Happy Golden Week my fellow Ibarakians! Today, I will talk about baklava. Have you ever had baklava before? It is an amazing pastry that has honey, crushed nuts (usually pistachios), and layered dough. Everyone in the world should try this incredible Turkish treat. Eight years ago, I was lucky enough to do so in Turkey, and the experience was transcending. After my trip, I came back to Japan, and searched for a place that made baklava. There were some places in Tokyo that had what I was looking for, but I wasn't too happy with their baklava. More unfortunate, Ibaraki has no baklava in sight. Even till this day, I have yet to find baklava in Ibaraki. So what do I do when I have a craving for this Turkish treat? I order it from Aichi prefecture.
Beyzade Turkish Sweets and Bakery
I made this into a side note because as you can tell from my opening, this isn't an Ibaraki baklava pastry shop. Beyzade is based in Aichi prefecture. I have never been to the shop myself. I have only checked them out online. After scrolling through pictures of their beautiful looking baklava, I decided to order some.
There is a process to ordering baklava from Beyzade. You can order by phone or through Facebook messenger. I recommend the latter because that way Beyzade can send you a PDF file of their menu. Once you decide on what baklava you want, send your address and details by messenger, furi komi (send cash) the payment through your bank ATM, and your baklava should arrive within a few days. If you are worried about sending your information through Facebook messenger, just ask for the PDF menu through messenger and then do it all by phone.
250g Mixed Baklava
The menu has three options for all of Beyzade's sweets. 250 grams, 500g, or 1kg. Since it was my first time ordering, I decided to get 250g mixed baklava set. That way I can try all the baklava the shop has to offer and take note which are my favorites for next time. My wife also likes baklava, so when our package came in and I let her know we were having baklava for dessert, she was esstatic.
Pistachio Baklava
This is the original style baklava, and you can't go wrong with that. Beyzade makes an excellent original baklava. When I bit into this tasty treat, I got that very small amount of crunch from the nuts, mixed with the softness of the layered dough, and that outpouring of honey that just covered your tongue with a sweetness that was absolute bliss. This baklava took me back to the day I visited the baklava bakery in Turkey and tried baklava for the first time. I mimicked the same reaction I had back then of absolute dessert happiness. My wife enjoyed it to and wondered when we would be ordering more.
Mussle Baklava
This baklava had the same taste as the original baklava but the texture was different. The dough was probably rolled quite a number of times until it got to this awesome looking texture. You can taste a bit of a difference with this baklava, but it isn't a huge difference. I do like the look of it and added this baklava to my "next time order" list.
Coconut Flakes Baklava?
I believe they were coconut flakes. Same as the original baklava just with coconut flakes. If you love coconut, I say go for it. As for me, I wasn't a fan but I didn't dislike it. It was delicious but the flakes kind of took me away from my honey nuts dough paradise.
Pistachio Roll
This green baklava was tasty and interesting. It was softer than the other baklava I tried and the crunch of the nuts wasn't there. But it tasted like the nuts were grinded and baked into the dough. My wife loved this baklava and stated that we definitely needed to order this kind of baklava again. No argument here, it was delicious.
Walnut Baklava
This baklava blew my mind. Walnut baklava was a first for me, so I wasn't sure how I would feel about it after I tried it. I am happy to report that I not only liked it, I loved it. The texture, the walnuts on top, the honey all around the nuts, it all worked so well. This baklava was round, not rectangle shaped like the original baklava. When I bit into this baklava, I got a lot of walnut and a lot of honey which I was extremely happy with. This baklava is something everyone should experience.
My wife and I really enjoyed baklava from Beyzade and hope to order from them again. The shipping is a bit expensive, so this will have to be a bi monthly treat or something like that, but we can't wait to order another delicious baklava set again.
So if you have never tried baklava or it's been a while since you have had some, why not order some baklava from Beyzade? I whole heartily believe you will fall in love with these incredible pasteries.
Enjoy!
For more information on Beyzade, check out their Facebook page:
A special thank you to Dippy Dip's very own Yuki Dew Miyazawa. Thank you for the great recommendation and thank you for making amazing hummus. If you haven't tried her hummus, you should. Get it at the village market Tsukuba and check out her Instagram page:
Comments