Are vegetables and salads fresh at Egyptian hotel restaurants?

Fresh vegetables at buffets are often disappointing — cucumbers are limp with little flesh, shredded carrot and cabbage are dry and tough. Some salads appear to be leftover breakfast ingredients mixed together. The desert climate takes a toll on fresh produce quality.

Not all fresh salads are bad — a simple chopped salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, and onion can be genuinely fresh and not recycled from breakfast leftovers.

Steamed or boiled vegetables are a safe bet — they're hard to ruin and are generally acceptable. If fresh vegetable quality matters to you, opt for cooked vegetable dishes instead.