A GALAXY OF GOODIES IN A LEBANESE SHOP   The couple enjoying an afternoon coffee behind sweet-laden tray at Ahmad Arayssi’s Patisserie Orientale---a shop that has served the people of Beirut, Lebanon, for a century and a quarter-- have chosen their pastry from some 20 varieties. Their table also contains a plate of kaik, a semi-sweet bread. The bakers at the pâtisserie work throughout the day to replenish the trays in the foreground. In the pictures at the left, one of these bakers is shown preparing the baklawa. Steps include ( top to bottom ) trimming the thinly rolled dough around a hoop the size of the baking tray; spreading a sheet of dough from the rolling pin on to a layer of ground nuts; marking the pastry into individual diamond-shaped servings; and sprinkling finely chopped pistachios over the baked baklawa. Versions of baklawa differ mainly in the kind of filling. Food Of The World Please send any questions or comments to webmaster@arayssi.com Copyright © Sweet Arayssi, Inc. 1998-2001. All Rights Reserved.