Eish Baladi El Gouna
Eish Baladi El Gouna – As anticipated the Eid feast was a hive of activity with a diverse collection of people. We had the usual suspects who live here all year round, we had the typical Cairo set who join us for feasts and holidays and any excuse they can and obviously the holiday makers who experienced a real treat, seeing El Gouna at its best.
Like most Egyptian feasts Eid revolves around eating! Its celebrated by sharing food with friends and family. Food it’s a massive part of Egyptian culture and this celebration is no different.
While out enjoying the festivities we were lucky enough to stumble upon a fantastic authentic Egyptian restaurant, Eish Baladi El Gouna, which serves only Egyptian food. It’s typical Egyptian street food at even better prices. Situated in the spectacular New Marina we were able to enjoy breakfast with a view. We enjoyed a typical Egyptian breakfast which included a variety of sandwiches including Estamboly Cheese with Tomatoes and Olive Oil (10le), Egyptian Foul (10), Roumi Cheese with Pastrami (15le) and Eggplant with Vinegar and Garlic (10le). As we soaked up the atmosphere while sitting on the outdoor seating at the snug and simple venue we indulged ourselves with fresh tangerine juice (20le), an absolute must for all guests to try.
We learned that Eish Baladi which opened about a year ago is a fast casual Egyptian eatery which is focused on fresh, locally grown and authentic street food. It is open daily from 8am serving breakfast till 1pm then serving lunch and dinner up to midnight and sometimes later at weekends. This was exactly what we wanted for the Eid celebrations. They even make their own fresh whole wheat local bread daily which adds to the authentic experience. We were surprised to learn that Eish Balady shares a swanky private bathroom, situated in the heart of the New Marina with their sister restaurant La Goonie.
We were so impressed with the solely Egyptian menu which also includes a variety of tasty vegetarian dishes and sandwiches that we ordered a take away to be delivered that night. We were hosting an Eid celebratory dinner in the home and Eish Balady’s food was so authentic and tasty that my cooking could never compare, my guests would never know, or so I hoped.
As it was Eid we dined on Beef Fetta (80le) the dish traditionally eaten at this time of year, Vermicelli Soup (20le), Molokheya (25le), Rice (10le), Mumbar (40le), Stuffed Chicken with Rice (90le) and Okra (25le). You name it, we ate it. Everyone complimented my phenomenal new found Egyptian cooking skills and compared it to genuine street food or like their mother used to make. I eventually had to confess that the amazing feast we had enjoyed was not my handy work and it was in fact a culinary master piece from Eish Balady. I couldn’t take the credit for such skills and to be honest no one minded that it wasn’t home cooked by me, they were just so happy to have enjoyed such an amazing array of Egyptian flavours.
Eish Baladi El Gouna, which means Live Local, was first started as the owners and their friends were always looking for typical street food while in El Gouna, it was the only thing they missed when they were visiting. So they decided to bring street food with them to El Gouna so they would never have to miss it again. They explained that you will not find an Egyptian who has not suddenly stopped for Egyptian street food not because of hunger but just because it is just so irresistible.
Well they are not wrong, Eish Baladi El Gouna serves irresistible Egyptian food at its best and we are lucky that we can now enjoy this unique experience here in El Gouna.
New Marina Plaza, 01273046089. EXT 77531.
