Pharaohs Serves Best Falafels in Seoul

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia

Staff Reporter

Whenever someone talks about authentic Egyptian food in Korea, the name Pharaohs always comes up. Even if Pharaohs is located in a slightly dingy area in Itaewon, the restaurant has gained a reputation for serving some of the tastiest Egyptian food in town.

Don't be deceived by the simple interior with only a few Egyptian decors, the place attracts crowds of foreigners and Koreans especially during the weekends.

Hussein el Masry, owner and chef, is responsible for bringing the best of Egyptian food to Seoul. He has been in Seoul for nearly 10 years, working as a chef at the Hilton Hotel and Egyptian embassy.

When we dropped by Pharaohs last Wednesday evening, el Masry said it was exactly two years ago when he opened the restaurant. On such an auspicious day, el Masry prepared some of the best dishes on his menu, such as the babaganush and hummus (both 5,000 won) for appetizers.

Babaganush is a dip made with eggplant, taheeni (a paste made of sesame seeds) and sesame oil, while hummus is made of chickpeas and taheeni sauce. Both dips went well with the freshly made pita bread. Just to illustrate how popular the pita bread is, El Masry said he makes around 300 pieces during weekdays and 500-600 pieces during the weekends.

For our main course, we had the Pharaoh's beef, chicken kebab and of course, the famous falafel that everyone has been raving about.

One bite of the falafel (7,000 won), confirms why many people have proclaimed it the best in town. Falafel is an Egyptian vegetable patty made of chickpeas, onions, parsley with secret spices, and fried to perfection. The chicken kebab (10,000 won) has a good flavor and was cooked just right.

Both dishes are served with a vegetable salad with a tasty salad dressing. When we asked el Masry about the dressing, he gave us a smile and said it's a secret recipe.

The Pharaoh's beef is a rice dish served with meatballs and a special tomato and oregano sauce.

Even though we were already stuffed, we couldn't resist trying the dessert called Omm’Ali. An Egyptian bread pudding, Omm'Ali is made of hot puff pastry with milk, sugar and cream on top. The dessert is quite sweet, but it is a perfect way to end a satisfying meal.

The Pharaohs menu also includes chicken curry, couscous with lamb, lentil soup, yogurt salad, falafel sandwich, shawarma sandwich and baklava. The prices are quite reasonable, with no dish priced over 10,000 won.