Some camel liver with that?

One gets the impression that few venture over to Imbaba unless they have a very good reason for doing so. Densely packed, Imbaba is one of Cairo's poorest neighbourhoods. But it does have a rather good restaurant..

Kebdet al-Prince. As its name suggests, it gas a weakness for kidney, and any other kind of offal you might care to name. And as a less than adventurous diner, it isn't somewhere that I would normally choose to go. But when my Arabic teacher invited my classmate and I to dinner, I could hardly refuse, even after he dangled camel liver as a carrot.

But the restaurant is so much more than an offal place. From a distance, we could see that the place was "it." It was buzzing. Large banquet tables had been laid out on the pavements, and they were thronged with a mostly young crowd, with waiters mopping up and laying new places at a dizzying speed.

We took our seats, and my tutor, Mohammed, took charge, and ordered us a sampling. First up was Molokheya (Mloukhieh), Arabic for Jew's Mallow (pictured left). I'm told that you either love Egypt's national dish, or hate it. I hate it. I am probably doing it a huge injustice, but to me, it is a slimy, green soup which looks and moves like pondweed. And doesn't taste much better.

Next up was a lamb tagine (pictured on right of the picture), packed with meat and potatoes, and which was extremely tasty. Next came camel liver (I passed, but it was heartily approved by my fellow diners), and thin slices of roasted lamb in a slightly spicy sauce (bottom right of picture). The sausages (left of picture), coated in what I think might have been an oil lemon marinade, were my favourite, however.

Once we'd made quick work of the food, it was time to mop up. The next group of diners was already waiting to take our place. Here's no place to linger, although I'm sure I will be coming back.

Kebdet el-prince, 87 Talaat Harb St., Imbaba, Cairo. Cost - around 50 L.E. per person. No alcohol.