The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Offering
food at a budget, it seems that the Karvin Hotel in Heliopolis is rapidly
becoming a neighbourhood favourite. We were pleasantly surprised to discover Massala, one of the
best Indian restaurants in town, and now their latest addition is the Chinese
Lounge located on the ground floor.

The
décor is nothing to write home about and looks like your average Chinese
restaurant with fans on the wall and a lot of red accents. They have a long
banquette on one side of the wall with an ample number of tables. We were initially
a bit put off by a fried fast food smell coming out of the kitchen, but the
aromas of a glass of wine (25LE) and a beer (15LE) helped us move past this.

We started
with the hot and sour soup (18.50LE), which was overly spicy to the point where
it completely lacked the sour element. By the end of the ordeal, we found
ourselves immediately reaching for tissues to blow our nose and wipe the tears
away. The fried potato with garlic sauce (14LE) on the other hand was
delicious. The potatoes were fried in little balls and the garlic added an
enjoyable, aromatic zest. The beef with ginger and garlic sauce (35LE) was also
very pleasant, with the ginger and garlic complementing each other well without
either overpowering the other. The beef tasted like it came from a good cut and
it fried to a perfect outer crisp. The mixed vegetables (10LE) we got on the
side were a bit unexciting but contributed to our daily vitamin intake. There
are plenty of rice options but we just settled for the fried rice with egg
(26LE) to allow the more hearty dishes to shine. Served with plenty of egg, the
dish was too oily and it made it difficult for the garlic and ginger sauce from
the beef dish to stick to the rice.

As seems
to be the norm with the majority of restaurants in Cairo, the dishes at Chinese
Lounge come in huge portions, and so you should keep this in mind if you’re
planning a full-on three-course meal.

Overall,
the food is commendable, the staff are polite and aren’t over attentive. The
best thing at Chinese Lounge, however, is the prices. We ended up paying 260LE
for a lot of food and drinks between three persons, which for this city is very
reasonable.