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Purveyor of fine baklava

IF you pass quickly by Lavand, an elegant little corner shop on the ground floor of Bangsar Village, Kuala Lumpur, you might mistake it for the storefront of a chocolatier. But if you stop and look, you will discover within its sparkling glass cases tray upon tray of the delectable Mediterranean dessert known as baklava.

Lavand is the purveyor of fine baklava, as far removed from the soggy, cloying dumplings that are sometimes sold as baklava as a Rolls Royce is from a – well, I will stop there, lest I offend some car maker or owner, but you get the idea.

As the first baklava shop in Malaysia, Lavand is not only breaking new ground, but also setting a standard that can best be described as golden – like the honey that sweetens this Arabian Nights fantasy of a pastry.

The shop imports premium baklava from Lebanon. Because they buy from makers who use the finest ingredients, Lavand’s baklava is remarkably fresh and long lasting. The filo crusts are crispy and delicate, the nutty fillings are aromatic with spices and rose water.

Sheerin Zalani, the owner of Lavand.
The woman behind the shop, Sheerin Zalani, is determined to match the quality of the product with the highest level of customer service.

“I worked very hard to train the staff myself,” she says. “I wanted them to be knowledgeable about the product. And we absolutely guarantee our baklava. If you keep it for three months or whatever, and it loses its flavour, I’ll take it back.”

According to Sheerin, good baklava can be kept for six to eight months in the refrigerator without losing its taste.

The second partner in the trio that established Lavand is Sheerin’s husband, Fazel, whom she credits with the original idea for the shop.

He often went to Lebanon, where he has family, and brought back baklava for the people in his office. They loved it so much that he eventually asked Sheerin: “Why don’t you open a baklava shop?”

Baklava changed their lives in another way, as well. Back when Fazel was courting Sheerin, he didn’t feel that his prospective father-in-law was exactly warming to him.

At Fazel’s urging, Sheerin tells the story: “One day, he showed up with a gift of baklava for my father, and that did it! He was always welcome at our house after that.”

Baklava is not merely a delicious, father-in-law-melting confection, but also an intensely romantic one, with an ancient history and a reputation for inspiring – um, warm feelings, shall we say? It was first recorded some 2,700 years ago in Assyria, where the basic pastry-with-walnuts-and-honey (both of the latter are reputed to be aphrodisiacs) was born. It comes to KL by way of Greece, where it acquired its leaf-thin filo pastry; Armenia, which added cinnamon (said to stimulate female desire) and cloves (ditto for both genders) to the mix; and Arabia, where it was blessed with rose water and cardamom (said to arouse male passion).

Sheerin Zalani

The name of the shop, Lavand, reflects baklava’s seductiveness: it means “Desire” in Persian, the language of Sheerin’s Iranian mother.

Even if you don’t believe in baklava’s powers as an aphrodisiac, you will love the subtle blend of spices and textures that differentiates the various types. Lavand has chosen to import products which are not as intensely sweet as some, in deference to Malaysian taste.

Speaking of sweetness, Sheerin’s name is Persian for “sweet”, which seems eerily like precognition on the part of her parents. She has put her heart and soul into making Lavand a success. She is the creative motor behind the business, generating ideas, designs and plans at a breathtaking rate. She sometimes has to rely on her husband, though, to lend a certain gravitas to the business side.

It was not all sweet in the beginning, though. Perhaps the most discouraging aspect of starting the business was finding a space for it.

A selection of the wide variety of baklava available at Lavand.
“Everybody said they wanted something new and different,” Sheerin recalls, “but when it came down to it, they ignored us in favour of yet another chain store.”

By the time Bangsar Village gave them a chance, sales were practically built-in, thanks to Sheerin and Co’s creative promotional efforts beforehand. With their core base of ardent customers, including celebrities, hotels and corporations, the response has sometimes gotten ahead of Sheerin’s ability to meet demand. She vividly remembers one such incident:

“We had only been open a short time when a well-known actress came in and asked for a box of baklava. I showed her our smallest box. Bigger, she said. I showed her the next size up – bigger, she said again. Finally, I asked, how big a box do you want?”

Sheerin holds up her hands about a metre apart, to show me the size of the box the woman wanted.

“I asked how she could even carry a box that big but she said, ‘Never mind, it’s for the Queen!’” Sheerin shakes her head in disbelief.

“I tried, I really tried, but I just couldn’t arrange for a big, beautiful box suitable for royalty on such short notice. When I finally did get one ready, it was too late ... she had found a different gift.”

That won’t happen again. Lavand is preparing to import a range of beautiful silver, porcelain and bronze dishes suitable for presentation, and not just to royalty.

Two holidays when Sheerin believes baklava will have a special impact are Ramadan, with its tradition of eating sweets to break the daily fast, and Valentine’s Day.

In fact, she has invented a new type of baklava that could be the perfect Valentine’s Day gift. Since baklava helped bring Sheerin and Fazel together, she has married the chewy richness of baklava with the smooth delight of chocolate to create “choclava”. It is a made-in-heaven match and, as far as she knows, original to the shop.

Indeed! Will this be the first serious addition to the baklava tradition from outside its historic Mediterranean base? That certainly ought to put Malaysia, and Lavand, in the confectionary history books!

Types of Baklava at Lavand

Pine Nut Baklava: Traditional, pine nuts sandwiched between filo pastry.

Pistachio Baklava: The original. Chopped pistachios in filo.

Diamond Baklava: Either of the above, cut into a diamond shape.

Pistachio Kolwishkor: Chopped pistachios in filo sweeter than the above.

Pine Kolwishkor: Also sweeter, with pine nuts.

Pistachio Assabeh: Special blend of ground pistachios and spices in a baked filo roll.

Basbousa: Knafe dough with crushed almonds and ghee.

Pistachio Bourma: Shredded filo, stuffed with pistachios, baked and drizzled with honey.

Pine Nut Bourma: Shredded filo, filled with pine nuts and spices and baked.

White Noboulseah: Pistachios and honey sandwiched in filo and flavoured with rose water.

Pistachio Boaj: Bird’s nest filo stuffed with pistachios and sweetened with honey.

Choclava: Lavand’s original creation, pistachio assabeh dipped in chocolate.

Lavand The Baklava Shop is located at Lot 3GB, Bangsar Village, Jalan Telawi 1, KL. Call 03-2283 3108 for delivery in the Bangsar area. (RM10 delivery fee, no minimum order.)

*Article from The Star Newspaper