The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Egyptian
sandwich shops seem to be taking a step up in style and innovation when it
comes to presentation; from the names of their meals to the menu design and
ordering process. It is also one way to compete with the bigger fast food chains and stand out amidst the  growing numbers of
sandwich joints in Cairo.

Shatshat is
a new sandwich venue in Nasr City with a menu of mouth watering, enticing and
spicy food options. You can pick one of
the El-mefalfel rice meals with chicken liver (7.50LE) with some tahabeesh on
the side, or, if you can handle it, some seriously spicy hawawshy or ‘hawawshatshat’
as the venue calls it (10LE).

For
shawerma fans, Shatshat will be a disappointment as it’s one of the few sandwich
places in Cairo that don’t make shawerma sandwiches. They’ve made up for it
though with the Miami chicken sandwich (11.75LE), which is more or less a
shawerma sandwich with green and red peppers that add a sweet flavour to the
chicken.

If you’re
not much of a spicy food lover, the chicken pané sandwich (12LE) will be a safe
choice, and the good news is they don’t just fry some chicken out of a frozen box
like other fast food joints do; the chicken is marinated and cooked as you’d
make it at home, which makes the portions less crunchy but flavoursome.

Though we
ordered our kofta meal (25LE) with fries on the side, we received it with rice
instead, and they sure make their rice spicy, though it was also fresh and well-cooked.
The kofta was served on a bed of tomatoes, onions and peppers and looked a bit
pale, but it was fortunately grilled to perfection with a serving of coleslaw
and tomeya dip on the side.

If you’re not
up for cooking on your day off, Shatshat celebrates the weekend with special
family meals. The four-meal weekend menu includes a mix grill meal (80LE),
which is a mix of chicken, shish tawouk and kofta; all seasoned with Shatshat’s
special mixture of herbs. The menu also lists the seafood bamboti meal (80LE),
which is served with rice, salad and bread.

Shatshat may not have the hang of things quite yet
but they’re getting there. Their sandwiches are good and the service is efficient
for the most part; just make sure to double check your order before leaving.