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| - Before I go into the review, I'll mention that I'm not Thee expert on baklava but I've had it over a dozen times while living in Dubai. My wonderful Lebanese, Emirati, and Jordanian friends all took me to places that were their favourites. I know what my tastebuds like and thankfully the baklava I've had there were all delicious.
Baklawa King has 2 stores and this one in particular is just off the centre of the busy Square One block. It's a newer strip mall and parking is easy here. Though it's a pain to actually get INTO the parking lot. It's closed off from Eglinton. The store itself is quite fancy... many small chandeliers are hanging from the ceilings while the dining area looks more of an upscale airport lounge. Lots of big lounge seaters mixed in with more tables. The place is clean and bright.
The first thing you notice is the stream of people coming in and out. It's popular and the line up is always there. It's a numbering system to be served so make sure you grab your number. The place is busy on both sides of the counter... there were at least 8 people in front of us and I can easily see 6 people behind the counter. Lots of the fast but gentle tones of Arabic are spoken with smiles. It makes me miss Dubai a bit.
When you get closer to the service area, you'll see a huge variety of baklava. Thankfully the signs are all clear and tell you what's inside in each. I would be really lost without them. The gentleman helping us asked us how many we'd like and he was ready with a box in hand.
Unlike most bakeries, the items are not sold by piece... it's by weight instead. I will also say that the pieces may look tiny... don't be fooled. These are rich in flavour, syrup, and nuts. A 'small' 3 pieces can easily be filling if you just had dinner. What I like is that they boxed up all the day old items and put them discounted at the front. So you know the pieces in the glass enclosure are all fresh. And seeing how many people were just buying HUGE platters, I can see them going through many trays. With just 10 pieces, it only came up to $11. I thought it was reasonable considering it felt over a pound.
Borma with Pistachio - This was eye catching... tightly wound strings of dough created a thick crunchy ring around a large centre of vivid green pistachios. Compared to the ones I've had, this one was a bit more crunchier and less tender. I think the syrup really crystallized the crust. I found the centre to be interesting as it didnt have the same flavour. These seem to be salted roasted pistachios. Or at least they deepend the flavour by roasting them and added a throw of salt into the nuts before rolling it up. It was sweet and savoury with a touch of roasted smokiness. Maybe it's a regional thing but I liked the Dubai version more. 3/5
Karabeej Madd - I've never had this before and I think the strong green colour of pistachios made me want to try this. Filled with pistachios and a base of dough... it had a meringue like topping that was heavy with rosewater before dusted with crushed pistachios. I wasn't expecting the soft creamy topping tasting like roses. It wasn't a gentle waft of it... it was like being hit in the head with a bouquet. At best, it was distracting from the nuts. If it was more subtle, I could enjoy this more... I think the artificial rose was too much for me. 3/5
Baklava with Pistachio - Mmmm... this was very close to some of the ones I've had in Dubai. So close! The layers of the pastries were all nicely doused in syrup and the pistachio filling was a large amount to taste the nuttiness of the pistachio. Unlike the borma, the pistachios here werent roasted or salted. So you can taste more of the nut itself. Though I found the making of this quite good since nothing fell apart or dried out, I found the syrup they used too sweet. The ones I've had were more honey or if they did use a sugar syrup, it wasn't as over the top sweet. The strongest flavour is supposed to be the nut with the sweet as chaser. It did have a butter note to it... I normally don't taste that in the ones in Dubai but I enjoyed it in here. 3.5/5
Bakalva with Cashew - This was my favourite and reminded me of the ones in Dubai. The pastry was over filled with crushes cashews and I loved how they didnt salt or add too much sugar to this. The rich nutty note was the strongest flavour and the sweetness was just enough to keep it from tasting like cashew butter. Each flakey layer was soaked just right to get the syrup on your fingers. Making you like every finger tip after you finished your last bite. I will mention this had the strongest butter taste. 4/5
Wardeh with Pistachio - A pretty nest of pastry layers holding large pieces of pistachios. I thought this was really nice visually. Taste wise, it fell to the same concern as the borma. The pistachio pieces were heavily roasted and salted. It was quite distracting from the sweet treat. 3/5
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