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

With a slew of malls opening in New Cairo, it was only a matter of time before some of the city’s most popular restaurant chains began branching out to one of the capital’s most booming districts – one of which is Blaze.

With two venues under their belt already, one in Nozha and the other Mohandiseen, the chain’s newest branch is at deep in the heart of New Cairo, at Point 90 Mall, opposite AUC’s main entrance.

Despite a strangely small, almost nonexistent indoor area, the restaurant takes over a large outdoor area and still offered a cosy setting with sofas matched with chairs to form a relaxing and inviting lounge feel.

We opted for the boneless Buffalo wings (40LE) and the Texas Chilli fries (45 LE) as appetisers; accompanied by blue cheese sauce, the eleven ball shaped chicken wings were drenched with tangy buffalo sauce which had a mild spiciness to it, giving a great contrast to the blue cheese sauce. The chicken itself, meanwhile, had soaked up all the sauce, making it tender and juicy.

The Texas Chilli fries came in the form of queso cheese and minced beef covering French fries on a hot skillet; however, the queso cheese had an overpowering taste rendering the minced beef almost tasteless and the fries were soggy.

For our main dishes, we decided on the Cordon bleu (69LE), and the Fajita Trio (79LE), the former of which was was delightful; coming as two huge breaded chicken breasts stuffed with smoked turkey and cheese over a bed of mushroom sauce, the chicken had a satisfyingly crunchy exterior, contrasted by a tender interior. The cheese was bursting with flavour and it all came to the backdrop of a good mushroom sauce, making it a very memorable dish.

Although well-seasoned, the side of rice that came with the dish didn’t work well with the diced tomatoes and cheese shavings it was topped by; the cheese’s sharp, red cheddar flavour and the tanginess of the tomatoes overpowered the subtle essence of the rice, which forced us to scrape it off for a better experience.

Coming on a hot skillet, the fajita trio featured grilled slices of beef, chicken and shrimp sat on top of a mix of grilled bell peppers and onions which enhanced the aroma and flavour. The dish came with Spanish rice and a plate of sour cream, pico de galio, cheese and tortilla bread for a true Tex-Mex experience.

Sharing the same distinct Mexican inspired flavour, the beef, chicken and shrimp had an earthy saltiness to them that gave the dish an extra punch, mixing well with what was a reddish coloured Spanish rice that was flavourful and spicy, all while having a zesty aftertaste.

We also tried the restaurant’s Oreo and Strawberry Cheesecake milkshakes (29LE each). Coming in cubic jar-like glass containers, the milkshakes certainly looked appealing. Boasting a very smooth, thick texture, the Oreo milkshake, while topped with whip cream, had a grainy element to it – because of the crushed Oreos – giving an authentic taste.

As for the strawberry cheesecake milkshake, it had a familiar strawberry syrup aftertaste – which is not a bad thing – while still retaining a thick, smooth melted ice cream texture that was both refreshing and satisfying.

We ended our meal with the French toast banana (32LE) which came as two French toasts sandwiching and topped by slices of banana, caramel and Nutella, with a couple of scoops of soft vanilla ice cream on top. With a crunchy exterior and messy, gooey centre, the flavours all worked well without overpowering each other making it a surprisingly balanced and delicious dessert

With attentive and friendly staff, a cosy setting and well-executed food, Blaze is a excellent addition to the ever-growing fleets of restaurants in New Cairo, as the chain continues to grow in popularity.