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

Last week, Kazlak invited me and other fellow foodies for probably the most creative event I’ve ever been to in my food blogging journey. Kazlak decided to push our limits and wow us with a one-of-a-kind Masmat Project menu and it was just an experience I couldn’t keep it to myself.

Before I talk about the food, I have a confession to make. I have never ever, ever tried masmat food in my life – shame on me, I know. For those that don’t know, a masmat is a place that serves kersha (tripe), kaware3 (hock), lesan (tongue) and basically any other animal body part most would think were inedible.

Not knowing exactly what to expect, Massoud Waleed, owner of Kazlak, explained that the Project Masmat menu would consists of a five-course meal, and he picked some beginner-friendly cuts so we don’t feel too intimidated by the idea. Honestly, I’ve never been disappointed by Kazlak and I fully trusted them.

Things got off to exactly the kind of weird start we were expecting with a soup consisting of Smoked Beef Hock – kaware3 – and apple. Kazlak is known for smoking pretty much everything, and the soup had a strong smoky flavour to it and the apple cubes, surprisingly, didn’t get mushy from the hot soup, adding a nice crunch to each spoon.

After getting rather cocky for passing the first dish like a true foodie, they ruined my sense of victory with a Smoked Tongue and Eggplant Salad. I’m not going to lie; I was a little paranoid, to the point that I initially thought the eggplant was some kind of a weird organ, before overhearing someone mentioning that it’s eggplant. Phew.

Kazlak implemented two methods of smoking the tongue, which was great because the layer in the middle had an intense smoky flavour while the one on top was on the mild side. The eggplant, arugula, thin piece of bread topped with tomato sauce and that fancy splash of garlic sauce at the bottom were a perfect match to compliment the tongue and it’s the fanciest presentation of tongue that I or any of the other invitees will ever see.

Just when I thought things were getting easier, the waiter came with Seared Head-Meat with Sticky Rice and Caramelised Onions alongside a magical shot of cabbage water and salad water that turns into a beautiful purple colour when mixed together. The flavours of the seared head-meat were great, but I wasn’t a big fan of gooey and fatty texture – I’m just not that hardcore. On the other hand, the sticky rice, which was cooked with the head-meat jus, was like an oriental version of risotto and the bed of caramelised onions at the bottom was the cherry on top.

The last savoury dish of the day was Sauteed Sweetbreads – 7alaweyat – with Spicy Potatoes and Pickled Lemon Sauce. The white girl in me was disgusted from the smooth yet mushy texture of the sweetbreads which is very similar to brains, but the 3abla Kamel in me was enjoying the flavours, especially the tangy and sour pickled lemon sauce. It was the biggest challenge of the day and, we lost a few soldiers along the way who just couldn’t quite handle it.

If you think that the dessert was going to be something ordinary, well, you’re wrong. The Sweet Potato Glacé with Dokka is a dessert that perfectly showed the creativity and passion Kazlak puts into its food. This cute homemade sweet potato ice cream dome, which was only mildly sweeter, was topped with fried sweet potato strings to add a slightly bitter flavour and a great crunch, and surrounded by sweet potato skin demi-glacé for bittersweet flavours, roasted peanuts for more crunch, and dokka that just hits you like sea salt in salted caramel. It was quite interesting how each item tasted unremarkable on its own, but when you take a spoon full of everything, something magical happens and all the bitterness goes away and your sweet tooth is satisfied. This is the definition of perfectly balanced flavours.

This experience was just another reason why you should give Kazlak a try. I mean, this masmat project was designed to push the boundaries of the kind of food we’re invited to try on the regular – and it really did. Just when we thought we’d seen everything, Kazlak’s delicate knowledge of even the more random, obscure ingredients shows that there’s always room for innovation, creativity and experimentation is food – and that’s how Cairo’s dining scene can evolve and claim identities of its own. Not by jumping on trends; not by copy-pasting successful concepts from abroad; but by doing something original and unique. Whether some or all of these dishes will ever make it to Kazlak’s regular menu is yet to be seen; but it has my vote.