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

Top of the morning (or evening) to you, Dish of the Week and Cairo360 readers! We have yet another Dish of the Week that we are all extremely excited about—it is simple, sweet, and unexpectedly good.

Sounds like a broad, slightly vague description, right? Let’s narrow it down a bit. This dish’s origins come from Upper Egypt, where the residents have a huge sweet tooth. They indulge in this meal for breakfast or dinner, especially during the winter, keeping them warm. Have you guessed it yet? Let’s give you a few other hints. There’s milk, sugar, and our star ingredient for the week, sha’areya. 

By sha’areya, we don’t mean the vermicelli noodles; we’re specifically referring to the ones native to Upper Egypt, as they’re thicker, longer, and by default, more delicious.

This week’s mood is perfect for sha’areya bel laban for many reasons, but the main one being the piercing cold weather that has us shivering underneath the many layers we’ve been wearing every day! Sha’areya bel laban is so popular among residents of Egypt that we like to think of it as some sort of secret dish that we keep away from other cultures—especially the Italians, so they don’t ‘unfriend’ us! 

While many Egyptians might not have grown up indulging in this hearty dish, it still counts as a signature dish of Egypt. Containing milk, sugar, butter or ghee, and noodles, sha’areya bel laban is quite an eccentric dish that doesn’t sound as good as it tastes, which is the central theme of this week. We’ve had an unexpected turn of events (all good news, though, don’t worry) that made our entire week. Thankfully, we’ve been keeping up our happy streak! 

Sha’areya bel laban is a nostalgic meal, and this week was full of news and events that made us think back to many happier moments and about other things associated with the past. Having a sweet dish is always associated with a celebration of sorts, which is right up our alley this week, especially with Cairo 360’s upcoming 12th anniversary ( and this is a #not-sponsored piece, too, by the way).

We took it easy this week, laughing around with everyone in our office and bonding even more over silly jokes and big news! So, if you haven’t tried sha’areya bel laban, we strongly suggest you give it a go. Maybe if you do, you’ll feel what we’ve been feeling this week! 

How did your week go?