{"id":45050,"date":"2025-01-18T17:36:29","date_gmt":"2025-01-19T01:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/?p=45050"},"modified":"2025-03-07T10:54:59","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T18:54:59","slug":"had-enough-knafeh-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/local-chocolate\/san-francisco-chocolate\/had-enough-knafeh-yet\/","title":{"rendered":"Had enough Knafeh yet?"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the top food trends in 2024 was a chocolate bar \u2014 invented by FIX Dessert Chocolatier<\/a> \u2014 called the Can\u2019t Get Knafeh of It \u2013 FIX Chocolate Bar. You probably know it as the Dubai Bar.<\/p>\n

\"screenshot<\/a>
screenshot of viral Dubai bar ASMR video on TikTok<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you haven\u2019t seen it, it\u2019s a big thick chocolate bar stuffed with pistachio paste, shredded crispy pastry, and tahini. The Dubai Bar became a star of TikTok when food influencer Maria Vehera uploaded an ASMR video of herself eating a bar in her car<\/a> in December \u201923.<\/p>\n

The video went viral \u2014 over 6 million views and counting \u2014 and got people to travel to Dubai, UAE \u2014 where FIX is located \u2014 just to buy the almost $20 bar for themselves. FIX didn\u2019t ship outside the Emirates so you had to go to the source. Or you could try buying one from resellers on eBay where according to news reports single Dubai bars were going for $50.<\/p>\n

Demand was insane and the bars sold out constantly. For a small chocolatier going from 6 orders a day to 100 an hour was impossible to fulfill. Into the void came chocolatiers from all over the world to recreate the treat and sate everybody\u2019s desire to taste this latest \u201cIt bar\u201d while FIX worked on growing their capacity and delivery options.<\/p>\n

Some SFBA chocolatiers got in on the act and since we aren\u2019t traveling to Dubai anytime soon, Cacaopod and I sampled the local options. None of them seemed to match what\u2019s in the video, but since I\u2019m always looking for a good pistachio chocolate I wanted to see if someone local had managed to solve the ever vexing problem of delicate pistachio hiding behind more assertive chocolate. Other nuts have an easier time meshing with chocolate. Pistachio often gets lost \u2014 especially if there are any other inclusions in the chocolate.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
Screenshot of original Dubai bar from FIX website<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What we knew about the Dubai bar going in was that it was inspired by the Middle Eastern dessert Knafeh Khishneh<\/em> \u2014 where the Knafeh in its real name comes from. I haven\u2019t had the namesake dessert but it\u2019s described as layers of shredded phyllo pastry and cheese soaked in sweet syrup and sprinkled with chopped pistachios \u2014 and it has crunchy and gooey textures.<\/p>\n

FIX\u2019s original bar is milk chocolate with a filling that contains kataifi (shredded toasted phyllo), pistachio, and tahini paste. There are tons of recipes on the internet for making it at home but I am not a cook and definitely not a candy maker so I opted for trying any local versions I could find.<\/p>\n

I found 4 SFBA chocolatiers with their own versions: Charles Chocolates<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 which makes 3 variations, aL chocoLat Boutique<\/a>, The Xocolate Bar<\/a>,<\/strong> and a new chocolatier(?) who supplies my local coffee shop.<\/p>\n

Milyar\u2019s Dubai\u00a0bar<\/h2>\n

The first local Dubai bar I saw was at Milyar Caf\u00e9<\/a>, a very posh looking Middle Eastern caf\u00e9 in South Berkeley. It was already my connection for pistachio lattes so when I saw a no-label chocolate bar in the case I had to inquire if it was a Dubai bar. With the answer in the affirmative I scored my first local crispy Knafeh bar.<\/p>\n

\"Milyar
Label on Milyar Caf\u00e9\u2019s Dubai bar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When I took it home I found it had a label on the back but no info besides the name of the maker. Searching Om Kareem Baked Goods<\/strong> got me nowhere.<\/p>\n

So I have no idea who the maker is or what the ingredients were. It was smaller than the original Dubai bar \u2014 about 4-1\/2″x2″x1\/2″ \u2014 and smelled nutty.<\/p>\n

The bar was easy to cut to get a cross section view of the pistachio filling\u2014 which revealed lots of shredded pastry bits. The filling was not as green as the original Dubai bars in the TikTok videos but I think that is because California pistachios are not as green as Iranian pistachios.<\/p>\n

The pistachio paste and shredded pastry made it very crunchy. It had more of a sweet almond and honey flavor than pistachio. The chocolate was tasty and not bitter. I think it\u2019s a nice bar if rather mysterious.<\/p>\n

\"Milyar
Milyar Caf\u00e9\u2019s Dubai bar cross section<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can find the Om Kareem\u2019s Dubai bar at Milyar Caf\u00e9, 3300 Adeline St, Berkeley. They don\u2019t have a website and the bar is not always available, but the caf\u00e9 is very pretty and the coffee is good.<\/p>\n

aL chocoLat Boutique\u2019s Dubai bar<\/h2>\n

The second SFBA Dubai bar I came across was at the Fall Holiday Chocolate Salon. aL chocoLat Boutique<\/a>,<\/strong> Los Gatos, had an eye catching bar along with their exquisite bonbons<\/a> in their booth so I asked about the bar and was told it was their own recipe inspired by the Dubai bar and made with 2 kinds of chocolate, pistachio paste, phyllo bits, and orange blossom water.<\/p>\n

The aL chocoLat Boutique\u2019s Dubai Pistachio\/Baklava Bar puts a literal twist on the Dubai bar with a slight twist down the length of the thin (4-1\/2″x3\/4″x1\/2″) bar. As expected from head chocolatier Lena Walther who makes gorgeous intricate chocolates, this was the most beautiful riff on the trend I saw. Hand painted in shades of yellow green with dark brown splashes it was like a reverse image of the original Dubai bar\u2019s yellow and green splashes on chocolate.<\/p>\n

\"\"
aL chocoLat Boutique\u2019s Dubai bar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This was a much harder bar than the one from my caf\u00e9. The cross section revealed it was a white shell on top and milk chocolate on the bottom with 2 layers inside \u2014 a flavored ganache on top and crunchy pistachio praline on the bottom.<\/p>\n

It smelled like orange blossom and had a soft crunch. Orange blossom was the main flavor then the good chocolate \u2014 with a little buttery pistachio in background. It was not too sweet. It\u2019s a nice bar and very beautiful but I was hoping for a more pistachio forward taste. This was more complex.<\/p>\n

\"aL
aL chocoLat Boutique\u2019s Dubai bar cross section<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can buy the Dubai Pistachio\/Baklava Bar and their current bonbons on the aL chocoLat Boutique site<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Charles Chocolates\u2019 Dubai bars<\/h2>\n
\"Charles
Charles Chocolates\u2019 set of Dubai bars<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Charles Chocolates<\/a>,<\/strong> SF, really got into the trend with not one but 3 Dubai bars. They made one bar to echo the original bar, then they made 2 more: One with a layer of ganache on top of the crispy pistachio filling and one with a layer of caramel instead.<\/p>\n

The name \u201cDubai Done Better\u201d for this series of bars tempered my expectations \u2014 they aren\u2019t doing a copy. Instead like aL chocoLat Boutique these are riffs on the original. One big way they were different is that they omitted the tahini from the filling.<\/p>\n

Another difference is the shells were 65% bittersweet instead of milk chocolate. On the website they say they swapped out the milk chocolate for a bittersweet couverture that they think is a better fit with the filling and also reduces the sweetness.<\/p>\n

Dubai Done Better – Original Pistachio Bar<\/h3>\n

While the ingredients have been tweaked this was the local Dubai bar that looked the most like the original \u2014 it\u2019s a big thick bar (5-3\/4″x2-3\/4″x5\/8″) scored into squares and splashed with green and yellow colored cocoa butter.<\/p>\n

The bar broke easily on the scored lines revealing a lightly green filling in a thin dark chocolate shell. It was crunchy, salty, nutty \u2014 and a little dry which I attribute to removing the tahini. On the plus side this made it not messy like the real Dubai bars in TikTok videos.<\/p>\n

I like this bar \u2014 it had a good pistachio flavor \u2014 but due to the ratio of thick filling to thin shell and its relative dryness I would call this a chocolate covered snack not a chocolate bar.<\/p>\n

\"Charles
Charles Chocolates\u2019 original Dubai bar cross section<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dubai Done Better – Pistachio Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache Bar<\/h3>\n

Charles\u2019 ganache bar was visually similar to their original bar and had a crisp snap although it didn\u2019t break as cleanly. I think that was due to the layer of soft ganache inside. This filling combo was less crunchy, less salty, and more chocolatey.<\/p>\n

In this bar the delicious chocolate was the star \u2014 pistachio didn\u2019t appear until toward the end and in the chocolatey aftertaste. The ganache made this sweeter than Charles\u2019 original and also made it definitely a chocolate bar.<\/p>\n

\"Charles
Charles Chocolates\u2019 ganache Dubai bar cross section<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dubai Done Better – Pistachio Milk Chocolate Caramel Bar<\/h3>\n

Charles\u2019 caramel bar was fun \u2014 it had a hard break when I cut it for the cross section but got destroyed when manually breaking \u2014 like a real Dubai bar.<\/p>\n

The layer of caramel inside was the culprit. It\u2019s a good liquid milk chocolate caramel with a salted caramel taste. I could taste the pistachio but it wasn\u2019t as nutty as I hoped. The aftertaste was notably salty. The bar was sweet but not too much especially considering its layer of caramel.<\/p>\n

\"Charles
Charles Chocolates\u2019 caramel Dubai bar cross section<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Among the 3 bars I can\u2019t pick a favorite \u2014 they all have their plusses and minuses. The original has the strongest pistachio taste but it\u2019s a little dry. The other 2 bars are moister but not as nutty tasting \u2014 the ganache bar is good as a savory chocolate bar and the caramel bar has a good tasting salted caramel filling that echoes the messiness of the original Dubai bar\u2019s filling. They are all good as their own thing \u2014 the quality of the ingredients is evident \u2014 so it comes down to your preferences: more nutty, more chocolatey, or more gooey.<\/p>\n

You can compare them for yourself \u2014 Charles Chocolates\u2019 Dubai bars are available as a set on their website<\/a>. You can also buy them as individual bars on the site along with their other bars, bonbons, paves, enrobed pieces, and other treats.<\/p>\n

The Xocolate Bar\u2019s Dubai Bites<\/h2>\n
\"Dubai
Dubai Bites\u2019 ingredient list on box<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The last local Dubai bar option we tried wasn\u2019t a bar at all. It was the bonbon sized Dubai Bites by The Xocolate Bar<\/a>,<\/strong> Berkeley\/Oakland. I\u2019d hear of these last summer but they were always sold out whenever I checked. Finally last week I saw the 4-pc. box was in stock!<\/p>\n

\"A
A Dubai Bite<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was excited to try these because while they are bitesize bonbons, not big hefty bars, they had all the right ingredients: Pistachio cream, toasted kataifi phyllo, and tahini! \u2014 the missing piece! The shell was dark chocolate, not milk like the original, but I generally prefer dark to the sweeter milk chocolate.<\/p>\n

Trying to cut a cross section was difficult \u2014 the shell was super hard and on my first try it shattered. On the plus side the smashed bonbon revealed a moist filling that was also the most pistachio green filling of the local options.<\/p>\n

\"Dubai
Dubai Bite cross section<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I got Cacaopod to cut a 2nd Dubai Bite and you see the results here. A little smushed but you can clearly see the shredded phyllo pastry bits inside and the filling glistens.<\/p>\n

The chocolate shell was really good \u2014 dark chocolate is definitely the way to go \u2014 and the tahini gave the filling the moist gooey texture the other SFBA options were missing. It also complimented the pistachio so the piece had a good nutty\/sesame seed-y flavor. The filling was still crunchy but not as dense so it had a more satisfying mouthfeel \u2014 it feels like the ASMR video sounds. This was my favorite SFBA Dubai bar variation.<\/p>\n

As I said earlier I haven\u2019t tried the original bar but this seems like the closest local iteration. Now all they need to do is make it a big thick bar for the full experience!<\/p>\n

You can buy Dubai Bites on The Xocolate Bar\u2019s website<\/a> or at their chocolate shops. They have expanded their online store to include most everything they sell \u2014 their full line of bars, bonbons, and other chocolates, plus chocolate and candies from around the world \u2014 but I prefer when possible to shop the selection at their cute shop in Rockridge<\/a>.<\/p>\n

OG Dubai bar update<\/h2>\n

If nothing but the original will do, FIX started shipping their Dubai bars to the US in January 2025. There\u2019s one catch \u2014 the minimum order is $150. They have other bars including several of their own riffs on their original Dubai bar so it probably wouldn\u2019t be hard to put together an order if you are ok with that minimum.<\/p>\n

Now I\u2019m looking to see who in SFBA will jump on the next hot trend \u2014 Haute Chocolate Vail<\/a> \u2014 the $25 cups of hot chocolate served at a hotel in Vail, CO that include a big marshmallow balanced on a chocolate lattice over a cup which the server pours hot chocolate over so the lattice melts and dunks the marshmallow into the cup. I\u2019m intrigued but not enough to travel yet. What say you SFBA chocolatiers?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have I finally found the ideal pistachio chocolate combo?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":45266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,169,41,131],"tags":[1543,74,1658,1659,266,1313],"class_list":["post-45050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-east-bay-chocolate","category-reviews","category-san-francisco-chocolate","category-south-bay-chocolate","tag-al-chocolat-boutique","tag-charles-chocolates","tag-dubai-bar","tag-fix-dessert-chocolatiers","tag-pistachio","tag-the-xocolate-bar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45050"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45050\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45631,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45050\/revisions\/45631"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}