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Osh al-Saraia
February 27, 2008

Gazala Place

Osh al-Saraia

Celia Sin-Tien Cheng

Though I’m not a sweets fan, I cannot pass up the dessert osh al-saraia. Gazala won’t say exactly what it is other than it’s a dessert that she learned to make from her grandmother and that now her own version is even better. The waitress describes it as shredded dough with some kind of cream on top. Each critic that has reviewed Gazala Place has a different description ranging from Irene Sax’s “custard that has the texture of clotted cream and the scent of orange-flower water” in the Daily News to Salli Vates’ “halfway between sweetened cheese and cream.” Gazala is adamant that it’s not a cream, but wouldn’t tell me any more than that. I couldn’t decipher what the mystery “non-cream” was, but it did remind me of cream cheese or sour cream-based frostings. Whatever this mystery dessert is, it’s delicious.

Gazala Place

709 9th Ave
New York, NY
10019
WebsiteMenu
Price
$
Tags
sweets
Neighborhood
Hell's Kitchen