Shuk Machane Yehuda, Jerusalem, Israel

I just got back from spending six weeks in Israel and by far the best food experience I had

was in Shuk Machane Yehuda. Shuk Machane Yehuda is a market located in the center of Jerusalem that has an overwhelming abundance of food options. The market sells everything from bourekas to smoothies to ice cream to baked goods to falafel to halva to fruit - basically if you are craving something it will be there. I had the opportunity to go on a Friday afternoon which is when the traffic at the shuk is at an all time high because people are there to shop for Shabbat. It was both an uncomfortable yet exciting experience pushing through sweaty Israelis screaming “slicha” (Hebrew for sorry or excuse me) to get from food stand to food stand. I recommend going to the shuk on a Monday or Tuesday afternoon if you get overwhelmed by crowds or are looking for a more relaxing shopping experience. However, I will say that going on a Friday afternoon was an incredible cultural immersion experience for a tourist like me.

Now let’s get into the goods: what’s worth the calories and what’s worth avoiding! I will start

off strong with one of the best things I’ve ever eaten in my life - and no, I am not exaggerating. My first stop at the shuk was lunch which I got from Jahun Bar. I got Malawach and to be honest, I am still a bit unsure of what I ate but it was incredible. It was a yemenite pastry dough filled with different sauces, some veggies and an egg.The dough was made right in front of me and I watched them stuff it with all the different fillings all while the chefs were dancing and singing (check out my Instagram highlights - @ariellaseats - for videos of them making my Malawach!). It was one of the coolest food ordering experiences of my life and it was also quite quick - the long line only took about five or so minutes. The Malawach was fresh and a divine mix of flavors. Like I said before, I have no idea what exactly was in what I ate but it was delicous. This place is an absolute must stop if you are ever at Machane Yehuda and I would give it a solid 9.6/10.

My next stop on my shuk journey was for some candy. I have a HUGE sweet tooth so the candy stores at the shuk are always a must stop location. There are multiple places to buy candy at the shuk and they are all kind of the same format: tubs and tubs of gummy candies, licorice, hard candies, and gumballs that you put into a bag and pay by weight. The thing that is special about these candies though is that they’re all kosher, so, if you keep kosher like me, you don’t have to worry about pig gelatin in your gummies. In my opinion, you really can’t go wrong with candy. All the candy I’ve purchased at the shuk was fresh, chewy, sweet and delicious. If you are overwhelmed with options and are unsure of which candies to put in your bag, I recommend the cream filled licorice ropes (one of my personal favorites - the ones without sour sugar are better than the ones with), strawberry gummies (again, not the sour ones), the berry gummies, the cola ropes (the brown rope with the yellow filling is cola flavored not banana!), and the colorful black licorice pieces.

Another must stop location is Marzipan (not to be confused with the dessert marzipan).

Marzipan is a bakery located on the outskirts of the shuk known specifically for their incredible rugelach. The thing that sets this rugelach apart from all other rugelach is that it is drenched in a sugar syrup, making it sweeter and more moist than the normal rugelach. My friend accidentally bought the parve rugelach (parve means that it doesn’t have dairy) which I actually thought was better than the actual version. The parve rugelach was a bit smaller which caused it to be more moist than the regular rugelach. The rugelach from Marzipan is one of those things that you can eat a million of and never get sick of it (trust me, I know). I would overall give Marzipan a 9.7/10 and say that it is one of those places worth flying to Israel just to visit.

I also recommend stopping by a fruit market and buying some fresh fruit. I was really craving a mango so I went and bought a fresh mango from a mini market within the shuk. This mango was one of the freshest, ripest, and juiciest mangos I’ve had. I will say that you can probably find the same quality of fruit in any supermarket and save the hassle of going to the shuk but at the same time it’s a once in a lifetime experience to buy a mango from an elderly man in a market while simultaneously being shoved in either direction.

You also must stop at one of the several dried fruit stands scattered throughout the market (also check out my Instagram highlights for some videos!). The dried fruit is natural and delicious and most of it has no added sugars. It is also fairly cheap for the quality - I got a bunch of dried fruit for only 25 shekels which is about $7.77. My personal favorite dried fruits to purchase are: figs, coconut (even though all the Israelis hate the dried coconut - I love it), mango, and pineapple.

Another stop that’s worth checking out is Halva Kingdom. For those of you who don’t know

what halva is, it’s a sesame seed based dessert that comes in all different flavors like chocolate, peanut butter, pistachio, dulce de leche etc. There are several spots for halva all around the shuk but the one I stopped at was halva kingdom. Here is my pro tip: if you ask for a sample, they will let you try as much halva as your heart desires. I did not end up buying halva because although I told them to cut me a really small piece, the piece they cut was still huge and they wouldn’t cut it any smaller. They then wanted to charge me 50 shekels for it (about $15) and I did not think it was worth it. But, my friend Dara bought a ton of halva which I ate and it was delicious. I tried the chocolate and the peanut butter and both were incredible. My takeaway is that if you want halva during your time in Israel, go to Halva Kingdom but if you - like me - are not willing to spend the money on a huge slab of halva you can stick to asking for samples.

My final stop at the shuk was a slushy stand. These slushy stands were dispersed all around the shuk and everyone was carrying one so my friend and I decided to stop by. Ordering this slushy was maybe the most shuk-like experience I had. I was surrounded by Israelis all yelling at the guy working the slushy stand and waving ten shekels (the price of the slushy) in his face. So, I took part in the yelling and started waving ten shekels in the guy’s face so I could get one. The slushy itself was nothing special. The flavors were fine and the candy was a fun touch but I would not say it is worth going out of your way for - a better option for a refreshing juice drink is The Etrog Man (review coming soon!).

My final takeaway: you cannot enter Jerusalem without stopping at the shuk. Hopefully this short summary of my shul experience was helpful and stay tuned for more recaps of my dining experiences in Israel!