ASIAN Food Network

10 Delicious Treats to Feast on at Hari Raya

Celebrate the end of the fasting month and bring your family on a dessert trip through the Middle East and Southeast Asia with sweet and decadent treats.

1. Nammoura: Sweet Semolina Cakes

A sticky and sweet dessert from Lebanon, these decadent cakes made of coarse semolina are so simple to make that you can easily end up with more than enough to tide you through waves after waves of Eid visitors. By soaking the cakes in sugar syrup and then topping them off with almonds or shaved coconut, you’ll be sure to get cakes that are not only rich but moist and full of texture as well! These desserts are delicious both warm and cold so you can make them ahead of time and serve them once your guests arrive.

2. Jam Cookies

Dimple your plain butter cookies with a squeeze of sticky jam. Eat them anytime you want a snack, or in our case, for a lovely treat at Iftar. The steps? Well if you’ve ever baked a cookie, it’s easy enough to do, with all basic cookie steps first, then a squeeze of sweet jam last. Of course, you can use peanut butter, chocolate, caramel or any type of sweet creamy spread that makes you happy. Make more and toast it in the oven for a warm jammy snack after a long day.

Review: Squisito Shines with Halal Italian Food in the Heart of Bugis

Need some spice to go with your Italian? Try out Squisito in downtown Singapore, where Italian dishes have been adapted to suit the Singaporean palate.

When it comes to getting Italian food that’s halal, there’s always that fear of it being a bit too pricey or it just doesn’t taste quite right. Enter Squisito (‘delicious’ in Italian), a new contender in the halal Italian food scene which opened its doors in November 2019 right on the bustling Bali Lane.

So, what makes Squisito stand out from the other similarly themed restaurants? Squisito’s owner, Chef Deepak - who has had 3 years of experience working at another established halal Italian restaurant - develops the menu with the Asian palate in mind. That’s right, all you spicy food aficionados will now be able to enjoy Italian food without having to resort to just sprinkling on the chilli flakes.

Start off with their best-selling Gnocchi Ripieni ($13.50), fried gnocchi stuffed with spicy beef and served with a marinara sauce that helps temper down the heat of the chilli padi found in the beef. This dish is best eaten hot when the gnocchi is still crunchy on the outside yet soft on the inside - soft is exactly how it should be when they’ve been made fresh.