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August 21st 2009: Egyptian Festival (Hayward)

Sorry for the low quality pictures; I took them with my cell phone camera. (I accidentally left my regular camera in the car.)


Page 1 of 1.
Click on images below to enlarge:
Tiny stuffed grape leaves (top) and a cheese puff (bottom).I tried
the grape leaves with ground meat.  Served slightly warm, they were not
good on their own but were good in contrast with the thick, rich yogurt.
The cheese puff was warm, gooey, and sweet (like ricotta or cottage
cheese).  However, the cheese had a goat-y flavor that caused me not to
like it; I threw half of it away.
A shish kebab that had been grilled into submission, along with unseasoned 
diced vegetables, a pita, and tahini sauce.  The tahini sauce was good.
Cabbage dolmas (left) and eggplant (right).  The cabbage had a silky
texture but was not slimy. Nicely spiced with herbs and stuffed with
pounded rice, I liked this item the best of everything I tried.  The 
eggplant was okay, homey.
Katayef / qatayef dessert: dough stuffed with sweetened chopped nuts and 
rice.  It was cold and spongy to the touch.  I liked it.  Decent.
Tiny stuffed grape leaves (top) and a cheese puff (bottom).
I tried the grape leaves with ground meat. Served slightly warm, they were not good on their own but were good in contrast with the thick, rich yogurt.
The cheese puff was warm, gooey, and sweet (like ricotta or cottage cheese). However, the cheese had a goat-y flavor that caused me not to like it; I threw half of it away.
A shish kebab that had been grilled into submission, along with unseasoned diced vegetables, a pita, and tahini sauce. The tahini sauce was good.
Cabbage dolmas (left) and eggplant (right).
The cabbage had a silky texture but was not slimy. Nicely spiced with herbs and stuffed with pounded rice, I liked this item the best of everything I tried.
The eggplant was okay, homey.
Katayef / qatayef dessert: dough stuffed with sweetened chopped nuts and rice. It was cold and spongy to the touch. I liked it. Decent.
Kunafa / kunafah dessert, with shredded top.  I decided to try it because
the chef recommended it.  The texture was a bit like whipped potatoes --
that smooth.  The flavor was hard to place; I'm sure it's a wheat product,
but it's not even as strong in flavor as cream of wheat.  It wasn't as
sweet as most greek desserts.  Also, it used a sugar syrup rather than
honey for the sweetener.
Kunafa / kunafah dessert, with shredded top. I decided to try it because the chef recommended it. The texture was a bit like whipped potatoes -- that smooth. The flavor was hard to place; I'm sure it's a wheat product, but it's not even as strong in flavor as cream of wheat. It wasn't as sweet as most greek desserts. Also, it used a sugar syrup rather than honey for the sweetener.