Did you already go to SYR in Utrecht? It’s such a wonderful initiative that I want to tell you all about it! SYR has started to involve refugees more with Utrecht and the Netherlands. It’s an initiative by GYS, another food favorite of mine in Utrecht because of their many vegetarian options (you can read my review about it on this page). GYS created a foundation to realize SYR. Within this foundation several people came together, all with a different background (from restaurants, to communication, to philosophy), to use their expertise.
SYR offers work for refugees so that they can learn the Dutch language and culture and gain work experience in the Netherlands. It’s also great for the Dutch people to get to know the Syrian culture, hospitality and food staples, so it works both ways.
Speaking of Syrian food, here’s how the menu at SYR works. For both the starter as the main course you choose vegetarian, fish or meat. And from that categorie you’ll get a variety of finger food. I went for vegetarian (of course) and on the picture you see a few of the dishes that I got. I got Tabouleh which is bulgur with parsley, Falafel, Hummus, Batatah Mukalah (grated potato with garlic) and Sambusek Jibneh which is the triangle filled with feta, haloumi and parsley.
As a main dish I got Felfel Mahshi, which is a stuffed bell pepper with vegetables and cheese, and Kibbeh w’khidrawat. Kibbeh is bulgur stuffed with meat (mostly lamb), but here at SYR they also made this vegetarian version with tempeh. On the table as dishes to share we got batatah hara (potatos with chili), Mujadara (bulgur with lentils and onion) and Fasuleyh Belzait (beans with olive oil and cilantro).
Everything was very rich in flavor, it tasted great!
For dessert you can choose between sweets or cheese. If you choose cheese you get a cheese platter with 4 cheeses, brioche and olives. I went for the sweet grand dessert and got a brownie, a madeleine, cheesecake and coconut-honey ice cream.
By having dinner (or lunch) at SYR you automatically support the foundation, because the profit that is made goes back into the foundation directly to assist the refugees. But if you want to do more you can also donate via this page.
