Just Desserts

Perhaps it is the colonial French influence but Saida has taken baklova to a whole new level, or at least Al Baba has. His modern, air conditioned marble emporium is a shrine to Arabic sweets. Glass-fronted chill display cabinets present a colourful carcophony of tempting bite-size morsels. And he has also expanded into French cream cakes, Belgium chocolates and Italian icecream.

High above, a back-lit projection screen takes you through the handcrafted production process, while below seventy year old Mr Baba himself sits in his favourite chair, happily talking now and then with a familiar customer.

For he has relinquished control of day-to-day management to his many sons. They are the ones who updated the traditional sweet store and took the new format to Beirut, Qatar and now several European cities. His sweets have become an international luxury to enjoy and take home as presents, with a price tag to match.