The Dish: Cardamom buns from Manna Bakery in Philadelphia's Fishtown neighborhood

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- There's a new bakery in Fishtown, where the line to get in has been wrapped around West Berks Street since it opened its doors in July.

Manna Bakery has had a loyal following since Saif Manna started baking in his Temple University dorm room a few years ago.

"I grew up cooking and baking," says Manna. "It was my passion. My grandma was trying to kick me out of the kitchen. She said, 'Go play with your cousins.'"

He recalled saying "No, I want to learn how to cook."

Manna is now sharing those dishes from his grandmothers' kitchen in Palestine.

"I sort of preserved her recipes for future generations," he says. "I become the historian."

Now, we're learning the secrets to fan favorite: his cardamom buns.

They are ooey, gooey, warm and buttery, with a beautiful story in every swirl.

"They're super moist, soft," he says. "Think of them of like a cinnamon roll almost, but better."

His said cardamom is a spice that is often used in sweet desserts and in savory.

"Just eating it always reminds me of home," he said.

He said his secret is that his cardamom is freshly ground.

"It's sort of like -- I describe it as a lighter -- more floral and citrusy cinnamon," Manna said.

He adds it to butter and sugar for the cardamom filling that gets layered into his homemade dough.

Simply slice that intro strips, roll and bake!

"I baked and cooked since I was eight years old," says Manna. "It's in my blood. This is all a dream of mine."

He serves all kinds of sweet and savory treats from Palestine and Levantine.

He calls it a third culture bakery.

"Third culture means that I was essentially raised in a culture that wasn't my own," Manna explains.

"I was born in California and I grew up in Dubai. But then, I visited my grandmas and the rest of my family in Jordan, where I got in touch with my roots," he said. "Food was the avenue, the bridge, and that's what third culture means."

Manna came to Temple University to study and play tennis. Then, during the pandemic, he started baking and selling his goods from his dorm room.

That evolved into pop-ups and now, he has his very own spot.

"I always say that at Manna Bakery, every item has a story," he said. "Food comes from memory, experience, emotions, and that's where I draw my creativity from. That's how I create my products."

He sells out of every item, almost every day.

"I always tell everyone that works here, you have to have what my grandma used to refer to as nafas," he explained. "It's an Arabic word for essence, soul. That's what people feel when they come here."