"Al Awda, located in Nasr City, is a charming restaurant that offers a delightful selection of Palestinian cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The food here is packed with flavor and served with a level of warmth and friendliness that truly embodies the spirit of the Arafat family, who opened the restaurant in the 1980s and still run it to this day. Grab one of the outdoor tables where you can delight in roz edra bil lahma (turmeric and safflower basmati rice cooked in a clay pot with chickpeas and beef), musakhan chicken (sumac-spiced chicken with soft, caramelized onions wrapped in Palestinian flatbread), and mansaf (Jordanian fall-off-the-bone braised lamb served on a bed of turmeric-infused rice and a drizzle of jameed, dried yogurt loosened with lamb broth). Al Awda also sells an array of products like pickles, baked goods, za’atar, labneh, and fresh cheeses for customers to take home." - Laila Hassaballa