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Liam Hetherington
Liam Hetherington
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3 out of 5
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17) Horus - Pyramiddle-Eastern

17) Horus - Pyramiddle-Eastern

30/03/09 - Egypt

Egypt has never really been particularly noted for its food. I once heard a theory that in the Arabic lands around the Mediterranean the best food will be found at the extremities, in Lebanon and Morocco, with the quality getting worse as you near the mid-point of the crescent. Which is pretty much where Egypt is located. Now, personally I did not have a problem with the cuisine when I visited Egypt for a fortnight, where food I ate ranged from fish from Lake Nasser or the Red Sea, Cairene kebabs and koshary, Nubian cuisine in Aswan or chicken and beans cooked on a small stove as I drifted down the Nile on a felucca.

But because of this reputation I was pretty sure that I would not be able to find an Egyptian restaurant in Manchester. And then one opened up a street away from my house!

So after our enjoyment of Ethiopian cuisine the week before, it seemed only appropriate that Paul and I continued our intrepid exploration north up the Nile valley...

Now, to be honest, the menu at Horus is not dramatically Egyptian. Its sign declares it to be a ‘Mediterranean restaurant’. Food on offer runs the entire gamut from kebabs to burgers, panini to pizzas to jacket potatoes. And in conversation I discovered that the proprieteress, Huda, hails from Beirut. But the exterior is decorated with the Eye of Horus and images of Egyptian gods – Anubis, Thoth and Sobek as well as the eponymous falcon-headed hero. Inside the walls are hung with papyrus, illustrated with pharoahs, hieroglyphs, and the Meidum geese. And there are one or two distinctly Egyptian touches on the menu.

With Horus being a new arrival, the place is still perfectly pristine and shiny inside. This place is a cut above the usual side-street kebab house. For a start it keeps restaurant hours (11am-11pm) rather than catering for the late night post-pub-and-club crowd. (Which is actually a bit of a shame as Withington is bereft of a good late night kebabery, and it is something I have been definitely missing since I moved from Rusholme). Both Paul and I ordered chicken kebabs (£3.80 each), but we fancied something while we waited, and dips were just what the doctor ordered. Huda cautioned against anything too weighty, and so we were guided by her suggestions. The dish I was determined to order was Foul Medamas, which I had enjoyed in Egypt and knew as an authentically Egyptian dish. This was a plate of mashed kidney beans in a tomato-ey sauce, served warm. Think a less spicy chilli sin carne without the peppers. As someone who is not generally a big lover of beans, it says something that I not only insisted we ordered this, but also took real enjoyment in scoffing more than my share. To compliment it we ordered Baba Ghannouj, a cold smoky-tasting paste of aubergine, tahina and garlic. Each cost £2.00, and were brought to our table with big pieces of Lebanese flatbread to dip and scoop with. We had drinks at the same time. Paul had mint tea (from a teabag, not a pot, and more powerfully minty than he was expecting). I had noticed hibiscus on the menu. I had enjoyed this cooling pink cordial in Egypt, but it turned out they were out. In its place I ordered a glass of mango and guava juice; this turned out to just be a can of fizzy Rubicon pop.

The kebabs were well-presented. Chunks of grilled chicken on more Lebanese bread, alongside salad. The salad was not the most inspiring – lettuce and onion. And I’m not sure how authentically Egyptian (or even Mediterranean) the chicken was – is was red with tikka spices which had been dry-rubbed into the meat prior to cooking. Don’t get me wrong, the tikka chicken was nice, not just what I expected. Alongside we were served two saucers, one of what I originally thought was yogurt but proved to be mayonnaise (!), and another of chilli sauce. At first glance it looked and smelled like plain tomato ketchup mixed with dried chilli, but it did have a bit more fire to it than we at first suspected.

Huda came over to check how we were getting on. Paul found himself getting full. She promptly reappeared with a take-away tray so that he could take the remainder of his kebab away with him as a doggy-bag. She told us of the plans she has for Horus. The decoration is not complete yet. She wants to organise Arabic music nights on Fridays. And she plans to extend the menu. I asked whether she would be planning to add koshary. Eyes gleaming, she said that yes she would, she makes very good koshary. In the meantime, next time she was making it for herself she would let me know and I could come along and share it with her! It was this sort of enthusiasm and welcome that makes me think that Horus could be a very good new addition to Withington!

From journal Around the World in 80 Meals! (part 2)

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