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Eating and drinking
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Egyptian food combines elements of Lebanese, Turkish, Syrian, Greek and French cuisines, modified to suit local conditions and tastes. Dishes tend to be simple and wholesome, made only with fresh ingredients, and therefore vary with the seasons. Nubian cooking, found in southern Egypt, is spicier than food in the north; in Alexandria, Mediterranean influences prevail. Cairo offers every kind of cuisine in the world.
Eating out falls into two camps. At a local level, there are cafes and diners, and loads of street stalls, which sell one or two simple dishes. More formally and expensively, restaurants cater to middle-class Egyptians and tourists. The latter have menus (most cafes don't) offering a broader range of dishes, and sometimes specializing in foreign cuisine. They will also invariably add a service charge and taxes to your bill, which usually increases the total by 17 percent. You are also expected to tip - conventions for which are byzantine. Basically, you tip in proportion to the size of the bill; below ten percent in expensive places, more where the sums involved are trifling. In juice bars and diners, customers simply put 10-25pt on a plate by the exit Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Egypt |