(Photo from Foool tank Facebook page)
There has been an emerging trend of posh restaurants serving traditional dishes such as fuul and ta’ameya. The abundance of places that sell these two traditional dishes is great, but what these new places offer is supposedly greater quality and hygiene. They also offer a place to sit while most of the more traditional places operate on the takeaway only basis.
It all started with Zooba in Zamalek, followed by Cairo Kitchen, and now Foool Tank. The restaurant is named after its main item of specialisation: fuul, and for good reason. They boast a wide array of options of the Egyptian favourite: from regular combinations such olive oil and tahina to strange concoctions that include sogo’, traditional sausages, and sweet and sour.
They also offer ta’ameya with the option of regular with tahina or stuffed with spices and vegetables. In addition, they serve the regular dishes of fried eggplants, French fries, and cheese and tomatoes. All items can be ordered in pita bread, ciabatta, brown ciabatta or in a box, with the pita being the cheapest. For sides, there are pickles and different types of salads such as fattoush and taboula. There is also a dessert section, where they offer three types of crêpes.
We opted for fuul with tahina and felt a bit adventurous and so ordered fuul with sweet and sour sauce as well. The fuul was cooked well and tasted very good, and surprisingly the sweet and sour made for a nice change from the monotony of this national dish. It also had a slight kick of red pepper in it, which only enhanced the taste. The ta’ameya was good enough, but we were disappointed with the lack of salad in the sandwich and the fact that the bread was a bit too tough. Also, one of the ta’ameya sandwiches was too salty.
The stuffed ta’ameya is also a nice option and includes a whole lot of spices, but it proved to be a heavy sandwich because of the tomato sauce and onion added. It is a good sandwich if you are really hungry. The only true disappointment was the sambusak with cheese. Although the dough was really well-made and fluffy, the cheese tasted really awful.
Overall, the experience was not that bad, but some of us were iffy. It would be well in their favour to try and enhance the few things that are wrong so as to elevate the dining experience. Especially, since compared to the other restaurants in their tier, they are quite affordable.
