Restaurants in Egypt - Hotels and Restaurants Tips

Restaurants in Egypt - Hotels and Restaurants Tips

Food & Cuisine in Egypt

Egyptian cuisine is flavoured with herbs and is not overly spicy, making it interesting for travellers to experiment with. The Felfela chain of restaurants in Cairo is perhaps an ideal place to begin trying out local food. Like all seaside countries, Egypt boasts of several fish markets and seafood restaurants. Many of the markets have food stalls close by, where a customer can pick out the fish of his choice and watch it being cooked. A visit to one of these places is a must, since it also gives visitors an opportunity to share a table with the locals.
A visit to local markets off the tourist beat can be a delightful experience. Here, you’ll find varieties of inexpensive, freshly grown tropical fruits like guava, watermelon, mango and ishta (a sweet, creamy-textured fruit like avocado) being sold in fruit stalls.
This Egypt restaurants guide gives a brief rundown on the food and cuisine of Egypt, with details on some of the most popular dishes that you may wish to sample. Don't forget to do some shopping while you're on holiday - use our Egypt shopping guide for hints and tips on what there is to buy.

Food & Cuisine in Egypt

Egypt’s cuisine is heavily influenced by Arab and other Middle Eastern foods. Rice, which was favoured by Arab nomadic tribes thanks to its easy portability, continues to be a staple food in Egypt. Many other basic, natural foods used by the tribes continue to be consumed today.
As the tribes made further inroads into the Middle East, they were influenced by the culinary traditions of other nationalities, in particular, the Greeks and Turks. Spices began to be added to food and new ways of cooking began to be adopted.
If you’re looking at value for money, Egyptian cafés are an excellent option. The downside though is that the choice of food is limited unlike Egypt restaurants which are frequented by tourists and local, middle class residents. Street vendors operate in the big towns and cities and are ideal places to pick up an inexpensive, tasty snack.
Some traditional dishes to try out are Ancient Egyptian Marinade (chicken breasts and legs marinated overnight in buttermilk and flavoured with pepper) and T’amiyaa or mashed chickpeas. Kushari, one of Egypt’s most popular dishes, is a rice-and-lentil preparation, mixed with macaroni, chickpeas and topped with garlic, browned onions and a spicy salsa-like tomato sauce. In some places, another version called taagin is also available.

Local Dishes

Ful medames is a classic Egyptian dish, consisting of partly or fully mashed fava beans (ful) simmered slowly in a copper pot. The type of pot is important, as other metals change the flavour of the dish. Olive oil is often used, sometimes with the addition of garlic. Other add-ons are chopped parsley, onion and lemon juice. Some cooks like to season this dish with chilli paste and turmeric. Ful medames is generally eaten with baladi, an Egyptian bread or the Lebanese pita bread, known locally as shami.
Ta’miya closely resembles the better known Falafel of the Middle East. While Falafel is made of ground chickpea, Ta’miya consists of ground fava beans, shaped into balls and deep-fried. It is thought that the dish was originally invented by Egyptian Bedouins. Ta’miya is usually eaten as a snack.
Some Egyptian dishes that closely resemble some Arab dishes, are stuffed vegetables, vine leaves and Shawarma sandwiches.

Beverages

Juices are very popular in Egypt, thanks to its warm, dry climate. Kasab (sugarcane juice), Sobiia (white juice), tamer (sweetened tamarind juice) and plenty of fresh fruit juices are widely available. Erk soos (liquorice) is another popular beverage.
Karkadae or hibiscus tea is famous, particularly at Luxor. Egyptians prefer to drink it cold, though it can be had hot as well. Be cautious though, as hibiscus tea has the tendency to lower blood pressure.

Source: http://www.egypt-whl.com/egypt-restaurants