Simply Sinbad / Sinbad's Sweets

Update Review, 2020 Tastings

Sometimes, you really just want a sweet, crispy treat.  And when that craving hits, baklava is certainly a good pick.  I've been impressed with Sinbad's baklava before, just packaged mass produced "bites" even, so I was excited to try more of their products.

Spoiler: they really do make good items, and best of all, shelf life is great!

Classic Baklava.

"Luscious bites of flaky buttery pastry filled with walnuts bathed in a golden syrup."

This is good baklava.  Really quite good baklava, particularly for a not fresh product with a long shelf life (12 months in the fridge! 6 months at room temp! 18 months frozen!)

There is nothing earth shattering about it, just layers of fillo dough, some cinnamon and walnuts, and tons of sticky sweetness (a combination of honey, corn syrup, sugar), but the fillo is crispy and flaky, the layers all seem to have just the right balance of fillo and fillings, and it is definitely sweet, but somehow in a decently balanced way - not too much honey, not too much cloying corn syrup, etc.

I really enjoy this, when in the mood for a sweet flaky treat like this.

Mini Assortment: Assorted Mini Nut Tarts (Pecan, Almond, Cashew).

I was fairly excited for these, given that I have liked other Sinbad's products, and they looked like something I'd like - gooey sweet filling (like pecan pie?), assorted nut toppings, and crispy fillo shell?  Totally something I'd like, particularly with a dollop of whipped cream on top.

But ... I didn't care for these.  

The shell was fine, flaky, fairly standard fillo shell.  The nuts also were fine, but didn't taste particularly fresh, nor did they seem roasted to bring out better flavor.  It was interesting to me that the almond ones all had 3 full size almonds, the pecan ones had two full size pecan halves, but the cashew were chopped.

It was the filling I didn't like.  It tasted like ... just corn syrup, sweet but with no depth, and it had a strange chew to it, like caramel, just without any of the buttery flavor of caramel.  I wanted something more gooey like pecan pie filling, or something richer like caramel, this just offered nothing, and made up the majority of the treat.

Caramel Pecan Turtle Shell.

"Filled with creamy salted caramel sauce and toasted pecans, bathed in a rich chocolate coating and topped with a pecan half."

This is a very, very, very unique item.  It was not at all what I expected, given the look, and given the description.  I thought it was going to be a chocolate, with filling. Which, I guess it was, but, when I bit in, and the crunch turned flaky, I was quite surprised.

Let me explain.

The outside was chocolate, rich, creamy, smooth, thick layer.  It was good.  And on top, yes, a pecan half, also good.

Inside though ... not just the creamy salted caramel and nuts I was expecting.  There was ... fillo dough inside!  How did they not mention this element?  It does fit in with the rest of the product line more sensibly this way, but, I found it very surprising to bite into.

Once I got over the surprise though, I loved this item.  It was almost like bakalva inside, flaky fillo and sweetness, but the sweetness came from salted caramel rather than traditional honey, which I greatly preferred, and the crunchy bitss were chopped pecan rather than traditional walnuts, which I also preferred.

In the end, I loved this item, my favorite product from Sinbad's Sweets.  Thick chocolate coated better-than-baklava inside.

Original Review, September 2017

Sometimes, learning about products to write these little intros is harder than others.  Like, when a company doesn't seem to exist, but is a near match to one that does.  Which is the case with "Simply Sinbad".

I had a package of little baklava bites, with the "Simply Sinbad" brand on them.  I went to look them up, and couldn't find ... anything really.  Just the Instacart page for Costco.  But I found plenty of information on "Sinbad Sweets", a company that makes, among other things, classic triangle baklava. And a huge baklava assortment, with all sorts of options like chocolate drizzled orange syrup flavored baklava, rolled baklava covered with sliced almonds and chocolate, "basket" shapes with pecans or almonds instead ... but no bites.

I dug and dug, and finally found that Sinbad Sweets introduced the baklava bites for grocery and convenience stores in 2013.  Why they changed the brand name I do not know.  I got my package a party where the hosts shopped at Costco, so, clearly they distribute there.

Anyway, they turned out to be great.  Hence why it worth the research to me!

Baklava Bites : Top View.

"Hand-crafted mini baklavas are perfect for both long time baklava lovers and first time tasters. The combination of decadent flavors and handmade preparation truly make our baklava premium. Our fresh almonds and walnuts are rolled in between layers of delicate, buttery fillo pastry leaves. Next, they are baked slowly to perfection for a great artisan taste and crisp texture. The final touch is the drizzling of our honey syrup to provide just that extra bit of decadence."

The bites come individually wrapped in packages with two pieces each.  Note: each piece is actually more than one bite, unless you have a really big mouth ...

I didn't really detect the drizzle of honey the description says they have, but, I also think that would have made them soggy?

They weren't soggy at all, instead were perfectly crispy.  Very impressive how crisp they were for a packaged product.

Baklava Bites: End View.

As you can see from the end view, they are hollow, a rolled item, rather than tranditional layered form.  This meant there was only one layer of chopped nuts (a mix of almonds and walnuts), but they were sweet and crunchy, and I prefer to pistachio versions.

The fillo was certainly the star though, buttery, flaky, crispy.  Again, impressive for a packaged product, and I'd gladly consume these again.