Coffee Houses, Patisseries and Juice Bars
Cairene males have socialized in coffee houses or tearooms ( ahwa) ever since the beverage was introduced from Yemen in the early Middle Ages (for a rundown on coffee and tea drinking and preparation). Although professional qasas (storytellers) have largely been supplanted by broadcast or taped music, other traditional diversions such as backgammon and dominoes are still popular, and smokers remain loyal to their waterpipes. Most ahwas are shabby hole-in-the-wall places, with chairs overlooking the street, while a few - such as Fishawi's and Al-Shataranji - are large and more sophisticated, often with high ceilings and tall mirrors (these often also sell pastries). Certain ahwas are the haunt of hobbyists - chess players at Al-Shataranj in Saiyida Zeinab, literati at the Ali Baba on Midan Tahrir (where Mahfouz takes coffee) or rural migrants (oasis folk frequent Al-Wahia on Sharia Qadry, off Sharia Bur Said), but most have an eclectic clientele. All-night awhas can be found around Bab al-Luq, Midan Ramses and Sharia Qalaa; those around the Saiyida Zeinab end of Sharia Mohammed Farid and Sharia el-Nasireya show videos (sometimes in English) throughout the night. There are also modern all-night coffee shops in the Intercontinental, Meridien and other deluxe hotels. For daytime snacks, the upmarket coffee houses and tearooms (more akin to Western cafes than traditional ahwas) serve selections of pastries, rice pudding, creme caramel and suchlike - the most famous are the branches of Groppi's). As well as being great places to stop off during the day, they also provide a welcome alternative to the monotony of standard hotel breakfasts (rolls and jam and/or cheese spread). Another option is to try one of the breakfast buffets offered by a range of deluxe hotels and open to non-residents. To take away or consume on the spot, however, it's cheaper to buy at patisseries like Haroun al-Rashid on Talaat Harb, El-Sarkia on Sharia Alfy Bey, or branches of the city-wide chain La Poire , where pastries are normally sold by weight with the price per kilo posted. The original and most central branch, at 1 Sharia Amerika Latina (near the British Embassy in Garden City), offers home-made baklava (GBPE25 per kilo) and eclairs (GBPE2.40); other branches are in Mohandiseen (opposite the Atlas Hotel), Giza (Sharia el-Nil, 100m south of the Gama'a Bridge), Heliopolis (92 Sharia al-Higaz, near Midan Heliopolis), the Ramses Hilton and elsewhere. Every main street has a couple of tiled stand-up juice bars (usually open 8am-10pm), recognizable by their displays of fruit, where you can pick up a glass of freshly squeezed juice - a great way to get the appetite going before breakfast. The ones near the Cafe Riche and Felfela charge more than most, but they're never expensive. The best one in Cairo is Fraghly Fruits, 71 Arab League Street, in Mohandiseen. Normally, you order and pay at the cash desk before exchanging a plastic token for your drink at the counter (where customers leave a 5-15pt tip). You'll also see a number of nut shops ( ma'la) on the main thoroughfares, offering all kinds of peanuts ( fuul sudani), edible seeds, and often candies and mineral water, too. See Basics for more on the various types of juices and nuts. Ice cream in Cairo is usually not very good, though you may find interesting flavours like guava and mango. A cut above the rest are the Dairy King outlets (in Zamalek, Mohandiseen and Heliopolis), but traditionally Rigoletto, in Zamalek's Yamaha Centre (3 Sharia Taha Hussein), is considered the best, serving delicious ice cream (GBPE1.75 a scoop) and cheesecake (daily 9am-11.30pm; GBPE3 minimum charge to eat in). If you're desperate for the real thing, Baskin & Robbins (branches in Modandiseen, Heliopolis and Pyramids Road) has ice cream for the connoisseur, but at a comparatively high price (GBPE3.50 a scoop).
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