I was walking along a street at dinnertime when through a window I noticed the clay oven I saw all over Syria when I was visiting that beautiful and hospitable country a long time ago. It’s ubiquitous there, and it’s used to bake the “tannour”, the flat bread they use to accompany all their meals. It’s normally baked right in front of you, the smell is inviting and the taste is unique.
Clearly, I stopped there for dinner. The bread was baked right before being served to customers, as is tradition. We ordered a “tannour plate” with vegetables & either chicken, lamb or cheese. The food was very tasty and you could feel that it was all prepared fresh.
We went inside to have a look at the place and we chatted with Georges, the man behind this new place. He is Syrian but moved to Belgium a long time ago. He wanted to recreate the feeling of a very Syrian place. For this, apart from the clay oven, he built a custom-made cast iron oven which he uses to slow cook meat. It can take up to 16 hours to slow cook lamb using a wooden fire!!! For now, Georges is the only one who can bake bread, hopefully he will find someone who’ll be brave enough to insert his/her arm in a very hot oven that has a very small opening! Check it out when you’re there!
PS: the restaurant right in front is from the same guy, also good!
