You can’t eat the Levantine lobster without using your hands, so you can really enjoy the lobster’s succulent flesh. The moussaka – an eggplant-based dish with minced meat – is filling enough after the first two bites, so I take my time with the larger courses, namely the delicious khepsa. This dish is an invention of the Arab world, where there are now hundreds of variations of it. It consists of pieces of meat covered in fragrant rice. By definition, you have to share it from the same plate. If you choose to eat it alone, the sight of a single person eating it will not be very enticing to those around you.
The communal nature of the menu was reflected in the desserts too, particularly the Egyptian umali – a bread pudding made with flaky pastry, generous crumbles of nuts and raisins, milk and cream. Any pudding – because of its simple, cottony consistency – makes you miss home and this one certainly makes you miss home and then some. It’s a sprawling creation that you’ll have to share with at least two people, if not more. But sweeter than the umali was India’s World Cup victory, because after consuming that feast, I can’t imagine the empty feeling in the pit of my stomach I would have had had we lost the game despite eating a memorable meal. Thankfully, I didn’t have to.
