Trespass! It’s the first and the last word of this text (it is written by a woman for women). If you are one of those people who forget about their diet if they see a piece of chocolate or cake. If after the first bite thoughts of happiness strike you, and then come the guilt, the two Turkish pastry shops are not for you. But if the word guilt is not in your vocabulary, keep reading.
One of the pastry shops is right next to emblematical hotel “Bulgaria” at the center of Plovdiv. The other is set in the eponymous Muslim shrine and monument of the culture. There you can find different sorts of sweet syrupy baklava. There’s with pistachios, walnuts in all shapes and sizes. Tiny morsels, which are distinguished by unique smell of butter, thick sweet syrup and fragile wafers stacked in many layers. Delicious kadaif - crunchy, sweet and of course again syrup. Turkish delight and halva with different flavors and colors - kiwi, coconut, pomegranate. Yet with even greater variety of nuts - hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds and pistachio. It’s all ordered as a magazine cover in the windows. You can also by tolumbichki who are juicy and at the same time crunchy. The shops offer homemade chocolate Raffaele candy. They are even better than the original.
If the taste is too sweet for some, they can replace it with piece of so called “washed banitsa” with a fresh sent of butter and cheese. There is also pishmanie, which is not so popular among Bulgarians but it’s delicious. It’s served in trades, with chocolate and pistachios. The pumpkin pie will leave you breathless. The taste of pumpkin mixed with that of walnuts, is pure dance for the senses. Right next to it on the windows are put one of a kind cookies – shekerpare. You can choose between regular or with poppy. There’s also kazan dibi. In translation it means bottom of a pot. That explains the look and the caramel taste - golden caramel crust gathered as if from the bottom of the pan.
But that’s not all. You have to try the black tea or the coffee. Like the desserts, the drinks should be consumed slowly. Drink for pleasure! The traditional Turkish coffee is brewed in pot and ground coffee is mixed with sugar. When it’s strong enough is poured in small cups. There are three ways to order Turkish coffee: very sweet, with little sugar or bitterly. With every coffee you receive a “kiss” as a compliment from the pastry shop. Not from the charming waitresses of course. A homemade one from fluffy whites.
As for the tea, it’s drink number one in the Orient, so it’s required in the pastry shops. It is brewed for about 10 minute, then in the strong brewed of the tea is poured hot water. It’s served in little cute cups with different shapes, not only in Turkey but in Plovdiv as well.
To summarize – if you’re on a diet don’t pass through the pastry windows, because it will be impossible not to sin with bite of sweetness.