8 Courses at 8 Restaurant

It's out with the old and in with the new as we leave the year of the horse behind and enter the year of the goat! A favourite among many of us, if you are going to indulge in exquisite Chinese food at 8, let it be this week in celebration of the New Lunar Year, for 8's Chinese New Year menu is a stroke of gastronomic genius (but then again, who would expect anything less from the makers region's finest traditional Cantonese cusine).

Chinese New Year at the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza's 8 restaurant is not merely an experience, it is a journey into the culture and traditions of the Far East. Making your way through the deep mahogany entrance way, the experience begins as you are greeted by a special tea show and the artistic and mesmerising works of a Chinese calligraphy team. It may be difficult to comprehend, for never has a hard week's worth of ailments not been cured with a bit of 8, but for a brief moment your daydreams of dumplings and peking duck are replaced with the overwhelming necessity to get your name written out in Chinese on deep red parchment. Once you enter the beautifully decorated restaurant, where you will find yourself surrounded by the warm lights of red lanterns and candlelight, your ears are graced with the soft melodic sounds of the harp. Good start many would agree.

But let's look at the good stuff; the food. Word of warning, don't be overzealous when it comes to the freshly baked rice crispy treats awaiting you on your table, for a captivating array of dishes are to follow. The first dish on the extremely varied 8-course set menu dinner that you are served is an elegantly presented steamed shrimp and scallop with a ginkgo seed dumpling accompanied by pan-fried lobster and shrimp with ginseng...delicious indeed. The explosion of flavours is undeniable as your pallet is overwhelmed with a plethora of tastes complimenting each other in harmony.

Next comes the mixed seafood with corn and crab meat soup, a soup with the power to induce the feeling of comfort and warmth, followed by wok fried black angus beef in sichuan sauce with a side of wok fresh noodles with an assortment of vegetables. However panic not for if your feeling an 'under the sea' kind of vibe then the next dish, Lobster with dry XO sauce accompanied by yangchow fried rice, is the one for you. Beautifully seasoned and cooked to perfection, both the beef and lobster are set to leave a lasting impression on your gastro memories (we're still dreaming about them).

Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, 8 serves dessert. To satisfy your sweet tooth, 8 restaurant treats you to a delicious almond pudding with fruit salad and a coconut passion mousse with lychee sorbet, bringing a meal that will satisfy your cravings with a simbiosis of flavours to a conclusion.

It has only been a few days since our last visit to 8, however already we dream of our return. How should you begin the Chinese New year? Simple, with great food and great company at the Four Seasons Nile Plaza's 8 restaurant. The special Chinese New Year menu runs until February 28th. Find out more here.