honey, and more recently even nutella. Savory toppings and fillings include different types of cheeses like Egyptian white cheese (similar to Feta), mozarella, cheddar, cream cheese and roumy, as well as vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, olives, and meats like sausages and pastrami.
Street cafe culture - Al Ahwa
In Egypt, ahwa is the word for coffee as well as coffee shop, an ahwa baladi is basically a local coffeeshop that is usually on the street and often on the side-walk too. Traditionally, it was a place for men to take a break from work or family time and hang out with their buddies while watching a football (soccer) match, drinking tea and coffee, and/or enjoying a game of backgammon or cards.
stop 5 (optional) - Alban khalifa Dairy shop
Assortment of egyptian cheeses
Not many associate Egypt with cheese production and are often surprised to learn that we do have our own cheeses that are uniquely Egyptian. Some of these cheeses include: Mish; fermented cheese, Barameely; a salty semi-hard white cheese similar to Feta, a creamy low salt soft cheese and the most cheese of important of all, roumy cheese; a hard yellow salty cheese that it reminiscent of pecorino romano.
STOP 6 - ABO haidar
egyptian beef shawerma & Mango juice
Shawerma is a street food that is heavily associated with the Middle East. Large rotating skewers of meat or chicken are thinly sliced and mixed with different toppings before being stuffed or rolled into different types of bread depending on the region you’re in. Egyptian Shawerma has a unique and distinct flavor of it’s own and is mostly found in meat form. Abo Haidar is famous for their Beef Shawerma and Mango juice Cairienes travel from all neighborhoods to stand in it’s long lines well into the late hours of the night. Made with a special blend of spices and toppings, this Shawerma is juicy, tangy and is perfectly enveloped by their soft rolls that absorb all the juices from the meat. Their Mango juice is made with a recipe that includes 7 different types of Mango, a recipe that is highly coveted by the owners and everyone that works at the shop.
STOP 7 - mandarin kouidar
egyptian delight stuffed with mastic cream
Egyptian Delight or Malban is a dessert made by mixing sugar, water and corn starch together till it forms a sticky dough - similar to mochi. Malban can be eaten plain or mixed with nuts - sometimes rose water and different food colorings are added. in this stop Malban is stuffed with cream that is flavored with sugar and mastic - a resin made from the sap of mastic trees that has a distinct earth flavor and can be used in both sweet and savory dishes.
middle eastern desserts
Kunafa, basbousa, zalabya and balah el sham are just a few of the incredible sweets available around the Middle East. They’ve been a staple in Egyptian cuisine for hundreds of years and are increasingly popular during Ramadan and special celebrations like the feast, weddings or during family visits. Middle Eastern sweets are usually almost always drenched in sugar syrup, butter/ghee and are extremely sticky and delicious. Kunafa is made with a special type of hair like dough, where as basbousa is made with semolina flour and sometimes flavored with orange or rose water.
