Sucre e Levain – Jounieh

I was excited to find a recently opened pastry shop next to my house, and so I went to taste a sample of their products. The lady that helped me there was very friendly and the items were nicely displayed in the shop. I chose some treats for my breakfast and headed home to devour them. I started with the croissants. They were pleasantly crispy and flaky, yet very heavy on the butter, which was a shame. Then I tried the flutes with thyme, which were crunchy and surprisingly not oily, but I would opt for the ones with the cheese next time. As for the sweet confections, the chocolate sable was good. However, the soft and fluffy madeleines were my favorite, and it was difficult to stop myself from eating them all in one go. I think that I would return to try other delicacies they have to offer, as well as their bread.

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Fadel – Bikfaya

Fadel is a patisserie that I first encountered during my childhood. We went up for the occasional ice cream fix, to get a black forest cake to celebrate a birthday, or to get some freshly baked bread. Since then, a large number of pastry shops have opened their doors, but we still do visit Fadel once in a while. Their classic black forest cake was the cake we resorted to recently for my mother’s birthday, certain we wouldn’t disappoint. It surely did the trick; the cake was fluffy and light. The last time I tasted products from Fadel, I had a cheese croissant, a chocolate chip muffin, a piece of success cake (“succès“), and their thyme pain au lait. I know croissants are the epitome of buttery concoctions, but the cheese croissant was too buttery and heavy, in my opinion. As for the muffin, it was fine, and I appreciated their generosity with the chocolate chips. Their succes was okay, but not as successful as another patisserie makes them; I go to that pastry shop exclusively for their succes, yet that is a story for another day. However, the very successful item at Fadel is their thyme pain au lait. I have tasted the regular one with no filling, as well as the one filled with cheese, but it is the zaatar one that I love. The bread is very soft and there is thyme sprinkled in the dough and used as a filling simultaneously, which highlights the taste. That is one item I am sure I will return for.

The Lebanese Bakery – Achrafieh

The Lebanese Bakery is a bakery you would definitely want in your neighborhood. I wish it was closer to my house, although honestly I wish I was the one closer to the bakery because its location on the lovely streets of Achrafieh is perfect. Obviously, speaking about changing the location of my dwelling means that this bakery is exceptional. The place is humble, yet cozy and charming. We grabbed a menu and went to our seats to decide what we wanted; here I have to commend them for having a menu that is in both Arabic and English! From the manakish section, we ordered the zaatar on zaatar, lahem bi ajeen, and eggs and cheese, in addition to a few ftayer cousa. The presentation is simple, yet beautiful, and everything was delicious and fresh. The zaatar on zaatar is a dream for a zaatar fan because of its intense flavor. The runny yolk on the eggs and cheese manoushe enhanced the taste; nothing beats that golden liquid goodness oozing from an egg’s heart. However, the lahem bi ajeen…wow! I loved it. The dough was crispy and light, and it is something that I would definitely order again. Actually, this is the doughy concoction that is making me crave returning to The Lebanese Bakery once again. That and many more items that I didn’t get to try this time because there is only so much one can eat. I would like to try their labne and their kaak as well, and maybe take some dough home with me. Maybe I should consider moving…