On a lovely early April afternoon, I was instructed by an invitation to go to the Maadi Corniche and get on a boat to take me to an undisclosed location, where I was sure to have the best food. My love for food was definitely stronger than my fear of getting kidnapped, mugged or robbed.
As soon as I got on the Nile Taxi, I started to see some familiar faces and it made me feel slightly more relieved. Everyone was very anxious to know where we would start this very special experience.
We all stepped of the boat as it dropped us off on the other side of the Nile. The setting was almost magical! Everything was bright, refined, elegant and truly carried the spirit of the spring season with it. The view of the water with a faintly distant Maadi in the background was just the cherry on top. You could see it all, but you were far enough to bypass the traffic, noise and pollution. I was warmly greeted by both the host and hostess of Club Clandestine; a very dedicated couple, who continue to elevate the taste of the food industry in Egypt.

Now for the real deal… The first dish, was quite a unique version of Caprese Di Bufala. The little cherry and heirloom tomatoes were packed with flavor, which married well with the creaminess of the Mozzarella and the salty Bresaola. The pesto dressing brought everything together in orchestral harmony on the palate.
Following the Caprese was a very colorful Spring Beef Salad. Yes, it was simply spring on a dish!
We were then presented with a Saffron Risotto with shrimp, scallop, fennel and some edible flowers. Despite the the setback of having a power outage, the Chef continued to cook the risotto over the coal grill. RESPECT the persistence!
After the interesting risotto, came a Crispy Chicken Roulade with Gooseberry Sauce. That sauce was just the highlight of the afternoon for me. Creative, fresh, sweet, acidic, balanced and visually very appealing along with the cut surfaces of the roulade.
To top it all off, every guest got a small bowl with about a tablespoon full of Mixed Berries Sorbet inside. Then, the waiters came by every table and poured a silky White Chocolate Soup over the sorbet! Tadaaa!! The sorbet slowly started to melt into the chocolate soup creating something that was pink and delicious (no naughty thoughts please…!) *Applause*

I hope that this won’t be my first and last time to get swept off my feet by Club Clandestine. There are just too many things about it, that I will not forget… Some of the flavors are still vaguely lingering in my mouth as I am writing this post!