Inside Hurrem’s, Mumbai’s first Baklava shop and café

Aliya Ladhabhoy

I had been craving for baklava for some time and so the minute I heard about a new Turkish confectionery opening in the city, I jumped at the opportunity to check the place out. I visited Hurrem’s, a Turkish Baklava store and cafe, housed in Taj Building, Fort, Mumbai, soon after it opened. The former Contemporary Arts and Crafts space has since gotten a Middle Eastern makeover with a red-carpet staircase leading to the store’s front. We are told that the 15 kinds of baklavas and other Turkish goodies are made by baked by chefs who have mastered the art in Gaziantep, Turkey, and prepared using ingredients flown in from the country.

As you enter the store, on the left is a dry fruit and nut bar while the baklava beckons visitors from behind the large display counters on the right.

The print menu cards were not ready yet, so we went the old-school way picking things that pleased the eye. Without any delay, we picked four baklavas -chocolate, kaju, pista and pista with cream from a selection of fifteen and headed to the seating area to put them to the taste test. I am so glad we went ahead with the waiter’s suggestion – Şöbiyet for it turned out to be the best. Shaped like a triangular sandwich, it had a filling of cream and pistachio offering the palette a nice play of a crusty exterior and creamy inside. Next up, we tried the pista and kaju baklava but it paled in front of Sobiyet. Surprisingly, the chocolate baklava was pretty good.

I also sampled some of the flavoured Turkish delights, which were at par with those my cousin religiously gets for the family from Dubai.

To counter the saccharine overdose, we ordered the cheese pide which was average. Last but not least, we ordered black Turkish tea, which I thought would have been better with lime and sugar. They also serve an assortment of dates.