Before starting this review, I just want to say how happy I am that friends around me believe in what I am doing and are helping discover some of the country's best products... This is what happened…
I was in Scotland, touring around the finest distilleries and enjoying one of the world’s greenest countries when I received a phone call from a good friend of mine, Lucien. He was excited to share some tasty news with me. He had discovered something innovative and was waiting for me to come back to Lebanon to try it.
Now that I am back, Lucien, a dear friend from School, excited to share his discovery, walked into the clinic with three boxes; Hommos, Baba Ghannouj and Muhammara by Chef SimSum.
Intriguing… Although packed and sold at supermarkets, I was impressed…
- The Hummus comes in a rectangular professional looking box filled with a generous portion of hummus ready to be enjoyed with a line of olive oil. Freshly packed, there's an expiry date of 20 days on each box, as well as content details: Chickpeas, tahini, vegetable oil, salt, water and citric acid. The hummus looks good and is firm in consistency, yet not hard and most importantly it tastes really good. Yum! I could feel the tahini, an adequate quantity of it; lemon comes afterwards, a little hint of salt, a mix to make me smile. I was honestly happily impressed. It's fresh, the ingredients are tasty and rich...the smell is appetizing...Two thumbs up. But wait until you’ve tried them all.
- Baba Ghannouj: Grilled eggplant, Tahina, salt, water, olive oil and citric acid. Fresh in color and smell, this Baba Ghannouj is tasty. Really tasty and I mean it from the bottom of my heart. Usually, the grilled eggplant in baba ghannouj irritates my palate but these are different. The lemon, the flavorful eggplants, the olive oil… I’ve rarely enjoyed such a quality at Lebanese restaurants. Bravo again.
- Muhammara: Not only does it look great, decorated and generously topped with walnuts, this box is tasty and mouthwatering. Have I mentioned before that I judge a Lebanese restaurant by their Mouhammara? Honestly a few succeed in making it right. This one is excellent. Bread crumbs, walnuts, red chili paste, pomegranate, sugar, salt, spices, olive oil and water. No really! A muhammara rich in crunchy walnuts, olive oil felt in every bite, spices caress your lips and spicy chili pepper tickle your tongue while the mix of ingredients bust into flavor. I’m still in awe... positively surprised.
Nothing more can be said. Chef SimSum is a Lebanese pride. Flavorful creations made better than many restaurants, just ready to be served on the spot...
Guys, two thumbs up and keep up the great work. I would surely recommend you try Chef SimSum products.
Some research led me to the list of some shops selling them:
- Supermarket Broumana - Broumana
- Joseph Maroun Supermarket - Ain Saadeh
- Spinney's - all branches
- Storium Saliba - Qornet Chehwan
- Massoud supermarket - Fanar
- Hachem stores - Halat
- La Bouche Rit Nassar - Ain Aalak
Thank you Lucien for sharing this discovery...
