Al Tazaj, Cairo

Al Tazaj
Multiple Locations
Cairo

Common home delivery number 19018

I apprehensively ordered a Roast chicken from Al Tazaj using otlob.com Its the Egyptian franchise of a Saudi chain.

The apprehension was essentially because most commercially cooked roast chickens in Egypt have no added flavoring except heavy doses of salt. And my Indian palate craves flavoring. Not just chilli but any kind of flavoring.

I hit a winner with Al Tazaj. I ordered a Barbecued Chicken Meal Combo from their menu which included 1 whole chicken, served with sesame paste salad + French fries + Pepsi + eish. All this for just 27LE.

I had to wait an hour for the delivery, but it was worth it. The chicken was small (maybe about 750 gms)and hence tender. It was butterflied and marinated in a mix of garlic, lemon, black pepper and a few other herb and spices. The meat was tender and the skin was crisp without being charred. Lovely consistency, lovely taste, amazing flavour. The BEST roast chicken I have eaten in a hotel in Cairo. This is the first time I am eating Egyptian food from a restaurant that I did not add any hot sauce or other sauce too.

Their website states that These tender birds are fed only natural ingredients (our own special feed formula). Then, fresh from the farm they are marinated in a secret blend of fruits and vegetables then grilled to perfection over wood charcoal. The unique, delicious taste of TAZA BarB.Q. is one of a kind! I Agree!

I also ordered a basbousa which came in its individually wrapped box for 4.75LE. It may seem a little pricey for its size, but if my calculations are right, the special nuts they used as topping are more expensive than almonds, pistas or cashewnuts. The flavour was unlike any basbousa I have eaten before. It was a cross between the regular basbousa and an Indian sweet called milk cake (when full cream milk is cooked with sugar till it dries up into little granules) It was topped with those Sudanese (kiri?) nuts.


I'm very happy with this place and know where I'm going to order from the next time, I crave a good barbecued chicken on demand.

They have a delivery charge of about 5Le and of course sales tax of 10%. There is a 17LE minimum charge for delivery.

Grand Snacks and Sweets, Chennai

Totally inspired by the masala (blend of spices) given to us by our Tamilian friends Lux & Moorthy, I sent a shopping list to my mom who was visiting Madras for her visa. The parcel has just reached me. YIPPEE!

Karakuzhambu paste, onion thokku, pepper rasam masala, and that tamarind thing - is it Pulikachal?

Also she has sent me a bit of sambhar and rasam powder of theirs to try out.

I don't need to cook anything other than rice for the next one month. Hahahahaha

I'm so kicked with myself. Already tasted all of them. They are awesome!

If you want to buy some yourself or get it shipped to you, the address is:
#24
2nd Main Road,
Gandhi Nagar
Adyar
Chennai - 600020

Phone: 044-24914213

Read more about Grand Snacks & Sweets in The Hindu

Hard Rock Cafe, Cairo

Hard Rock Cafe Cairo
Grand Hyatt Cairo
Corniche El Nile, Garden City
Cairo, Egypt
+2(02) 5321277/81/85

Hours:
Restaurant:
Sun - Sat 12:00PM - 4:00AM
Merchandise:
Sun - Sat 11:00AM - 4:00AM

It started with an Eric Clapton guitar (a Fender Lead II, for the gearheads in the audience). The beginning of something that nobody even knew was beginning.

It was just a goof. A laugh. A joke among friends.

Back in the seventies, Clapton - the original guitar god, founder of Cream and Derek & the Dominoes, creator of the immortal "Layla" - liked to eat at this quirky American diner in London called the Hard Rock Cafe. The place was this funky old building that used to be a Rolls Royce dealership, and it was run by a couple of young Americans who liked to keep it loose. Founded by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton, two enterprising and music-loving Americans, Hard Rock Cafe was an instant classic. You could be yourself at the Hard Rock. It was good food and a good time.

So Clapton got to be friends with the proprietors and asked them to save him a regular table, put up a brass plaque or something. And the young proprietors said, “Why don't we put up your guitar?” They all had a chuckle, and he handed over a guitar, and they slapped it on the wall.

No one thought much more about it. Until a week later, when another guitar arrived (a Gibson Les Paul, by the way). With it was a note from Pete Townshend of The Who which read: "Mine's as good as his. Love, Pete."

The young proprietors put it on the wall. After that, the guitars never stopped coming. Today there are more than 70,000 guitars, drums, pianos, harmonicas, microphones, shirts, pants, scarves, shoes, handwritten lyrics, cars, bikes, a bus and assorted rock memorabilia - by far, the largest, most valuable such collection in the world - on the walls of over 138 Hard Rock Cafes, Hotels and Casinos in 42 countries around the world.

But it all started with the one.

And about 30 years later, the Hard Rock Cafe opened its doors in Cairo.

With an extremely large seating space, the HRC doubles as a restaurant during the day (with even a special day for little tots with face painters etc) and a club at night.

They boast one of the best selections of spirits in Cairo. And a large variety of cocktails mixed to perfection. My personal favorite is the Golden Rita (All margaritas are 70LE) Long Beach Ice Tea (59LE with cranberry juice instead of the cola in a Long Island Ice Tea - also 59LE) Rum Runner (46LE) Drinks like Cognac are 72LE a peg. Or you can keep the alcohol for a post meal experience by trying one of the Irish Coffees (57LE) with Irish Cream, Tia Maria, Irish Whiskey or Amaretto as the base.

On Fridays they have a special offer of unlimited beer & buffalo wings for 99LE.

The Jumbo Combo (59LE) is a great appetiser with a mix of Onion Rings, potato skins, Santa Fe Spring rolls (although I prefer The Southwestern egg rolls from Chilli's) Buffalo wings & chicken tenders with 4 different sauces. A little bit of everything for everyone on the table to taste.

I've had some great food here too. The pulled lamb sandwiches, Twisted mac (39LE), blackened chicken pasta (35LE) and burgers are all great. They more than fill you up as the portions are really large.

But its the deserts that are to die for. In particular - the Fudge Brownie Sundae (29LE) Its not only awesome, its completely VFM.

The Apple Cobbler (29LE) is also good, as are the cheesecakes.

Decor is the standard Hard Rock Cafe type with guitars, pictures and other rock memorabilia all over the place. What isn't standard is the gorgeous view of the Nile from the French Windows all around. By night or by day, the Nile is a very relaxing & calming sight. The feluccas during the day and the lights at night add much character to the scene.

Staff are friendly, responsive and speak fluent English (English speaking staff is a problem in some of the other restaurants/pubs in Cairo)

They have the standard Hard Rock gift shop with overpriced clothes & pins & glasses which you can shop at if you are a collector. Otherwise the same t-shirts are available in Khan el Khalili for 10LE :) LOL

Caution !!!!! The juice guy at the Khan

If you are thirsty after trekking the khan and looking for a juice, then the juice guy next to Egyptian pancakes at the Khan is MOST DEFINITELY NOT THE PLACE YOU WANT TO GO !

They are Bl&**$ scamsters !

I have always grabbed a juice there (over 20 times in the last year) with my Egyptian friends and it has never cost me more than 3LE.

I had recommended to my visiting aunts (2 weeks back) that they drink juice at his place if they felt thirsty in the area. I told them it would be about 5LE. (including the doubling of price for a tourist) The guy charged them 10LE for each lemon juice !

I thought it was some kind of mix up and ignored it.

When I went to the khan with my uncles last week, we ate at Egyptian pancakes & got the juice from the guy next door. He came back to me with a bill of 60LE for 5 lemon juice. 12 LE each ! (4 times the actual price !!!!!) He refused to see reason, even when I told him that he was charging us 4 times the price ! (To put it in perspective, a canned aerated drink in the market costs a maximum of 2.5LE)

Since the scamster doesn't have a menu, there's no way you can verify the price. 2.5$ for a lime juice is too much for any tourist (even if he/she is the supposed rich American)

Fix your price with the juice guy before ordering or don't order at all. I am definitely NEVER EVER going to drink a juice there again !

PS : The pancakes guy has a menu, so there's no trouble there.

Iftaar Buffet at Marriott Cairo Hotel & Omar Khayyam Casino

Attended the Iftaar Buffet at Mariott.

Pretty standard and similar to other Iftaar buffets in the cities 5 stars.

at Mariott, the location is at Omar's Cafe which has a huge seating area.

Tip of the day : Make sure you reach an Iftaar buffet as soon as possible to the fast breaking time, because food gets over very quickly and once the main rush is over, the serving staff also have to eat. So if you reach late you can expect neither service nor food.

What to expect at the buffet ?
The dates soaked in milk to break the fast properly.
6 different types of juices - tamrhind, karkadi,the apricot juice, the almond drink, caroub among others
20 different types of dips
10 different salads - vegetarian and non vegetarian
10 main course items - rokak (bread layered with mince/cheese like a stuffed laccha paratha) Kabsa (biryani) couscous & gravy, veal & beans, chickpeas and other items of the day.
2-3 grilled items - kebabs, koftas, shish tawook - grilled live, if you arrive on time
2-3 deep fried items - kobeba, cheese & meat sambusaks (samosas)
1 live counter - the day we went, it was liver being tossed according to ones taste (choose your seasonings and mixes)
10-15 items along the fresh fruit counter (includes dry fruits)
15-20 varieties of Egyptian sweets including Om Ali and custard.

Food was extremely delicious. Make sure you arrive on time so as to get proper service. Reach so as to finish your complete meal before 7pm for sure. (given this years timings for breaking the fast)

Then you can relax sipping shaai (tea) at the cafe or enjoy the ambiance outside of the garden cafe.

The night club next door has been converted to a prayer room for those who would like to pray before/after eating.

Damages : 145 LE per person. With sales & service taxes and a 2LE donation (I have no clue what it is donated towards) It comes to about 181 LE per person without any additional items being ordered like water or tea.

Omar's Cafe
Marriott Cairo Hotel & Omar Khayyam Casino
16 Saray el Gezira Street
P O Box 33
Zamalek
Cairo 11211
Egypt

Tel : +20 2 2728 3000 Ext - 8240

Reservations aren't necessary but they are recommended

Crocodile Grill

Crocodile Grill
City Stars
2 Aly Rashad St.
Star Capital 1
P. O. Box 5112 Heliopolis West
Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt. 11771

Pretty Extensive menu. You can take a look of some parts of it on their website http://crocodilegrill.com/

Although City Stars is supposed to be a completely "No Smoking" Zone, visitors have been showing casual disregard for this for a couple of months now. So I for one was very glad when the restaurant had segregated a section for the non smokers to enjoy their meal without the constant stench of cigarette smoke.

I just ordered the appetiser platter & a Bottomless Iced Tea. As you can see from the picture below, the platter is more than enough for an entire meal for 2 people.


Onion Rings, Spring Rolls, Nachos, Chicken wings, chicken tenders, Mozarella sticks & a choice of 3 dipping sauces - honey mustard, barbeque & a cream cheese mix.

The chicken tenders were amazing. I prefer the wings at Chilli's. The Onion Rings were just right. Crispy on the outside & sweet on the inside. I think the Platter was about 55LE.

Staff was very friendly. Friendliness is their Motto. (Yes, its a stated motto. Its written all over the place)

The Ice Tea was the bottomless variety for about 10LE. They have lots of Burgers, Sea Food & other fried stuff on the menu.

The desserts in the display case looked yummy but I did not have any space left for anything sweet.

What makes them stand apart from the other American Chains in Cairo - Chilli's Fuddruckers etc ? they have a large menu of drinks (non alcoholic) & milk shakes brewed on site. Next time I'm going for the drinks & the dessers only.

The World's Best Hamburger Is in Egypt

The World's Best Hamburger Is in Egypt
Scott Macleod/Cairo

Having spent a lot of my journalistic life in Cairo, I'm fond of Egyptian food. The garlic-spiced mashed fava bean dish called ful medames, for instance, which we eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner. My teenage daughter repudiated McDonald's after seeing Supersize Me, so when she's out with her friends, they go to a local hangout known for its kushari, a spicy mix of macaroni, rice, chick peas and lentils........

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