Bakdash Booza

notice the heart shape and all the layers I am wearing? 

Forget about gelato and Ben and Jerry's, they've got nothing on Arabic ice cream. The one we had is a Syrian variety from a famous shop called Bakdash. We found this in the Dubai Mall and we were drawn to the sweet shop because of the pounding of the two men at the store front into metal tins of some sort. (See the crowd peering in the front of the shop?)

Curiously, we wandered over to see what the commotion was all about. After the men would beat out a short rhythm, the one guy would reach into the large steel tin and pull out a sticky concoction covered in pistachios. We watched as a few women were buying it and eating it with small spoons. It looked like taffy.

We leaned over the counter and asked what it was. The guy told us it was Arabic ice cream. We immediately ordered one to taste and the show started again. Turns out, they beat the ice cream in the tin. After a few minutes, the ice cream is brought out and cut with a large, sharp knife. The man shaped ours into a heart, how cuuuuuuute....

The texture was so different and it tasted amazing! If you go to the Dubai Mall go to Arabesq Sweets and have the Bakdash Booza. Or better, if you are in Damascus, go to Bakdash. And don't share, get your own :) YUM!