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

We were
a little disappointed with Zo in Fifth Settlement, so we were somewhat apprehensive when the Asian restaurant opened
on Zamalek’s 26th of July Street, a few doors down from its sister restaurant Makani.

Just
like Makani, Zo consists of two floors, with the ground floor set up as an open
kitchen where you can see the chefs at work. Upstairs is the seating area with
a limited amount of tables. The walls are painted red and purple, which might
sound disturbing but is actually very pleasant. Apart from that, the interior is
minimalistic and there aren’t a lot of Asian accents. The menu is very
extensive with the country of origin listed next to each dish; so you might
actually learn something new about Asian cuisine.

We
eventually opted for the satay mix (24LE) as a starter, together with the fried
shrimp Thai-style (33.50LE). The satay was supposed to be a mix of beef and
chicken, but we only received chicken in our order. That being said, the
chicken was nicely grilled and only mildly spiced. The accompanying satay sauce
was delicious, thick, a bit spicy and half-warm. Already impressed with this
appetiser, we were even happier about the fried shrimp, which were wrapped up
in filo dough and came with hot sauce. It is probably the simplest item on the
menu, but sometimes less is just more.

As a
main course, the barbecued beef served on sizzling onions (52LE) is an absolute
must-try. The beef is deliciously grilled and spiced. The meat itself is a bit
spicy and combined with the sweetness of the onions, it is a perfect balance. The
shrimp with bamboo shoots and mushrooms (85LE) was an even tastier main dish. The
shrimp portion was generous, its sauce was mild and its texture was a bit
syrupy.

This reviewer ordered the vegetarian Chinese noodles (24LE) as a side
dish. The noodles came with mixed peppers, courgettes, baby corn and mushrooms.
For 24LE, these were the cheapest noodles on the menu. Most noodle dishes are
more expensive at around 40LE.

Before
we could order dessert, the waiter served us a sweet potato dessert on the
house. The sweet potatoes come with cinnamon and coconut milk. One bite was
enough for us to decide that we didn’t like this dessert: the sweet potato had a very
crumbly texture and we couldn’t detect the cinnamon or the coconut. Instead, we
had a slightly sweet and dry sweet potato on our plate.

The
staff was friendly but obviously still in training. That being said, Zo is
definitely worth a visit when you’re in Zamalek and craving Asian cuisine.