(Photo from K-Lounge Facebook page)
On Wednesday 18 December new restaurant K-Lounge opened its doors in the City Plaza Mall in Cairo’s Fifth Settlement area. The restaurant is part of the Abdel Rahim Koueidar company and offers international cuisine with creative dishes that suit a variety of tastes.
To festive opening night featured live entertainment by Sally Sampson and Hany Mustafa whose mellow songs fit well with the restaurant’s ambience. The hosts were very eager to ensure the guests were having a good time and had a chance to sample the varied dishes. Many appetisers were served, including onion rings, spring rolls and mozzarella sticks, which were perhaps a bit too oily and over-cooked.
The salads on offer were creative and very tasty. We tried the chicken salad with blue cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, lettuce and avocadoes. The chicken was cooked very well and juicy and properly spiced and the combination of flavours was very successful. Perhaps the most delicious was the roasted vegetables and halloumi cheese salad. The serving dish featured a generous portion of roasted tomatoes, peppers and courgettes on a bed of lettuce, topped with several pieces of lightly grilled halloumi cheese. The vegetables were roasted to perfection, avoiding the common mistake many restaurants make of cooking them until they are too soft and mushy, and the cheese used was well-salted without being overpowering.
They also served tomato soup which had a velvety smooth texture but was a bit tangy. The accompanying drinks included a kiwi drink, comprised of crushed ice, fresh orange and kiwi juice, which was quite sweet and a nice substitute for fizzy drinks.
The best dish was hands down the grilled salmon with balsamic vinegar and honey dressing, served on a bed of sautéed eggplant and mushrooms, with a side of aromatic basmati rice with flecks of dill. The salmon was very well-cooked, the sautéed bed of mushrooms and eggplant provided a nice contrasting taste and the slightly sweet dressing and tasty rice complemented this main course perfectly.
Unfortunately there was just too much food for one person to try. There was an array of pastas and other main dishes, which were all presented beautifully and looked very tasty. In addition, a variety of blended fruit drinks were offered throughout the event.
The restaurant is located on the first floor, above a more traditional Koueidar store on the ground floor where one can purchase any of the many sweets and desserts on offer. A stylish outdoor seating on the ground floor provides a nice option to enjoy a coffee or a meal on warm winter nights or sunny mornings.
If the opening night is anything to go by, K-Lounge is a wonderful addition to the ever expanding and varied gastronomic scene in this Cairo neighbourhood.
