A set meal of bread, tomato salad, cucumber salad, tahine, baba ganouche, soft cheese, pea tagin, okra tagin, potato tagin, rice, and fried fish soon arrived. Much too much, and only £E50 per person. I was so amazed at the £E200 bill that I tipped generously, which is not my normal habit.
And it was an English girl's birthday. Entertainment had been arranged by the hotel as a surprise, a 7-piece Nubian ensemble. After about half an hour a birthday cake was cut and distributed to the 10 guests, staff and band. The cake was a walnut sponge, layered with icing paste, and decorated with pineapple and aronge segments. Excellent. I don't normally like parties, but the band was accoustic and the outdoor tent was sufficiently large that I could not complain.