Who would have thought that we would find the best bread pudding ever at a restaurant serving Middle-eastern, North African and Indian food! But we did - the Egyptian coconut bread pudding at Diwan Restaurant in the Aga Khan Museum was the best we've ever tasted. It was totally unexpected - we were smitten!
It turns out that Um Ali is a legendary Egyptian dessert with various myths behind its creation, but basically it was something created for a royal feast. No wonder it's so good. Beautifully presented and served warm, it was soft and moist but with a crunchy crust. The contrasting cinnamon ice cream and walnuts, with cooling mint leaves made this a feast for the senses.
We hadn't planned on dessert when we sat down - it was going to be a light lunch to use up the refund the museum gave us for parking. Of course, the museum administrators are smarter than we were - what a great way of drumming up business for the restaurant. The appetizer and the entree was so good, we were enticed to try the one item on the dessert menu that caught my eye - the Um Ali.
And now back to the beginning. We had not expected the appetizer to be anything exciting but the Turkish egg plant dish was excellent with some unique delicate flavours - no ordinary spread.
Diwan, both in its food and elegant decor, complete with19th century carved wood panels, complements the exquisite architecture of the Aga Khan Museum and the Ismaili Centre beside it. Gems, in more ways than one.
