Opening up a pastry shop in Belgium was definitely not part of the plan for engineer Saddam Shkair. But the war in Syria changed everything. And ever since 2019, he’s been serving up sweet treats from his home country to our globe-trotting taste buds, in a muted oasis where orange blossom water flows freely, and pistachios are savored like little gold bars. Whether you decide to eat them in house or take them to go, you’ll eagerly bite into his balouria (pistachios and cashews sandwiched between two slices of fried angel hair noodle bricks); gobble down halawet el-jibn, a semolina flour and mozzarella-like cheese roulé, stuffed with creamy qishta, and flavored with rose water and orange blossom water; adore the baklava, too often overlooked; along with the namoura semolina cake covered in pistachios, almonds and walnuts. All of which gets washed down with cardamon-spiced Syrian coffee (€3) or Club-Mate mate soda (€4.25). There’s a second location in the Ixelles neighborhood at Rue du Page 24. // Julie Méaux
The hidden gem: The tender cheese knafeh covered in angel hair noodles and doused in an orange blossom sugar syrup (€20/kg).
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