Excerpt from Ha'aretz Article - September 16, 2016 (http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/travel/1.742184)
At the Al-Yasmin restaurant, Su’ad al-Sha’ar sets the table and starts placing the dishes on it: homemade fried kubbeh; sambusak filled with cheese and spinach; zanqa – balls of burghul and meat cooked in leben; a splendid majadara; mansaf, chicken makloubeh; a summer dish of okra in tomato sauce; and rice cooked with fried noodles and served with crispy pecans. Ten years ago, Al-Sha’ar lost her husband and the father of her children, who died in an accident on a Tel Aviv construction site. Five years ago, this woman with the lovely smile began cooking to support her three children (the eldest also works in construction in the Tel Aviv area). Her main customers are other village residents who come to take home trays of food cooked and baked by the talented Su’ad.
Su’ad and her children live on the top floor of a beautiful 19th-century stone building, one of the few such old-style buildings still standing around here. On the lower floor, which is used as lodgings, there is a maze of rooms with pretty old wooden doors and heavy wooden beams. Stone niches in the walls hold an impressive collection of heavy antique bowls and pots crafted by the village’s famous artisans.
When weather permits – and Majdal Shams, due to its high altitude, has a climate all its own, unrelated to what’s happening in the plains and valleys below – you can dine on the porch, surrounded by a ravishing flower garden and overlooking the homes on the hilltop. Lamb tongue and intestines stuffed with rice and meat are two special festive dishes that must be ordered in advance.