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The affordable winter city trip with sun and cheap street food

Posted on by Pranco
The affordable winter city trip with sun and cheap street food

Like winter city ​​trip or the beginning of a longer one winter sun escape, the Egyptian The capital is unbeatable – temperatures can reach a much-awaited 21°C in December Great Egyptian Museum is finally partially open in neighboring Giza, and you’ll easily find a hotel room for under £100 a night.

Cairo has long been an attractive destination for adventurous foodies, and it is a particularly attractive city for travelers on a budget. Egyptian street food is incredible value for money and the national cuisine is filling – you can get a good meal for just 50 cents.

While not for the faint of heart (or virgins), Egyptian street food is steeped in flavor and history. Dishes combine ancient Egyptian and global influences, tradition and innovation. These five places – both newcomers and old guard – serve the best street food in Cairo, and most cost less than £2 per person.

Cairo, Egypt. November 26, 2022 An Egyptian man fries Falafel, a chickpea-and-spice-filled snack popular in Egypt and throughout the Middle East, at his shop in the Islamic Quarter of Cairo, Egypt.
You can see how specialties are prepared in Cairo (Photo: John Wreford/Getty Images)

Liver and sausage sandwiches at Yokal

With four locations in the city, Yokal serves an elevated take on one of Egypt’s most traditional meats: kebda (fried beef liver) and sugoq (beef sausage). The flavorful meat is served in homemade hot dog buns and washed down with locally made cream soda.

Although Yokal is a bit more expensive than the old fashioned one kebda And sogoq joints, there is a big difference in quality. And yet Yokal’s prices are tasty: a sandwich costs around 30 Egyptian pounds (less than 50 cents), or you can order a box of four for around 100 EGP (about £1.50). Compare this to the price of Istanbul’s famous sandwich, the balık-ekmekwhich costs about 100-120 TRY (£2.25-2.70) at a simple street cart.

Four locations

(My preferred location): Red Point Food Court, Abdelhamid Gouda Alsahar, New Cairo

72 El-Horeya Street, Heliopolis

118 El-Aziz Othman, Al-Gabalayah, Zamalek

Kargo Mall, Al-Shabab Rd, Second Al-Sheikh Zayed, Giza

Koshary in Abu Tarek

Koshary has several titles: Egypt’s most famous national dish, the best value meal and the country’s only vegan main dish. This heavy meal consists of rice, pasta, lentils and sometimes chickpeas, topped with crispy fried onions and tomato sauce.

Cairo is legendary Kosharia is Abu Tarek, founded in Qasr el-Nil in 1960 by owner Youssef Zaki. He and his children are always at the family’s two restaurants, the second of which opened at First New Cairo. Even when he’s not on site, you can’t miss Zaki, whose photos hang on the walls of his restaurants.

Koshary is considered affordable even by local standards. A large medium bowl from Abu Tarek costs EGP 30 (about 50 cents), and the extra large “Golden Man” koshari costs EGP 50 (80 cents). Koshary is so filling that I have never been able to finish a bowl, regardless of size. You could compare this classic Egyptian meal to Morocco‘s traditional taginewhich is also often vegan; A tagine in Marrakesh costs around 30 to 50 dirhams (£2.30 to £4 pounds).

Locations in Cairo:

(My favorite location – the original) 12 Marouf, Qasr El-Nil

122 Banks Center Street, Cairo’s first new

Feteer from Dina Farm

Feteer is a beloved specialty that has roots in ancient Egypt. The pizza-shaped dough consists of many thin layers of dough filled with savory or sweet filling. Savory options are similar to regular pizza toppings, and sweet varieties can include honey, sweet cheese, nuts and more.

The cake is traditionally made by women in rural areas. During road trips through the countryside it is common to make a stop to buy authentic party directly from the makers. But the best place for it party in Cairo is Dina Farm. The fetiret sells sweet and savory pies prepared exclusively with ingredients from the farm in the Beheira Desert.

Dina Farm party ranges from EGP 100 to 300 (£1.60 – £4.75) depending on size and topping selection; I recommend the shawarma, which costs 250 EGP (about £4) and is a hearty meal for two. This is a bargain compared to pizza in Marrakech, where a regular personal-size pizza costs about 20 dirhams (€1.50), or in Istanbul, where a regular pizza lahmacun (small flatbread with tomato sauce) starts at TRY50 (just over £1).

Five locations in Cairo:

(My recommended location) 387X+CV7, Ahmed Fakhry, Al-Mintaqah as Sādisah, Nasr City

ChillOut Gas Station, Khamayel Entrance, July 26 Corridor, October 6, Giza

Running out of fuel, Moustafa Kamel Axis, second new Cairo

3MFC+CF, Madinaty, Second New Cairo

38X8+92R, El Montaza, Heliopolis

Arabic cuisine; Egyptian traditional food. "Feteer meshhaltet" is flaky layered dough. It consists of many thin layers of dough and ghee. Served with black and white honey, tahini, cream, jam and cheese.
Feteer consists of many thin layers of dough and ghee and can be served with black and white honey, tahini, cream, jam and cheese (Photo: Dina Saeed/Getty Images)

Shawarma and hawawshi at Caizo

Shawarma meets traditional Egyptian hawawshi (pita stuffed with minced meat) in the carnivore refuge of Caizo. Known for its ‘box of burgers’, Caizo is one of Egypt’s most modern street food vendors. Soft, brioche-like buns surround generous portions of chicken or beef shawarma and traditional Egyptian pitas (baladi) Swaddled meat, onions, peppers and lots of herbs.

Most people order a box of a dozen burgers to split between six people: a dozen chicken sandwiches cost EGP 610 (£9.60), a dozen beef for 670 (£10.50), or a dozen hawawshi for around 1,000 (£15.75). In other words, between €1.60 and €2.60 is enough to feed one person. For comparison, a sandwich at one of Marrakech’s popular spots, Medina Burger, costs between £4.70 and £7.80.

5 locations:

2338+P5M, October 1 6, Giza

Platz

Children’s garden, park view, Ahmed Fakhry

Chill Out, Beltway, 90th Street Bridge

Maadi as Sarayat Al-Gharbeyah, Maadi

Dirty and falafel sandwiches at GAD

At GAD it’s all about the broad bean. Called crazyBroad beans are used in everyday Egyptian dishes, such as dirty medicinesa creamy paste of cooked broad beans, and Tomeyathe Egyptian version of falafel, which calls for fava instead of chickpeas.

GAD sells both, which is why it is considered a ‘foul and tomeya’ restaurant. Broad bean dishes are usually eaten for breakfast, and GAD’s breakfast sandwiches are its specialty. There is nothing more quintessentially Egyptian than a pita bread filled with crazy, Tomeyaor one of GAD’s dozens of other options, like eggs and olives.

Two sandwiches are perfect for a hearty breakfast, and each sandwich ranges from EGP 10 to 20 (17 to 32 pence). A similar sandwich in Tunis, a fricassé, costs at least 1 Tunisian dinar (25 pence) from a street cart.

Nine locations in Cairo (below are some recommended addresses in more tourist-oriented areas)

Al-Azhar Street, El-Gamaliya

21-33 Abd El-Khalik Tharwat, Bab Al-Louq, Qasr El-Nil