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

If you
fancy breaking your fast in style, First Mall might be a good option. The
elegant restaurant Indigo is open for fetar this Ramadan and has changed its
usual fusion cuisine of Vietnamese, Indonesian and Spanish cuisine to serve authentic
Egyptian food.

Despite
its usually terrific décor, Indigo has gone over the top with its Ramadan-themed
interior. The already very colourful restaurant is decorated from top to bottom
in kheyameya print, and the combination comes close to tacky. Indigo has four
enormous screens showing Ramadan shows. However, the sound is off, so you can’t
keep up with the show; instead, Egyptian pop songs play in the background.

Upon
this reviewer’s arrival, the table was already laid out with a bowl of dried
fruit and a basket of bread. The fetar buffet is not massive, but there is
plenty on display. As usual, there is a juice corner serving amar el din and
karkadeh.

The starter buffet is quite small with regular dishes such as hummus,
baba ghanough and tehina. Hot orzo soup and lentil soup are served next to bite-size
appetisers like dolma, kobeba, sambousak and salad. Main courses include chicken
topkapi, steak and kofta as well as okra, baked potatoes with rosemary, and
vegetables. This reviewer was delighted to finally find healthy options at a
fetar buffet.

Needless
to say, we couldn’t help but sample every dish. We highly recommend the dolma
for starters. The portions are fresh, chewy and not too sour as is the case
with many other venues. As for the main courses, we recommend the chicken topkapi,
which is filled with rice and a nicely grilled variation to your standard chicken
dish.

All
meats seem to have been freshly grilled, including the lamb’s rack, which
unfortunately had a lot of fat and little meat. The vegetable mix of broccoli,
cauliflower, carrots and zucchini is not overcooked and a bit crunchy. If you
want to stick to more traditional food, opt for the okra, which comes with a
rich and spicy sauce.

Afterwards,
we suggest that you indulge yourself in the desserts. The om ali is freshly made and
you can add your own ingredients according to your preference. If you want to be healthy,
opt for the fruit salad of apple, watermelon and grapes. Of course, there is
also plenty of konafa with cream, basbousa, baa’lawa and mahalabeya.

Indigo’s
ingredients and flavours offer an alternative Egyptian fetar that, while not
the priciest meal out there, still adds up: the buffet costs 160LE per person
excluding tax; so a meal for two with a bottle of water can reach 430LE.