There’s a separate topic about vegetarian food options in Egypt, below. Here, some general tips:
Do not drink water from anywhere. Stick to bottled water. Do not eat raw food, be careful where you eat salads or drink fresh juice & as a rule, eat food that’s piping hot. This will allow you to travel with no signs of the ‘mummy tummy’.
When you buy any food / munchies from bakeries, stores or supermarkets, beware of how much you are being charged. You may / may not face this problem. Tourists, generally don’t mind paying slightly marked-up prices…but, you may sometimes be asked for ridiculous sums, like 35 LE for a pack of Pringles / a can of cola or 20 LE for a candy bar (locals pay just 2 to 4 LE for things like this). As a result, every time you want to munch something, you may have to go to a restaurant, which has a printed menu. This is not even at temples & other sites……but, just in the city. This is when it is useful to read the actual price printed in Arabic. This problem is more in Aswan, Luxor and to a lesser extent, in Dahab. At Cairo & Bahariya, you can get most things for the printed price.
To combat this, you can request your guide to buy something for you. Else, you could also ask you hotel staff to get you something & then tip them. Another way to beat this ridiculous pricing is to buy snacks or essentials at pharmacies (some pharmacies stock limited snacks) as opposed to supermarkets. Most of the pharmacies sell things at actual cost.
When going to sites, avoid buying anything there unless you absolutely have to……prices are expensive there. Carry some food & water. But, on a long day of site hopping, it becomes impractical to lug so many things around….on such days, it is wiser to buy & eat at sites.
As of December 2008, food was most expensive at Luxor & Dahab (50 LE per person per meal). Aswan, Bahariya & Cairo were the cheapest (25 LE per person per meal). Cairo has the most variety…..from cheap food (5 LE per person per meal !) to the most expensive options.
Vegetarians in Egypt:
Being vegetarian in Egypt is a slight disadvantage, especially for very long trips. After a few weeks, the lack of vegetarian options gets to you. One option is to self cater. The other, is to taste every vegetarian option in the book & rotate what you order, so that you don’t tire of anything. Here’s what’s available for vegetarians at all local restaurants:
Salads, fresh fruit, fresh juice.
Soup – Difficult for staunch vegetarians…..all soups contain chicken stock / meat stock, including tomato soup. The only meat-free option is lentil soup.
Main course – Bread / rice eaten with Tagen (claypot) vegetables or fuul (faava beans in gravy). Other options are Spaghetti with tomato sauce or macaroni & cheese. Also, Pizza Margherita, potatoes in gravy, French fries! Moussaka & ratatouille too are available, although rarely.
Dips – Tahini (sesame seed paste), Hummus (chick-pea paste) & Babaghanoush (Eggplant paste)
Mezze – there are vegetables / vine leaves stuffed with rice and a lot of eggplant based options.
Dessert – most have eggs – difficult if you don’t eat eggs!
If you eat eggs, you can add omelets & crepes to your list of options. Cairo affords more options – falafel & kushari.