Syrian man leaves war-torn country for Singapore, opens shiok authentic shawarma shop here
The instability in Syria had prompted him to migrate, first to neighbouring Lebanon, then to Egypt, and onwards to Kuala Lumpur, where he later opened a restaurant with his brother who joined him. It is located near the Malaysian outpost of Monash University, where Hadi’s Singaporean future wife, Fatin, was studying.
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“Her school was just five minutes away, and she came to my restaurant. She fell in love with my food before me,” grins Hadi (pictured). The couple later got married, with their family and friends dancing joyously at the grand wedding in a KL hotel ballroom.Hadi, who can’t stop smiling as he shows us videos of his big day, recalls how important it was to him that his family had a stable place to settle down, especially when his wife became pregnant with their first child.
In 2020, the couple decided to move to Fatin’s native Singapore and leave the running of the restaurant to Hadi’s brother. “My wife and I wanted our children to study here, so I sold my share to my brother and moved here,” Hadi, now a Singapore PR, explains.
Opened Syrian eatery in Singapore
It was natural for Hadi to set up eateries, as his family owns a large dessert factory in Syria that is now based in Turkey due to the civil conflict. “I was born in a culinary environment. I have worked at my uncle’s dessert factory since young, though my mum wanted me to be a doctor, so I studied dentistry,” he laughs.
Now living in Tampines, Hadi has resumed his F&B career. In June this year, he opened Damascus Delights, a Syrian takeaway food kiosk at Tampines MRT station. He recounts: “My wife helped me a lot with the paperwork and taking care of our children. I wouldn’t have been able to do this if she wasn’t my backbone.”But he was still working from 8am to 4am most days due to a lack of manpower. “I was so tired, I slept on the floor,” Hadi recalls. Last month, his older brother Kamal Al Saadi (pictured above), 40, came to help him out.
What is Syrian shawarma?
The star at Damascus Delights is shawarma, the Middle Eastern version of the Turkish döner kebab. Most people would have seen a shawarma rotisserie, with a dramatic ‘inverted cone’ made by stacking thinly-sliced meat to resemble a luscious leg of lamb.
“Lamb and chicken is stacked into a cone shape so that the juices can slowly drip down like a waterfall. And it looks like [an appetising] drumstick too,” notes Hadi. He has an exclusive contract with his meat supplier for lamb. “We know how to take care of lamb. It’s never smelly,” he avers.
Not your pasar malam kebab
He takes a lot of time to patiently introduce his food to curious customers. Hadi stresses to us that his shawarma is different from Turkish-style döner kebab at pasar malams, as both use different meat marinades and are served with different toppings.
Syrian shawarma is typically paired with tahini and toum (a Lebanese creamy garlic sauce), hummus and pickles. “I just took my mum’s recipes and proceeded,” says Hadi.
Growing up in Syria, iftar meals to break a day of Ramadan fasting were elaborate affairs in his household. He recounts: “Almost every dish was freshly cooked. I never touch the major things in my mum’s recipes — I must keep the toum and tahini sauce, all homemade. No chilli sauce and mayonnaise here.”
But he does offer a “Damascus spicy sauce”, which packs extra heat to cater to the local palate (the house-made hummus here is spiked with a bit of chilli powder too). Hadi shares: “In Syria it’s just a little spicy. I make it a lot spicier here. It can go with anything.”
How to order your authentic Syrian shawarma
Hadi only serves chicken and lamb shawarma, the way it has been done in Syria for centuries. “Traditionally, it has to be strictly chicken or lamb, not beef. It’s totally fine to eat beef [shawarma] lah, but I’m trying to stick with traditions,” he shares.
There are five ways to enjoy your shawarma here: as a Wrap ($8.50/ $12.50 upsized), with Rice (from $10.50/ $14.50 upsized), as a Platter (meat with fries, from $13.50), Arabi-style (from $16.50), with two original-sized wraps cut into smaller portions plus fries, and Bowl (from $9.50) with a fresh salad. All orders come with a side of pickles and house-made sauces. 
Oh, and customers have to choose either lamb or chicken for their bowl. Not both. “We don’t mix chicken and lamb ’cos they have to be marinated overnight with different spices and have their own special sauces,” Hadi says. “For chicken we use the garlic toum sauce, and for lamb we use tahini.” But what if someone insists on a mix, we ask. “If you really really want to mix, can lah. We will do it for you…” he says reluctantly. “I will honour [customers’ requests], but I hope that they can at least try the original first.”
Even if you don’t like pickles, Hadi encourages customers to sample his Turkey-imported pickled gherkins. He elaborates: “It’s a bit sweet but not sour at all. We don’t put in a lot. Some customers say no pickles, but we say please try at least this time. Next time, they wouldn’t say ‘no pickles!’”
Syrian food well-received here
To Hadi’s surprise, Singaporeans have readily embraced his Syrian cuisine, and his food frequently sells out before closing time. “Alhamdulillah it’s really successful, it exceeded my expectations,” he marvels. “I’m the first Syrian shop in Singapore, so I’m anxious about giving a good first impression.”
Despite it being a takeaway shop, don’t expect your food to be prepared in a hurry here. Hadi earnestly explains: “I want people to understand that this is not fast food. It’s slow-cooked meat, well done, all made from scratch. It’s really healthy. We use fresh ingredients.”
Shawarma + Rice Lamb, $13.50 (8 Days Pick!)
This rice bowl comes with enough food to feed two small eaters. Upon order, fresh and hot lamb shawarma is shaved right onto a base of bright yellow turmeric rice. The loose, al-dente basmati grains reminds us of a good biryani, but even more flavourful and sedap.
Hadi loads each bowl with six toppings: generous dollops of creamy house-made garlicky toum, nutty tahini and Damascus spicy sauces, a Lebanese-style sumac onion salad, and a Yemeni-style ‘salsa’ called sahawiq, which is made by blending tomatoes with green chillies, garlic, coriander and lime juice.All this is meant to go with rice and the juicy, tender lamb, which is not at all gamey. The piquant sahawiq, perky onion salad and wispy, tangy slices of gherkins cut the heaviness of the creamy sauces and meat. It reminds us of New York institution The Halal Guys’ delicious chicken over rice (but Hadi tells us he has never heard of ’em).
Shawarma Wrap, from $10.50
You can also get the same succulent lamb in a warm, grilled fluffy wrap, which is easier to eat on the go. Tasty stuff.
Shawarma Platter Chicken, $14.50 (8 Days Pick!)
The shawarma chicken here is excellent too; cooked to a subtly charred finish and brushed with tangy pomegranate molasses (a staple in Middle Eastern cooking). We could see juices still glistening on the chicken chunks shaved over our platter, which comes with fries, the shop’s proprietary trio of creamy sauces and pickles. It’s very shiok, only slightly let down by chronically undercooked potatoes.
Shawarma Arabi Chicken, $16.50
This one is for very hungry folks; each box comes with two wraps cut into smaller pieces and drizzled with zesty pomegranate molasses, and a mountain of pale fries. We say just get the wraps a la carte and hit up the rice for more substantial carbs.
Syrian Delights, $2 each
This finger-length dessert is the Syrian version of a Turkish Delight, the traditional chewy sweet made by boiling starch and sugar and adding nuts or dates. “The Arabic name is raha nougat — which means comfort,” explains Hadi.
There are four flavours available: Pomegranate (red), Milk (white), Honey (brown) and Orange (well, orange), all rolled with chopped pistachios. Our favourites? The mildly milky delight and the punchy pomegranate flavour.
His Syrian Delights are supplied by his uncle’s factory in Istanbul, and Hadi has reduced the sweetness level to suit Singaporeans’ preference. “I can go even less sweet, but it’s not as delightful,” he chuckles.But you can order a sugar-free version if you want. “Customers can let me know a month in advance,” Hadi says. We find the current gummy sweetness just right. It has the chewiness of a liquorice roll, with extra crunch from the almost whole pistachios crammed into each stick.
Baklava, from $2 a piece
You can also buy baklava squares by the piece here. The sweet, delicately crispy pastry, layered with chopped pistachios, oozes sugar syrup when we bite into it. A nice dessert to round off our meal.
Pomegranate Juice, $9.90
There are also classic Syrian beverages to wash down your shawarma. Despite its steep price, Hadi says he barely earns anything from offering pomegranate juice at his shop. The fruit is a famous Syrian produce.
“Every Syrian household must have pomegranate juice. I cannot call myself a Syrian shop if I don’t have it,” he insists. “The garden in my house in Syria has a few pomegranate trees and it’s very cheap there, but I’m not earning much here ’cos pomegranates are very expensive in Singapore.”
It’s too bad for us, ’cos the freshly hand-pressed pomegranate juice here is sweet with a hint of tanginess, and super refreshing as an iced drink in our hot weather.
Adeni Tea, $2.50/$3.50 (8 Days Pick!)
Singapore has its teh tarik, and Syrians enjoy their Adeni milk tea, which is brewed with Al-Kbous black tea leaves grown in Aden, Yemen, spices, and a dash of milk.
“Since young I have been drinking this brand of tea. It’s similar to masala tea. We put cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg… Arabs love this, and we like our tea thick so I put more tea in this. If I use Lipton tea, it’s different. The flavour and consistency is not the same,” Hadi muses.
It’s a very strong, rich cuppa, and we enjoy its full-bodied, toasty flavour with a gentle spice kick. Order it hot; that’s the best way to enjoy its decadent fragrance.
Hadi already has offers to franchise his business, and he is considering opening an outlet in the West as he has many customers in Jurong. He shares: “Sometimes they come all the way here and I was already sold out, so I feel bad lah. Maybe I should open an outlet in Jurong!”
Damascus Delights is at #01-24, 20 Tampines Central 1, S529538 (beside the Mr Bean kiosk outside Tampines MRT station). Open daily 1pm-9pm (usually sold out by 7pm). www.instagram.com/damascusdelights.sg
Photos: Kelvin Chia
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