Saturday morning, we took an Uber to the City Center Mall in the upscale suburb of Maadi, across the Nile. I was concerned that the Uber App on my phone might be confused by my acquisition of a new phone number this year and nine months of no use, but it remembered us and soon Solimon was on his way in a roomy white MG to pick us up in front of our building. The price was forecast at 150 Egyptian pounds ( just over $3) and even with a very generous tip we would only total $5 for the nine mile trip.
Our final destination was the Carrefour hypermarket in the mall but with a planned stop for lunch at the very nice Lebanese restaurant, Zahrat. Unlike when in the U.S., our shopping in Cairo is a full day outing.
Along
the Ring Road, en route to the mall, we immediately noticed the many
large "Welcome to Giza" signs on the surrounding apartment buildings in several languages promoting the Grand
Egyptian Museum. Something grand (perhaps the full opening?) must be
happening soon.
Zahrat
took over the space previously occupied by Chili's in the mall. It is
definitely a five-star location for middle-eastern food and we look forward to dining there every year.
Zahrat Lebnan has an extensive menu including breakfast items, sandwiches and full dinners.
Service began with water, lemonade and delicious Lebanese bread. Linda ordered an appetizer of felafil with tahina.
I chose the mixed grill and Linda enjoyed kofta.
In January, Carrefour always marks their anniversary in Egypt with a big sale - this year it is their 22nd. We were surprised that there were not many electronic items on special; most of the anniversary specials were cookware. We contributed only in a minor way by purchasing a single small Pyrex dish.
I did, however, buy a nice new maroon hoodie to replace the ratty gray one that I have worn here for several years. It does look much better in pictures and Linda declared that I no longer look homeless. With the addition of the letter "M" in gold it could be a U of MN sweatshirt.
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