It was past 4pm and already dark that October day. Like a beacon, Konditerei Al-Iman drew us indoors to warm our bodies and sweeten our palates. - by SK Mandal
Selling desserts from the Levant (Lebanon, Palestine and Syria), the confectionery's concoctions were a feast for both the eye and the mouth. - by SK Mandal
The multi-layered pastried baklava was a favourite. This delicacy is found all over the eastern Mediterranean thanks to the Ottoman Empire. - by SK Mandal
The date-and-nut filled shortbread ma'amoul was always interesting. Boxes of these would be carted off by Arab customers come festival time. - by SK Mandal
Equally irresistible was the chewy gelatinous malban, traditionally filled with pistachios, but we weren't fussed about variations on the theme. - by SK Mandal
Come the Hindu festival of Deepavali, all these were wonderful substitutes for the Indian sweets which we would enjoy in Malaysia. ω - by SL Wong
Links:
The cuisine of the Levant or Syria-Palestine is Middle Eastern fare with Arab, Asian, African and Mediterranean influences (Wikipedia: Levant). The shopping site buylebanese.com is a good primer on Levantine sweets, likewise the Wikipedia entries on baklava and ma’amoul, as well as Taste of Beirut’s entry on malban.
Mama’s Lebanese Kitchen has great recipes for baklava and ma’amoul. Incidentally, baklava is also related to the German strudel.
Meanwhile, in Malaysia, an obscene variety of Malaysian North and South Indian sweets is available during Deepavali.